Corporate Tax Associate - Summer Internship Review

I really enjoyed my time during SVS. I got to experience working in Corporate tax, Global Employee tax and VAT. My internship was 6 weeks at the Gatwick office. Everyone was friendly, I got know most people in the office. I had the opportunity to be involved in many different projects with a variety of people in the office.

I worked with a number of different teams throughout my internship, and my colleagues completely integrated me into all the teams I worked with. I was given responsibility on projects and treated equally to everyone else in the team. The teams were all grateful for my contributions and I felt like a valued member.

A large amount of support given. Throughout my internship I had a 'buddy' who was a colleague which were normally in their 1st-2nd year of work at Deloitte so understood what it was like to be new. They made effort to get to know me, by taking me for coffee etc. They would answer any questions I had and would regularly check up on me to make sure I was ok/had enough work etc.

My workload varied day to day, but it was very easy to pick up more work if I needed it. I always had plenty to keep my busy through the day, with a variety of projects to work on most of the time. It was easy to ask for more work or to get work from a different area.

I was given interesting projects to work on and work that was beneficial to my colleagues, my work was always checked before sent to a Client.(which is understandable!) I was given responsibility when attending client meetings to dress smart and act professional.

Bearing in mind I had very little knowledge of tax before starting my internship, I learned a lot in a short space of time. I learned what it is like to work in an office environment, and improve on my analytical skills, excel skills, written communication skills and much more. I learned to work efficiently which will assist me in my final year at University. Training was received on different topics within Tax, e.g. BEPS.

The office had a good atmosphere all the time. Everyone was very friendly and happy to help. Generally, everyone was focused on getting on with their work, but the atmosphere was still fairly relaxed. There were coffee machines etc so it was easy to have a brief break and walk.

The internship was well organised. I spent 3 weeks in Corporate tax, 1 1/2 weeks in Global Employee tax and 1 1/2 weeks in Value Added tax. Events throughout the internship was also well organised. The only organisational issues I encountered was for my graduate scheme interview, both with organising my interview date and giving me my interview result, both took over a month. However I think I was an anomaly as all other interns interviews were organised very well.

Colleagues kindly spent a lot of time over the six weeks teaching me concepts and explaining projects I was involved in. Before and after Client meetings they would take time to explain anything I didn't understand. They were always happy to help! Our first day was an induction day which went through the software we would be using. The firm also provided training sessions for us.

This year all interns at Gatwick were offered a Graduate interview, with a likely outcome of a job offer. We got to choose which department in Tax we wanted to apply to, we also had the option to apply to a different office. I applied for Global Employee tax at Gatwick and received a job offer starting this year!

Yes! The internship started with a night away in Solihull where we got to meet all the other SVS's throughout the country, which was really fun. We had other events organised for us throughout the six weeks, including a day out in Brighton, meal outs and quiz nights! Meaning I had the opportunity to meet the interns in the Audit department, and got to get to know my colleagues outside of the office.

My internship was in Birmingham, which is a very affordable city to live and go out in. I am at university in Birmingham, so was able to live in my student house over the summer, but generally rent is affordable. The nightlife in Birmingham is also affordable and nowhere near as expensive as London.

Birmingham has a fun and exciting nightlife, with lots of different options of places to go. The Deloitte Birmingham office is based in Brindleyplace, right near the city centre and near the centre of the nightlife, so is very well located for drinks after work or any other social events.

There were socials organized both specifically for the interns and also for the office generally. These included meals, drinks after work and sport socials such as rounders. There was plenty of variety and options so that everyone could get involved. I really enjoyed both the organized and the impromptu social activities.