DEY- Women in Business programme Review

The insight was a very enjoyable experience- both days were structured very well in terms of splitting up the content and having multiple breaks, allowing me to feel as though I could concentrate well and learn as much as I could from each section. Not only were the activities during the day enjoyable but there was also a bowling social organised for us on the evening of the first day, allowing us to get to know each other better in a relaxed environment.

Everybody that I spoke to was very welcoming and made me feel as though they really valued our input and wanted us to apply to EY as much as we wanted to ourselves. Staff were willing to spend their break times answering questions that we had been unable to ask during the sessions and give us even more of an insight.

I felt as though I was guided extremely well during the programme, I always knew the structure of the day and what was coming next. In terms of the tasks set, we were very much encouraged to work in our groups without guidance but our table host was there to help if we reached a point where we needed it.

The skills that I learnt will definitely help in both my degree and beyond. I presented in front of the whole group which is not an experience I often have, allowing me to gain more of an insight into what that feels like and how I can better prepare in the future.

The insight was very well structured. We were provided with a plan of both days before the programme and were directed during the days as well. Multiple breaks throughout the days were very beneficial, ensuring that we didn’t lose concentration and were able to make the most of each session.

Everyone was very keen to be there and wanted to learn. We had many different activities, including talks and group tasks. This made the programme a lot more fun and ensured that it wasn’t just being talked at. We also had an organised social just for the participants which helped us all to relax.

We were given a number of opportunities to develop our skills, including a mock assessment centre group task and the opportunity to prepare and present a solution to a company’s problem. This allowed us to apply what we had learnt about the service lines at EY and develop our personal skills as well.

Talks from people in different areas of the company such as tax and assurance gave us a good insight into their working lives. Although gaining a full insight into a job role is only really achieved by taking the role on, I think that the amount of different perspectives we were given was very helpful.

The company culture was promoted throughout the programme. Almost every person I spoke to mentioned about the people culture at EY, how much teamwork is involved and about how well the employees are treated. Hearing this from so many people really made what I have read about the company become believable.

Although I am not fully decided on my future career path this programme was a great way to gain a better insight into the options that I have and how my skills could be best applied in different roles. As it is often difficult to find out the full entailments of a particular job online this was very useful.

I was put up in the Hilton for two nights, including breakfast for two days. My train was also paid for both ways, as I had to travel for longer than 90 minutes. We were also given breakfast and lunch on both days and dinner at the social on the first evening.

We had a speed networking event on the first day of the programme, given the opportunity to speak to a large amount of employees from different areas. The table hosts were very willing to answer any questions during the day, as were the hosts of the event which made it very easy to learn a lot.

Networking was incorporated into the programme, both with the employees and between the applicants. We had a social event on the first evening just for the participants, involving bowling and food which was a nice way to relax after a long day. This filled both days of the programme well.

I learnt about the women’s network and was told by some employees at the networking event about the different socials that departments have. Other than this there was not a particular focus on networks, sports and activities available outside of work but staff were very willing to answer questions about this.

I would definitely recommend this insight. It was extremely valuable in terms of learning about EY and the possible career paths that I could take with them. I was able to develop a lot during the event and it was very easy to have any questions answered which was invaluable.