Deloitte Aspire Week Work experience programme Review

It was really an extremely beneficial experience; always working with different people on challenging case studies which forced us to think, and use different skills from what we were used, being year 12 students, was refreshing and fun. The little activities and icebreakers we did here and there really helped bring down the nerves from being around complete strangers. In the beginning I found it hard to find my place in the group and how I could contribute, but by the end we were all getting involved and having a part. Before the week work experience, I never really had an interest in business and knew very little, so was expecting it to be boring and involve a lot of listening to them just talking at us. My expectations were completely wrong though, and learning about business and everything Deloitte does was surprisingly very interesting. The whole event appeared very organised so we were always doing something, (apart from the last day when we went to the digital office and had to wait for a while because I guess they weren't prepared yet. The demonstration we were shown though was worth the wait and I'll explain why in just 3 sweet words; Robot and VR.) I loved it when we were made to do presentations in front of everyone because its something I had never done before. Something I can probably add is that the food was very good some days. (Yay free food!) Had one day where only one of the selections was appetising, but at least it was the best wrap they had in the whole week and the cookies helped suffice. Why I wouldn't rate it 10/10 would be because waiting for everyone to come in and for us to start the day was very boring. Most people may have loved this time of day because we could just chill and talk to each other. For someone who finds it hard to know what to say to others though, it would have been cool if we were given an optional thing to do while waiting, like sheet of paper with icebreakers or something. I don't know how many people that would suit but I think it would make things less awkward. Other then that it's hard to complain, I had a wonderful time.

Everyone was very friendly and was always open to listening to our questions (even if we more often then not didn't have any). There were a lot of people so there wasn't any value on an individual basis, but they emphasised how people's differences had a place everywhere in a team.

We received a lot of guidance and support. We were giving all the information we needed for the case studies and although for one or two of them it felt like it wasn't enough, it taught me how to adapt, be more resourceful and think more abstractly. People were always around to help us out anyway if we needed direction or info on Deloitte. I found it very beneficial that for a lot of the case studies, they brought in actual workers in Deloitte to come talk to us and help us out. It gave people a chance to find out more about their field, their role and what it's like at Deloitte as well.

This work experience taught a plethora of skills we could take away for life. This experience has been invaluable for me because I have always struggled with shyness. The activities, case studies and presentations we did really forced us outside of our comfort zones. Now the week is over I can say my self-confidence has boomed, and am less afraid to talk to new people. We were taught the theory and practiced effective communicating throughout the week which is valuable for any path through life. Problem solving, active listening, and thinking on the spot were really put to play as well. We were taught interview and presentation skills as well which are really beneficial for anyone. The presentations were really fun because negotiating with a board of workers wasn't just throwing facts and orders at them; it was taking them on a journey through the problem, the solution, the risks, and the benefits. The feedback the Deloitte workers gave were also very helpful.

I think the week work experience was structured well, we were always doing something. We had plenty of breaks in between things as well so weren't being overwhelmed. Each day they would tell us what we were going to do. An example of one day would be; a talk on a general theme e.g their services, then a couple of games, then a q&a panel for instance, then at the end of the day we would reflect on everything we have learnt. The reflection part is useful since we are taking a lot of stuff in, so it would have been easy to forget it.

The atmosphere was very positive and was pretty relaxed considering we were in a professional services firm. It was nice that we could have a laugh even with a Deloitte Partner who came in and spoke to us on the last day. From the get go we were reminded that it was ok to make mistakes and encouraged to support each other. There was a huge focus on collaborating with each other. We were taught about qualities that can help us be successful; e.g resilience, not being to hard on ourselves and how to combat that. One the first day I was pretty much terrified, but the icebreaker at the beginning and the first talk Kate did really set up the rest of the day to be great.

Well it wasn't really personal given the amount of people that were there. We were all given an email for help if anyone wanted to join the Brightstart Scheme though, and needed any help with applications and stuff. We were also told we could email and get put in contact with any people from specific lines we wanted to ask questions on. I guess I'll count the feedback we got during our presentations as one too-some people getting personal praise and advice.

I think we were taught a lot about the sort of roles in Deloitte. The audit, tax, consulting and technology games gave a fun feel of what it would be like working in those roles. We were taught about the benefits that Deloitte employees receive I think for professional services its a small speck of what can go on. E.g handling very difficult clients, getting in an uncooperative team, having to do overtime etc.

The company seems to care a lot about their clients, and employees' professional development.

I never really cared about business before but the amount of fun I had working in a team and problem solving has really disrupted the tiny speck of an idea I had for a career path. I have a better understanding of my strengths, weaknesses and motivations.

For the particular office we went to (London) they reimbursed a max of £100 for travel which Is plenty of coverage in my opinion. We were a given a form at the end of the week which we have to fill in, scan and email with bank details and costs and have to give travel receipts.

Yes pretty much everyday we got to talk to people in the firm given an email we can contact to ask more questions.

They had a couple Q&A panels with workers from different areas of the company.

Learnt a bit through asking workers that they could join clubs and societies.

It depends on the friend as the theme may be boring to some people. It's great for; -Getting experience working with new people. -Getting better at team working skills. -Learning about professional services; e.g auditing, tax, consulting, risk advisory etc. -Can be a very valuable edition to a CV Not so great for; -People who get tired easily from all of the activities. I found it great and engaging Hard to fault it really since I had such a great time.