Internship Review at PwC

The Role

Role Description

I would run excel spreadsheets, put presentations together, check auditing numbers, do benchmarking for various industries, do research for colleagues.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I found that the office was very relaxed and friendly and this made the whole experience a lot more enjoyable.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

My colleagues treated me as an equal and it was not apparent as to the seniority of everyone in the department which makes everyone feel valued.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

My people manager was very good at giving support with any issues that I had during the time I was there. What I did find surprising was that anyone in the department, no matter how senior, was willing to help with any issues and were very easy to approach with problems. This made the whole experience a lot more enjoyable.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I was fairly busy but at times I would have to chase up work from other members of the department. I do, however, think that this allowed me to develop networking skills as you would have to talk to various members of the department to gain the work and this allowed you to get to know a larger variety of people.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

I would say that I was placed with minor tasks and talked through some more complicated tasks by other members. This meant that I did not gain much responsibility, but did get an insight into the workings of the department, so it was not a daunting experience. I did get some client face time which was nice as you are then seen to be representing the firm.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

I feel that the skills in networking and the more practical on the job skills are something that will stay with me well after my degree studies. These are skills that could not be developed in a classroom environment.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

I felt there was a very relaxed atmosphere in the office which made it a pleasant work environment.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

The first thing that we had in the placement was a 2 day induction off site with all the other interns across all departments. This was a fantastic way to start and it continued to be this organised the whole time. We were all assigned buddies and people managers and also to a social team. This meant that we integrated well into the department and so everything ran very smoothly.

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

We had a whole day set aside for them to show us how to improve our presentation skills and then the opportunity to give a presentation and receive feedback for it. This was very useful and was good of them to set this time apart to give the training. On the job everyone that you were working with was more than prepared to take time out to explain things to you to make sure that you understood how your work fitted into the overall picture, even though the task you were on seemed pretty simple.

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

• Subsidised Canteen
• Company Parties/Events

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I managed to gain the offer of a job by the end of the placement. PwC told all of the interns whether they had offers before the internship had come to a close which was good as it meant that if you had not received an offer, you could get on with applying to other places. It was also good that they took the time to tell you in person.

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

The other interns were very social and the department as a whole was very good. There were many events planned, such as the department away day, which meant that everyone had the chance to relax and have fun with all the other members of the department. There were regular meals out with social teams and after work drinks so that you could get to know everyone.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 4/10

I lived down in London which is obviously very expensive. However, the salary paid was enough to cover rent and the cost of socialising, it just meant that there wasn't much saved afterwards. But this factor did not seem like much of an issue to me.

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

I was working down in London so there is something for everyone, though can be slightly expensive at times.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

If you were interested there were things to get involved in outside of work, such as football and other sports. However, it was quite a small department with a lot of busy people so could be quite hard to get people to get involved.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

I would say one of the most important things about the placement is to get to know as many people in the firm as you can, no matter how senior they are. Everyone will be willing to talk to you and answer any questions that you have to further your knowledge of the department/firm so don't waste the opportunity to ask!

Review 277/277 for PwC

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