Black Heritage Talent Week Review

The KPMG Black Heritage Talent Week (BHTW) was a very enjoyable experience for multiple reasons. A "cliche" you will hear a lot in the financial services industry is that culture is "all about the people" and rest assured this week was enjoyable first and foremost because of the people: 1) The Student Recruitment Officer (London and East) who launched this new programme is simply a star for doing so as well as being very personable 2) All KPMG employees who spared their time to talk to use were inspiring 3) Fellow candidates are great

KPMG went all out to impress us during the inaugural BHTW and this made us candidates from African-Caribbean backgrounds feel welcome. We were exposed to KMPG partners and all following levels of employees across all the major divisions of the firm. Not only this but the whole week was tailored to aid our discovery of where we might fit best within the firm and how their is a path for us to get there. The most vauable aspect for me was to see the diversity within KPMG first hand. Also, the hospitality we received was nothing short of quality.

During the week there is full support/guidance because the week is structured hour-by-hour. There were two Student Recruitment Officers (1 London & East & 1 who came in from Bristol) on hand at all times should any support be required. In addition, the sessions where we engaged in a Business Challenge and an Application Bootcamp were done with guidance as well as instant feedback.

This week prepares you mainly for work life at KPMG or generally within the professional services industry in terms of equipping you with networking skills, commercial awareness and application prep for the KPMG Graduate Programmes. However, there are also soft skills gained that are beneficial such as confidence, public speaking skills and interview techniques that are applicable in all walks of life.

To say this I was on the first ever BHTW of its kind at KPMG it was so well structured in terms of scheduling and resources. Every day was timetabled - with a mixture of talks, Intro to Business Area sessions, shadowing, Q&A, etc - and for the most part ran like clockwork.

The atmosphere of the KPMG Canary Wharf office itself is warm: you walk in there feeling good because this office is their flagship so it is very ergonomic in its feel, look and practicality. Following on from this, the staff all made an effort to welcome us and were just as eager to get to know us as we were them which was refreshing.

The investment is clear to see in the calibre of staff who came to give us an insight into the firm: we met employees from the bottom of the hierarchy such as grads all the way up to named partners. Furthermore, HR themselves deliver a session where we did mock interviews which is really invaluable.

This week gives you an insight into the culture, people and types of work at KPMG, but not necessarily a direct experience of what a day in the life would involve because the nature of a lot of professional services work is often client driven off-site. We had day of rotational shadowing but not an intern-esque experience because this isn't an internship.

A key takeaway from this insight was getting a feel for KPMG as a firm, their brand, values and what their identity is. They call it the KPMG Difference and it is what they say sets them apart from the rest of the big four. They also have something called "Our Deal" which forms a relationship between employees and the firm in terms of reward for effort.

This insight gave me reassurance and raised confirmed my aspirations to become a Chartered Accountant.

You are promptly given a Reimbursement Form to claim your travel expenses once the programme finishes. The link to the expenses form is emailed to you. They inform you that they will reimburse you by bank transfer however to please note this can take between 8-10 weeks from the date your expenses are submitted.

Yes, meeting employees is a daily thing. A great aspect is you meet alumni from your unis by chance almost.

There was a dedicated Networking Evening held on the top floor during the programme, where staff you've met during the week make an effort to turn up. The evening is great - with food & drink - and the only downside is that is was a tad short to interact with as many people as i'd have liked.

We found out about the Black Entrepreneurs Awards and their corporate social responsibility initiatives.

100%