Business Academy Intern Review

Each day there was a mixture of skills sessions where we were taught skills that would be useful within the role. Additionally, there was guest speakers such as Apprentices and Partners who were happy to answer any questions provided and gave a detailed insight into what they do day to day as their job. We also split into smaller groups (mine had 4 people) and were able to ask specific questions to graduates at EY who worked at our chosen office location. Finally, we were able to complete a Case Study and then later we were able to discuss this in small groups with EY employees.

First of all, the work experience gave many helpful tips and pointers in how to succeed in the EY experience day as well as the EY interview. Also, I feel as if my analytical skills developed whilst I was working on the Case Study. In particular, the group discussion afterwards helped highlight things I missed and identify other factors that I could have included. During the course of the three days, a fair amount was spent listening to speakers talk about their experiences and career paths, which meant I learnt about the jobs and EY as a company, but did not really develop any of my skills.

I thoroughly enjoyed the work experience as it was both informative but also not boring either. The speakers were all interesting people with good experiences and there were other fun activities included such as an Icebreaker quiz with funny and random questions and another quiz on EY. There was also a competition where you had to write your own elevator pitch and submit it, which was nice as there was a prize for the winner. Lastly, the coordinators and speakers were all really enthusiastic and friendly.

Despite the global pandemic, EY still managed to host a paid three-day work experience which shows how good the level of organisation was. There was often separate calls for both Tax and Assurance and these links to the other calls were emailed well in advance, with full instructions on what link to join at what time. They also made sure the calls were working for everyone before beginning and that everyone was in the session, and contacting those that were not in. During the Case Study, my connection to the call dropped unknowingly to me and an EY member contacted me to tell me how to join back

I learnt a lot about the company's culture and what its like to work there as they had many employees give talks from Partners to Apprentices. We also got the chance to ask graduates at our local EY office questions in small groups and really learn what is was like at our local office as well as EY in general. We also got to hear about some of the events and away days that EY have hosted and how much people enjoyed them.

It has certainly helped promote the idea of an Apprenticeship to me instead of University but it has not decided for me. There is also the opportunity to fast track an Apprenticeship application after the Business Academy, although I believe it is only for the role you attended in the Business Academy which for me was different to the role I initially applied for, but there was no spaces left on that one. However, these three-days have definitely helped promote the idea that a job in accountancy may be ideal for me

Yes, I was paid for this experience which I thought was very generous considering that this was a virtual work experience. I know through some of my friends that many other companies have hosted events similar to this, but do not pay people that attend. As for expenses, there was none for me since it was a virtual open day all I needed was an internet connection and a device that could connect to the internet.

Yes there was many opportunities to network and meet other employees. We were encouraged to create a LinkedIn profile and connect with employees we met on there in order to learn about EY in further detail. We did get to meet employees when we were there both as a large group and as a small group. The small groups were more helpful as we could really speak to the employees and ask lots of questions.

Yes

The Work Experience was both informative, fun and interesting. I feel as though I learnt a lot during my three-days, and now I am strongly considering applying for an Apprenticeship with EY, instead of a degree at university. I have a much greater understanding of what working at EY will be like and I feel a lot more confident applying for an Apprenticeship role now than I previously was. It was also paid which isn't really majorly important for me for work experience, but it was definitely a nice bonus!

I would say during the pre-recorded interview practice a lot beforehand by speaking into the camera whilst saying some pre-prepared answers. Also, try not to be nervous and try to be yourself during this interview. With the numerical test, also practice beforehand and during the test, do not rush and read each question very carefully. Other than that, I would say do not stress to hard about it, for me I thought the application process would be a lot harder than it actually was.