This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Very enjoyable. To start of the internship, PwC flew everybody to London and had us stay in a country hotel in Windsor (just outside London) where we did a variety of things such as networking, listening to key speakers as well as some Line of Service training. We then returned to our regional offices and rotated around all the desks in our LoS to experience as much of the firm in the 6 weeks that we were there.
All levels of colleagues, from Associates to Partners take time out of their day to answer your questions or even have a chat and see how you are getting on. Something which I feel is really unique to PwC, and makes them stand out.
Throughout our time at PwC, we were told 'no question is stupid' and that really is the case. You can ask your managers/supervisors anything and for help whenever (not matter how frequent) you need. There was also weekly 'catch ups' with our career coaches and buddies to make sure we were getting the experience we wanted out of the internship.
From the first day in the office we were given client work to do, which was pleasantly surprising! Actually doing work that will be sent to the client made you feel like you were truly contributing to the company and helping your team. There were some quiet periods throughout the internship, in terms of work, but that is simply down to the time of year (Summer in Tax).
As previously said, the fact that we were given client work to carry out from day one made you feel responsible. This responsibility only grew throughout the six week internship working on larger projects and even attending client meetings.
My internship was in Tax and my degree is finance so not necessarily correlated, however the skills I developed and training I received will help me in my return to the workplace post graduation. Hopefully with PwC.
The Company
The office had a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, much better than your general office environment.
Very well organised. Firstly, the three days at the hotel in Windsor were very well organised with numerous events happening both throughout the day and night. Office based work was too well set up, with a clear plan of what desks we were sitting at each week and who are buddy and career coach was. We also had opportunities to meet the Leadership Team of our LoS as well as those responsible for the exams and the graduates training.
The firm invests a lot into you, between flying you to London for the networking/team building residential week and the compliance training you do in the regional office. You are treated as a full time employee of PwC.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
Future employment prospects are very appealing. The 5 year Graduate Scheme, that plans to make you a manager by the time you finish it is a real motivator.
The Culture
PwC runs social events the first Friday of every month in their Belfast Office which are well attended. Outside of that, they run numerous fundraisers/charity events and LoS Development days, all of which are very sociable.
Belfast, although a capital city, is quite cheap compared to others in England & Scotland.
Excellent.
As previously stated, PwC run numerous events outside of their usual working days, and invites are constantly being sent to you to encourage you to attend.
Details
Internship (1 Month+)
Northern Ireland
September 2018