Actuary in Human Resources Consulting Review

The internship was a great insight to the company, the first few days, spent at Windsor estate were fantastic, giving a great opportunity to meet all the other interns from across the UK. The on-the-job training was excellent and I was doing work that other people at graduate level were doing. The company I felt did its absolute best to ensure I enjoyed my 6 weeks and that I had a great time outside of work too.

I felt very valued by my colleagues, they always had work for me to do, of which I felt I was making a difference to their work load. I was given deadlines by them and also trusted with work that they would otherwise trust their colleagues to do.

There was constant support throughout the internship, I had regular meetings with my 'people manager' and 'buddy' and I knew that I could always ask questions, should I have any. I even went for coffee with the office partner once and director on separate occasions.

My schedule varied from week to week, I could have been extremely busy one day with lots of work to complete before the end of the day, but I also had days where I was asking for work on multiple occasions throughout the day. However this wasn't too much of a problem as there were always training exercises to do outside of the assigned work from colleagues.

I was given as much responsibility as I could've hoped for in my placement, if not more. I was put straight into work in the deep end and constantly given training to help me with said work. As said before I would be doing work that otherwise the graduates would be completing.

I wouldn't say the skills I've learned will help me too much with a mathematics degree, although it has helped me improve valuable life skills; Teamwork, organization, ability to work under pressure and meeting deadlines.

The general atmosphere in my office was great, we had bake days every Monday and Thursday and a free fruit basket daily. People would always be offering drink rounds and there was always talk and friendly chat throughout the day, not everything was centered around the work. The office was a hard working office but there was no sense of hierarchy in terms of friendliness and conversation, everyone was always happy to have a chat.

The placement was well organized, the first few days fantastically so. I was kept up to date with social events throughout the placement and had lots of work to be completing the majority of the time. I was contacted by my buddy and people manager before the internship started, which was a nice touch to allow me to ask any questions I had before I arrived at the company.

It was clear the company invested a lot of money and time into my 6 week placement, the first few days proved this. We were all given company laptops and bags and always treated to social events with days away from the office and end-of-month drinks, even taking us to the T20 cricket a couple of times. It was clear that they invest that kind of money in hope to retain as many interns as they can the following graduate intake.

They are fantastic, there is a clear path for promotion to a high position within the company. The chain of command is well established and it's clear that hard work and commitment will be rewarded in different ways. The company is highly regarded as being one of the best professional services firms in the world and anyone you speak to about the company is impressed when you tell them who you'd worked for.

Simply - yes. There were Friday drinks every week, subsidized by the company, with a tab behind the bar. We received a free trip to the T20 cricket on two occasions and there were sports days and days away from the office on separate occasions. There were also charity events and pub quizzes with the opportunity to get involved throughout the placement. People were always planning trips away and it was easy enough to get involved in all these events.

Leeds is relatively expensive in terms of northern cities for alcohol, but there are many places to choose from and eating out in the city is fantastic, we went for office meals on numerous occasions for lunch and we spent on average around £10-£15 per trip. I stayed with a friend for accommodation, but had heard that people staying around the city were paying aroud £90-100 a week for student accommodation. Compared to London - very cheap.

The nightlife was also great, there was always something going on on a Friday, frequently going to others houses for BBQs after work. There are hundreds of bars and clubs in Leeds so it's a fantastic place to work if you want to hold up a social life whilst working. I didn't go out much as I stayed outside of leeds but from the events I did go to, it was always busy, lively and energetic.

Yes, there are numerous sports teams within the firm, a hockey club that goes on tour to spain every year, 5 and 6-a-side football teams that play weekly and there were office trips to things like escape-room and there was also a running club situated in my block and many others. As stated before there was also a charity pub quiz after work in the office which was great fun.