Guest Blogger Lauren - Introduction to PwC

Thursday, 24th December 2009

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

After a pretty hectic induction week, starting with a large welcome event in Manchester, our group embarked on study for the first 3 professional exams. It was intense, but the tutoring and support were second-to-none and everybody passed. We celebrated with a big night out, and pushed the next set at Christmas to the back of our minds!

We then had a couple of weeks of vocational training with new starters from other offices in the area, which was really useful to get an idea of what we’d actually be doing on the job, as nobody really had a clue! It was also a great opportunity to meet new people. ‘Networking’ is a massive deal here.

We then had a month of working, which varied for everybody. As placement students are essentially treated the same as graduates, there’s a massive amount of responsibility straight away. It’s challenging at times, but we’ve found that they weren’t lying about the attitudes of everyone in the office towards the new starters; no question is stupid, and they always have time to help. I’ve learned so much already! There’s been a surprising amount of client contact; I didn’t think I’d really be allowed near finance directors and heads of departments, but job managers have real faith in your abilities, and there’s nothing like being thrown in at the deep end to teach you to think fast.

The welcome we’ve all received has been unbelievable. In the first week at our office, we were taken out for drinks and had a bit of a party in one of the meeting rooms, which was a great way to get to know everybody with a bit less pressure. All offices are different, but I’ve not heard any bad stories from graduates in other ones. I haven’t met any other placement students yet because I’m the only one in the North, but they set up a really useful conference call where we could all ask any questions or voice concerns, and we’ve been given useful contacts in case we need any help. I don’t feel at all isolated though, because the graduates I’ve started with are such an amazing group, and I reckon I’ve made some friends for life.

We’ve just this week started studying for our next set of exams, and it’s going well so far. We also have the Christmas party to look forward to later this month, and then work, work, work in January. As a placement student, my path moves away from the graduates’ after these exams, as they will do even more in March, whilst I will continue to work. Provided my work is of a good enough standard though, I will get the opportunity to do even more exams in the summer to get a head start if I accept a graduate position, so there are lots of options. I’m really excited to get as involved as possible and make the most of an amazing opportunity.