Executive assistant Review

The average day as an Executive Assistant at EY mostly involves supporting the company's partners. Day to day tasks for partners involve, arranging meetings internally and with clients, rescheduling meetings, booking travel and accommodation, submitting expenses for reimbursement, arranging events/meals, and general ad hoc work such as printing. There are also opportunities to get involved in bigger events.

I have learnt and developed many new skills in my apprenticeship so far. I have learnt stakeholder management skills through working closely with partners and clients, this involves the use of communication to manage expectations and keep them updated. I have developed my organisational skills, this is very important as an executive assistant as a large portion of our time is spent arranging meetings. Other skills I have developed are my IT skills, communication, and presentation skills.

So far, my time at EY has been extremely enjoyable. My colleagues are very friendly and extremely supportive, they made me feel very welcome. The job role is interesting and varied, which keeps the energy going throughout the day. The opportunities to get involved in projects and events breaks varies the workload and gives you something to look forwards to. EY's culture is one of respect and tolerance, as well as motivation and growth.

The programme is structured fine for the most part. At the beginning, EY gave the apprentices a two week schedule with training and activities planned out, and we have a half day every Friday to have our study time. The issues arise when it comes to communication between BPP and EY.

EY provides so much support. As I have mentioned previously, my colleagues have been friendly and are always happy to help. Every month the apprentices have a call, with a member of the programme team, to discuss how the apprenticeship is going and I have weekly calls with my mentor/team leader. The company also provides a lot of training, not just at the beginning but throughout the year, for everyone in the company. There are always opportunities to grow within EY.

BPP provides it's apprentices with online webinars, face to face days, and online reading material for each module. The Webinars aren't the most thrilling and they feel a bit rushed. The face to face days are good, but they only do one per module which doesn't feel like enough to me. The reading material is by far the worst part of the modules. The language is confusing, there are grammar and punctuation errors, and it doesn't look like a lot of thought has gone into how the information is presented. BPP have a shared inbox that you can contact if you have a question, they always come back within a day or two. At the beginning of the programme, guidance was lacking so this was a useful tool. Overall, I am quite disappointed with my experience with BPP.

The Business Administrator Apprenticeship is very relevant to my job role, as it is mainly administrative. Although I'm not a fan of the modules, they have encouraged me to look my employer differently and I have been able to relate the teachings to EY. The project management module helped me with small events I have arranged and bigger events I have assisted with.

I have attended a couple of work events in my time so far. There was a big Christmas party, for the whole office, which was very well put together. It was a lot of fun and was good to see colleagues out of work. I have also attended an executive assistant networking day, which was very interesting and great for networking. As the offices are in London, you are spoilt for choice with places go after work. There are restaurants, bars, shopping centers, and there is a lot more only a few tube stops away. I am aware of other extra-curricular activities, such as volunteering initiatives and classes, but I have not experienced these yet.

Yes

EY is a friendly, interesting, and prestigious company to work for. There are countless opportunities to take and many career paths to follow. EY really invests in it's employees and they ant you to be successful, as this will make EY more successful. Also, EY looks very good on you CV as it's a big 4 firm.

Firstly, do your research on the company. Look at their website, look for news articles, and write a list with facts about EY. Pay particular attention to what the company stands for, as they will be looking for somebody who is a good fit in the company. If you get an interview, emphasise your keenness to learn and grow your skills and stress the importance of good communication and networking. Finally, try not to panic. The people at EY really are friendly and will be rooting for you, I ended up really enjoying my interview. And remember, the interviewer is likely just as nervous as you are!