Assistant Associate Review

I am in my first year of the programme and I am currently an Assistant Associate. I work within the Banking and Capital Markets industry within Audit. The work I perform varies all the time, I can spend a day on a task, sometimes a week or even months depending how large of a task it is. I have meetings with senior members of the client's team quite regularly and have been exposed to the industry at quite a young age.

Deloitte are covering my training costs for ICAEW's ACA qualification and in 5 years I will hold a qualification as a Chartered Accountant. I have learned and developed my skills through my experiences on the job and have taken part in internal training courses which have helped to prepare me for my role.

I am enjoying my time on the programme so far. I learn new things all the time. The teams I have worked with have been fantastic. Even though the hours can be quite long and the work stressful at times, the people I work with have been easy to work with and remained friendly.

I feel quite valued by the firm and the leadership team (from Partners to Managers) welcome the opinions and views from all. There are lots of opportunities to share and discuss my views.

The programme is well structured with the exams evenly spaced out to allow time for both work and college. If and when you need additional time off to study or additional help with the topics support will be given.

I receive a lot support from my learning advisor/managers and they have made themselves very accessible in case support is needed. The college sessions and courses can be quite intense but they are manageable.

My colleagues are very supportive, they are helpful when I have any work or study-related queries and they make themselves accessible if and when I need any support.

I am fortunate to live in London with my parents so the only real living costs I bear are for travel and personal expenses(phone, clothes..etc). I am able to cover these costs and save quite a bit every month. However, those that intend to move out from home may struggle with meeting costs.

Yes. We have company sports teams in a number of sports which allow people to get together outside of work. We also have various clubs for art, photography, adventure sports, dancing, wine appreciation... and the list goes on. The firm is heavily invested in its corporate social responsibility with various volunteering opportunities being taken up by staff throughout the year. This year Deloitte have organised 4 treks in South America, Asia, Europe and Africa with the aim of raising £1 million for our national charities. I was able to get a place on the Europe trek and will be travelling to Spain this summer. I could probably go on and on about the opportunities available outside of work.

Yes

Deloitte is a fantastic reputable firm to start your career with. Moreover, the people I have worked with have all been friendly and great to work with.

I had many worries when applying for the this role and I had my doubts about not going to university however I can wholeheartedly say that I made the best decision in joining Deloitte and taking part in the Brightstart scheme. When applying I would suggest that you do your research on the firm, the area you will be applying to and what your role will entail. If you make it the partner interview, relax and enjoy it as much as you can. It was a nice opportunity to sit down and really get to know more about the firm and ask a partner anything(sensible of course) you want to know/talk about.