Intern Review

The internship gives a thorough internship into the graduate audit scheme at BDO. I enjoyed getting to know the teams, and learning about a large range of clients. Although the job can be slightly repetitive at times, so you have to be prepared to do the same thing over and over again.

BDO is a great firm. Everyone I worked with fully understood the internship, and was really excited for me to join. I was given some work that a full-time employee would be expected to do, and praised for my completion of it. The company supports you throughout your internship with a counselling manager and buddy.

You will receive regular emails from the central Early in Career team, and they are easily contactable throughout the internship. I also had a local support network comprising my counselling manager and buddy. There is a comprehensive guide that you can access throughout the internship, and training modules that you are expected to complete online.

For the majority of the 6 weeks, I was out on client site executing the audit work. I was able to assist the trainees with the simpler tasks. However these sometimes would run out and I simply didn't have the knowledge to complete any more. This is probably a theme in many internships, with little they can do to help.

I submitted my work to the server, and received reviews from managers just like all of the normal employees. This made me feel valued and important, and is something I will be able to draw upon in future job applications. I was given a pass for the office, rather than being a visitor.

Working the 9-5 routine gave me a perspective on working life that I haven't experienced before. It made me see where my degree could take me. I can draw upon the real life scenarios I encountered whilst thinking about my degree, and apply the contexts of the audit clients I worked with.

The atmosphere was fab. There is a hot-desking system, so you'll sit by different people every day. Everyone is really friendly, and keen to hear about how you're finding the internship. They were also interested in my degree and why I am interested in audit. The offices have lovely coffee machines, and other perks going on all the time!

I was given joining instructions prior to my start date, and received a phone call from my recruiter. I was also introduced to my counselling manager via email who was helpful in answering any initial questions and concerns. There is an online calendar that I accessed where I could see what clients I was working on every week.

The first week is with all of the interns across the UK offices. We did all sorts of social events, training and stayed in a lovely hotel. Expenses are easy to collect: there is both a website and an app. BDO also paid for travel and accommodation to the national football tournament.

I am waiting to hear if I have got an offer, but if I am successful I will be able to start the training contract when I graduate. The graduates seemed to say the contract is worth taking, and the perks continue when you are on the programme. So it is very appealing.

Colleagues and interns are social generally and keen to get to know one another. However you will work in small teams on client sites so it is not like you are with the same people day in and day out. I was also quite tired after work every day, and that seemed to be the same for other colleagues, so we didn't socialise that much.

I worked in my regional office so I was able to live at home, and make my lunch every day. The cost of living was therefore reasonable and meant that I could save or spend most of my salary on anything that I wanted. Transport could be expensed when travelling further than the normal office commute.

I worked in a city where nightlife was your usual choice of clubs, restaurants and bars etc. So they are easily accessible. In the cities there are a variety of different activities depending on what your scene is or what you like doing. Your buddy will be able to help with this.

There are some sports teams, but that was all I heard about. I am sure if I had made more enquiries I would have found out more. There are societies for groups like BAME who organise events that you would definitely be welcome to participate in as an intern. You can ask your buddy about these things.