Analyst Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my placement at Accenture. The company culture is fantastic, the people are like-minded and personable and you are able to drive your work in the direction you want it to go. I would highly recommend working here, not just for an internship but long-term.

Despite being an intern, I have always been treated like any other graduate analyst - both on a personal level and with the responsibilities that have been expected of me. The work I have delivered has always been recognised, appreciated and valued by my colleagues.

My supervisors across both projects have been extremely supportive throughout my entire placement. They have facilitated my growth and self-development in many ways, including through my daily tasks but also with my career trajectory and performance achievement.

This was rarely consistent, varying depending on the level of work available/needed at the given time. I was mostly busy, and my team would always be able to find something for me to do when I had capacity. Although on a few occasions I would be expected to stay slightly later than usual working hours to complete pieces of work under deadlines, this would be balanced out by more relaxed times where I would be allowed to leave early as a result. However, it should be noted that this varies greatly depending on the client you work for or the project you are on.

I was given as much responsibility as any graduate analyst would be given, and was never branded as an 'intern'. This is something that has also been consistent with my intern peers. Most teams want to get the most out of you as a resource, and equally want to facilitate your growth, so treat you accordingly. The level of responsibility was great for me; it was enough but not too much that I felt swamped under with work.

The skills I have developed, particularly my self-confidence and written communications will assist me in my degree studies and future career greatly. Most of what I have learnt has been extremely transferable to other industries, roles and projects.

I was lucky to work in the main Accenture head office, which allowed me to get a real feel of the company's organisational culture. The only downside is that there is a hot desking system, unless your project has hired a specific area, so sometimes you feel quite isolated. There are plenty of amenities to make yourself feel comfortable and valued as an employee though.

After the induction week, interns are left to work independently within their teams. Once you finish a project, this would be the only time HR would have much oversight of your actions as you will need to be staffed on another project. This does not involve specific rotations - you are given your first project, and expected to source your own others with the support of HR. This is a more realistic experience of what will be expected of you trying to find roles when you return to Accenture as a graduate analyst.

This is hugely dependent on the project/team you work for. I felt that my personal training and development was greatly valued and facilitated - for example, my manager encouraged me to complete Mental Health Awareness training so that I could run my own breakfast discussion session during MH Awareness week. This was a great opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone. There are many opportunities for a range of training, include agile/scrum training, as well as the opportunity to take 3 charity days per year to give back to communities. Tracking of personal priorities / performance achievement is also hugely encouraged company-wide.

It is common for Accenture to offer graduate roles to their summer interns / placement students. Future employment prospects here are appealing, with easy to understand career trajectories if you perform well and engage in extra-curricular activities. Those who commit to staying here on a long-term basis are likely to become senior stakeholders.

Although my intern peers were on different projects and client sites to myself, there was a good social scene between us - only because we set up meetings and socials ourselves. We were told that we would have socials every couple of months organised by HR, and I believe we have had 2 in the past 10 months.

London is obviously very expensive so cost of living and socialising is very high, particularly in the City which is where I have been predominantly based.

Nightlife in London is great, but again very expensive aka £17 entry into a club in Shoreditch and £13 doubles!

The account I worked on was particularly large, with 250 employees in the UK alone and another 500 offshore. There have been many opportunities to get involved in activities including monthly work drinks, leadership dinners, inter-account sports and events management. Accenture also have a number of sports teams and activities you can openly get involved in, but these are usually restricted to London based people.