Year 12 Student Review

My virtual experience involved talks with BDO's partners and directors about their experience at BDO and their career journey before joining BDO. It included training sessions that provided us with a brief introduction to accountancy and audit. There were opportunities to network with other students as well as current trainees during networking sessions, social activities and lunches. We also did a CSR group project which we presented to a board of partners and directors.

I was able to develop my collaboration skills during the CSR group project work as well as my communication and interpersonal skills. The audit training provided me with a good introduction to what accountancy and audit entails. There were also sessions about personal branding and a wellbeing workshop to aid personal development. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about how the industry operates and the culture at BDO.

I really enjoyed my virtual experience as it gave a comprehensive overview of both the company and the industry as a whole. I gained valuable knowledge about accounting and audit whilst having fun in the social activities and networking sessions. I also enjoyed talking with the partners and directors who shared their unique experiences.

It was very well organised and was conducted over Hopin and Microsoft Teams. They sent us regular emails and kept us updated throughout the selection process and before the insight week began. They sent us schedules, all of the Microsoft Teams meeting links and Hopin magic link prior to the insight week so there was no confusion on the day.

We had talks with many of BDO's partners and directors who seemed genuinely passionate about working there and were eager to share their personal experiences at BDO which were all very positive. I also had a chance to talk with the current trainees who also talked about what working there is like and the company culture.

I was already quite fixed on going into accountancy and audit prior to the insight week but the training sessions have further reinforced this idea. They also had a professional qualifications session which provided insight into the different pathways into accounting. Moreover, the partners and directors were more than happy to share their personal career journeys.

I was not paid as it was an insight week and I had no expenses to have reimbursed as the entire week was virtual.

There were multiple opportunities throughout the week to meet with various employees. We were assigned a buddy on the first day who was a trainee. We also had talks with partners and directors who talked about their personal career journeys and experiences at BDO. There was also a networking session, social activity and group project which allowed us to network with the other people at the insight week.

Yes

It is a valuable learning experience and useful for those who don't know much about the company or accountancy, as it provides a comprehensive overview of the industry. At the same time, it ensures that it is an enjoyable and fun experience through the use of networking and social activity sessions.

The application process consists of online assessments such as a numerical reasoning test and situational judgement test as well as a virtual interview. There is also an assessment centre which includes a group task, presentation, written task and interview. My advice would be to do practice tests online before doing the real one and prepare for the interviews by researching about BDO's core values, culture and what sets it apart from the others as well as why you want to go into accountancy.