Customs Transformations – Technology Analyst Review

I didn't come with any pre-conceived views of what to expect. However, I thoroughly enjoyed working along side my team and the work I did, it was stimulating and I felt valued. The nature of it being work meant it was not all laughter but that was to be expected.

They treated me like a colleague not an intern and certainly one above what my experience level deserved. They were always open to talk to and asked questions but gave you enough responsibility to gain some tangible skills and sense of accomplishment. I would certainly work with them again, given the chance.

They were so open to giving support and guidance I actually felt guilty about not having more questions to rinse their minds for. They not only gave me direction when needed and helped me resolve problems but told me things truthfully and not in a patronising way. Their is a fine guidance between provided guidance and being oppressive and they achieved this perfectly.

On average, I would say I was busy on a daily basis, and there would be both times where I had to eat lunch at my desk because I had so much to do and days where the only challenge was making myself look busy. I didn't expect to stay very late and nor did I have to. This was manly down to the client, knocking of early and not being wholly devoted to the task so us as contractors couldn't push ourselves much more. Which to be honest would have been interesting to experience otherwise.

Though the frequency of tasks I was given wasn't enormous, the responsibility I had was. I engaged with very high grade clients, provided 2 key deliverables and was in very regular correspondence with a huge range of people which I was not entirely used to. They entrusted in me organisation and a chance to experiment and create products which I really enjoyed. They didn't give me so much that I felt out of my depth or that they were simply parring off their own work onto me.

One huge thing I've learnt from this is organisation and structure. To structure everything you do, your time, how you speak, how you right, how you complete and prioritise your tasks etc. I feel my productivity and work ethic will increase moving forward. Likewise much of the project specific skills will be very useful and allow me to hit the ground running if I have a role similar to this in the future. Furthermore, many of the process skills in excel, ppt and even outlook have been invaluable. I feel so lucky I learnt these in an environment where this has been nurtured. Also people management and working in an office environment is something you can only learn through experience.

Those in the office were fantastic, really enjoyable people to work with and they also knew when to knuckle down to get tasks done. However, not everyone was always on site, many had leave and working among the client meant I felt we couldn't bound quite as well. The nature of the office environment on the client site meant naturally things felt a bit dull on some days, but the people provided light relief to this.

I was lucky as my immediate manager and the manager above him both did internships with this company. Therefore they knew what had worked for them, what had went wrong and could thus apply that to me. The work side was well organised by them, they made a huge effort to find interesting tasks for me to get my teeth into. However, I felt certainly for them they were sort of dumped with an intern and had to make do, which was similar to the feedback I got from other interns. So it was more I was lucky in my situation to have had team who helped me get the most out of my internship by organising it well.

Considering I was only here for 8 weeks I felt a huge amount was invested in me. Certainly with regards to the project I will feel a huge sense of loss for the confidential project specific knowledge that I will no longer be able to utter again. Accenture themselves offer a vast library of learning materials that if I were to come back I would certainly take more advantage of.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Accenture, but as this is a first placement I have nothing to compare this against. I am unaware how much better or worse other experiences will be, whether the team and project were an anomaly and whether the work itself is the right fit for me, which I guess is inevitable given the time I was here. The people I met here have been the most appealing aspect. The amount they invest in you and additional perks have also been beneficial. It would only be the work itself that would maybe move me in another direction. Though as I alluded to earlier I would never judge the work Accenture does solely on this one specific project, in this one specific account, with this one specific team. In sum, I'd love to work for them in the future and see more of what the company has to offer.

With regards to other interns very limited, but that was the nature of us being scattered over the country. Though in the initial training week I thought more could have been organised in the evenings, not just on the last day. Like I've made friends but not strong friends which is what I hoped. At the client site I arrived just as a social scene was kicking off and there was lot to offer there. Virtually meals every night, a fun social once a week. Basically if you were willing to coordinate it then it would happen. My highlight was doing 5-aside football once a week once a week. The only reason I wouldn't give this a higher rating is my option to commute most nights. Though the option was there if I wanted it.

Accenture made living incredibly affordable. I virtually had no outflows during this internship which I am very grateful for. Furthermore they accounted for the cost of travelling through London with an added location bonus.

Being on a client site means the nightlife is subject to that and with only one night club and a handful of nice restaurant the nightlife didn't really exist in a small town. This was a low priority for me as I was often too tired to even consider doing anything in the evening. When I was in London the nightlife of course was incredible.

Yes, I participated in weekly 5-aside football. A large team dinner as well as smaller ones. However, much of the social side was picking up just as I arrived, which I went on to help organise in fact. Therefore I know if I stayed longer more opportunities would have arisen.