Intern Review

I have done many roles at EY, working with people both in Tax, Advisory at GMP and Audit. This involved many daily tasks, such as putting together teams and planning presentations based on research of another company, and then giving that presentation. We also completed many activities to help build these skills, along with communication, feedback, coaching and team leadership skills. A recurring responsibility was to take on the role of a team leader, designating other positions and making sure the team works efficiently and effectively to complete tasks such as the presentations.

I have completed a qualification known as the Level 2 CMI Team leadership qualification which will be sent off for review. This has taught me how to lead a team, helping us improve skills from feedback and communication to coaching and networking. I also improved my skills in public speaking, having to give many presentations. Due to this I'm also better in organisation of teams and the planning of presentations and feel a lot more confident within myself too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the work experience. Every team I worked in was friendly and inviting, and allowed me to do actual valued work for the company, which ultimately allowed me to get a feel for the strong company culture and work ethic that would be required to work here or in another big corporate business. It met my expectations and beyond, as I have learnt much more than I thought I would have had whilst having had a good time, meeting new people/contacts in the business world.

The work experience is well organised i have to say, we kept to a slightly flexible but mostly strict schedule that was well thought out. We were supported throughout with our mentors and some employees as well, who we keep in contact with for 10 months, and we also had many more members of EY staff we could turn to for help in other departments. I never found myself void of something to do, the EY staff kept everyone busy well but didn't overface anybody.

I learnt quite a lot about EY in the first few weeks/month of working there. I was given a lot of tours and presentations are who they are, what they do etc. etc. I found myself being overwhelmed with information at some points but i kept notes and found that it was easier to write it down and go over it at my own pace then i would remember more about the company and industry as a whole.

I have been back to EY since having my work experience there as i wanted to understand more about other jobs they have to offer. Personally i felt as though i got a lot out of the experience and it taught me a lot but i am still unsure as to where i want my career to go in the future, i am still looking for other places to work as i currently am still on close to minimum wage.

The pay i was given covered any costs/expenses. EY also supported us financially, buying train tickets for travel from a GMP headquarters one day, they also provided food when we had meetings/group chats over lunch time to give feedback back to the company so that was also a nice incentive. I just wish we were paid a little more efficiently but it's not much of a problem for me, just some of the others with houses and young children could benefit from having the money a bit earlier.

There are 3 alumni events each year, where we can network and meet senior business men and women from a variety of places, along with re-visit the EY staff and become reacquainted. Our mentors were also in contact for 10 months, along with any other contacts we made. I think they are interested in our future work and if we wish to go back to the company and i think if that was the case, then there would be other opportunities for someone such as myself.

Yes

I feel it is a very good company with a strong company culture, where the people are friendly and the work is interesting and varied. I think that anyone would be lucky to have an internship, apprenticeship or just a typical job there too. I think the company looks after their employees well and rewards good behaviour and work. The atmosphere was nice and everyone i met was really helpful too so i was happy about that as well. I would definitely go back.

Though the interview process is hard, I believe it is rewarding. I would recommend they know about the company and the EY foundation before applying for either a job or the programme, as it is important to understand what you'll be doing and if the company is for you. I would also say that you'd need to research the company to and be able to talk about how you could integrate within their workforce and how you could become an asset to the company.