Summer Intern Review

The internship really convinced me that this is a place I want to work - there was an excellent mix of challenging work, responsibility, support from other staff, interaction with other interns and social and sport activities.

The auditors I was working with made a point to give me enough responsibility but at the same time made sure I felt supported and knew what I was doing. I felt that a lot of attention was given to my development and enjoyment of the internship even though I was only there for 5 weeks and this meant a lot to me.

At the beginning of the internship I was assigned a 'buddy' and a 'people manager' who I met with regularly and both of these people were very supportive during my internship. As well as this, the people I was working with in audit teams were very friendly and were always happen to help with any issues I was having so I felt I always had people to talk to.

For the majority of the time I had enough to do, but on the few days I had spare time, I was able to get on with project work that we had been assigned. As well as this, it was very easy to ask people around the office if there was extra work that needed to be done so this way I was able to get involved with a lot more jobs.

I was really happy with the level of responsibility I was given, it was a lot more than I was expecting but wasn't more than I could handle. After the job had been explained to me, I was allowed to get on with it by myself and knew that I could ask if I had any questions or got stuck at all.

The internship improved my group-working skills a lot as most of the work I did was in groups. It also improved my formal and technical communication skills, and these will help me in my final year. It also helped me develop my time management skills and I learnt how to prioritise work.

Everyone in the office was really friendly and approachable so I always knew there was someone I could speak to and rarely felt like I had to get on with the work on my own.

The training we were given before the internship was very useful and gave us the knowledge we needed to get on with the work - it also removed any pressure to know how to do certain tasks, so that we could focus on learning about the jobs we were doing and showing our interest. As well as this, our induction in latimer was an excellent way to get to know the other interns and this really had a huge impact on the work we did in the office - I felt more confident once I reached the office as I knew I was in the same position as the other interns and this was effectively a support system. I had a really good variety of clients and had a mixture of 'in-office' and 'at client site' work, so I felt I got to experience a range of jobs.

We were given training at the start which covered basic bookkeeping and auditing so that we would know what we were being asked to do - this was very helpful for the non-accounting students, but as an accounting student I felt relieved that we weren't being expected to remember this and in the office, there was a great emphasis on learning and training. My team members encouraged me to ask questions if I was unsure and I never felt that I was being irritating or that I was making a bad impression. I thought this was so helpful and helped me get the most out of my experience.

Everyone in the office was really great to work with and as long as you show that you're interested in learning about the work and always show your enthusiasm, they'll recognise that. Our job offer was dependent on our feedback, but all of the interns in Scotland who did their internship at the same time as me was offered a job.

The interns all got on really well with each other - we met up frequently for dinner or nights out. There were also a few office socials during our time there which were really good.

Edinburgh can be a more expensive city than others but I was able to afford accommodation and socialising with the salary I was paid.

There was always plenty to do, and to suit different interests. Edinburgh is a really good city for cultural events, especially during the second internship as the Fringe festival is on.

There were plenty of socials to get involved with, which were a great way to meet people in the office. As well as this, the office organises different sports and these are also really easy to get involved with. While I was there I played touch rugby and hockey with the office and really enjoyed this, it's nice to know that once I start working I'll be able to fit regular sport in to my week.