Corporate Finance Intern Review

I really enjoyed my summer internship with PwC. From the initial induction where we were sent on a residential, which gave us the opportunity to meet and interact with the other interns, to the daily work-life balance.

I felt quite valued by my colleagues, from day one I was given work that would be given to a first year graduate, and throughout the internship the work became increasingly challenging which showed that colleagues appreciated and respected the quality of work I was doing. Colleagues took time to meet with me to fully explain the work to me, and answered any questions I had. They also took time during after work social events to get to know me.

During my internship I was allocated a 'Buddy' and a People Manager. Both of these individuals were very approachable and friendly. My People Manager in particular was very helpful and gave me lots of useful advice, and was very supportive. I felt like I could talk to both of these individuals about any concerns that I had.

I found that there was always enough work going around to keep occupied, but in terms of managing my own workload (as you do not want to commit to taking on too much work), this sometimes meant that I had an hour or two where I did not have enough work as I completed the work faster than expected. The resourcing department were very useful at finding work if there ever was a lack of it, and also took into account what sort of department I wanted to do work in.

I was given a fair amount of responsibility, but obviously due to a lack of training most of the work I completed was checked over by someone more senior, and most of that work was 'supporting' other documents (such as carrying out research etc.) However, I was given the responsibility of creating a newsletter on an 'every-other-day' basis which was sent out to around 150 colleagues without being screened, and therefore I was entirely responsible for.

My excel skills definitely developed during my internship as a lot of the work was excel based, along with power-point. Also soft skills such as learning how to collaborate in a team.

The atmosphere varied, and most of the time it was clear that everyone was working hard. However, it was perfectly normal to stop and have a chat with someone at their desk, or in the break out areas as well.

The placement was very well organised in my opinion. The first few days we stuck to a timetable, and beyond that we were left to our own devices to seek out work which was a lot more enjoyable as you could direct your workload towards what you were interested in. Furthermore it was nice to know that there was also resourcing to help get you work if you were struggling to find any. The final few days also worked quite well, including the dragons den project.

Individuals in the firm took time to explain concepts to us as interns, that we did not necessarily need to know for our 6 week internship, but definitely gave some of our work a better context and understanding. I really appreciated the time people gave up to arrange these informal presentations/chats.

Future employment prospects are very appealing as I enjoyed my time with the firm, and they also invest a lot in you with the CFA training. I have been offered a Graduate position with them.

Colleagues definitely enjoyed going out for drinks after work, especially on Thursdays and Fridays, which was good to get involved in.

Socialising and cost of living is quite high as it was in London.

There was a lot of choice in terms of nightlife in London.

Not that I was aware of during the short period of time I was there for.