Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. I was thrown in at the deep end some what, working on a fairly complex audit for the entire period, but my team were extremely helpful and welcoming. At times it was stressful, but the overall experience was excellent, and the skills that i have learned will help me immeasurably in the future.

Unbelievably so. My team treated me like a first year associate, and were there to help me all the way. At no point was i made to feel like a burden. On the contrary, the entire team made every effort to coach me where needed, whilst also allowing me to make my own mistakes and learn from them. In the short time, we built a great rapport, and i would have happily continued working with them.

Managers/buddies during the placement were excellent, always happy to answer any questions, no matter how small. Regular meetings with my career coach helped me pave my my way through the internship with clear goals in mind. Tutors during the first week were extremely friendly, but i felt that the syllabus needed adjusting to be more practical, as the tutorials were mainly sitting through powerpoint presentations, which whilst can be very insightful, i felt that more could have been done to prepare us for using the audit software.

Very much so. My working hours were 8:00 - 6:30/7:00 most days. The whole time i was away on a client site, an hour drive away, so the days felt quite long, especially as we only tended to have a 30 min lunch. There was always something to do at work, and when ever i finished my own work, there was always scope to assist other team members.

The same amount as expected by a first year associate. As per my feedback, i took quite quickly to audit work, and so potentially had more responsibility than other interns. I regularly had to speak with the client, which was extremely nerve wracking at first, but really built my confidence.

Immeasurably so. Technical skills are important, but what becomes apparent very quickly is that you must have good interpersonal skills as well. You are constantly working in a team and interacting with clients, and this experience built my confidence in doing so. It is amazing how quickly you learn technical skills, and there are many excel shortcuts/functions that i will never forget!

Friendly and relaxed, but not to the detriment of hard work. Often, you would break from work for a few moments to have a chat about the weekend etc, and everybody was really friendly. It may sound insignificant, but the fact that senior managers will always ask if you want a coffee really makes you feel welcome.

As well as could be expected. There were teething problems with accounts, job assignments etc, but this is unsurprising seeing as we slotted in with the rest of the firm. It would have been nice to have had a bit more information on what work we would actually be undertaking before the first day, but overall i felt that everything was pretty smooth.

You really feel like part of the team and a member of staff. You have access to the companies generous overtime and expenses schemes, as well as an all expenses paid introductory week at a country estate. I felt that the members of staff and the organisers genuinely wanted to make the eperience as worthwhile as possible.

I have a job offer. That's all that's needed really!

Many of us were working away from the office at various different client sites, so i personally didn't engage in any social activities outside of work. That isn't to say that others didn't as well, but it is tricky when people all live in different parts of the midlands.

I rented an air bnb for the duration of the internship. Naturally, this was not cheap, and indeed most of my wage went on my accommodation. I didn't particularly notice any drastic differences in costs when compared to other cities. If anything, i would say that Birmingham is marginally more expensive than other parts of the midlands.

I didnt partake in any evening activities, but this was out of personal choice and not necessity. Therefore i can't really comment.

We were only there for a short period of time, but there were a few opportunities to partake in fundraisers, sports events etc.