Analyst Review

Enjoyed my placement in varying amounts. Due to the nature of Consulting, I was placed on 3 different projects during my year. Each project was very different, but overall I did enjoy my work. It would've been more enjoyable had I been given more work/responsibility to keep me consistently busy.

Almost all the time, I felt valued by my colleagues. However, there were one or two occasions where I was made to feel like an outsider. One on project, I was referred to as 'only a placement student' which made me feel pretty undervalued and disheartened. However, this was a one off.

The support/guidance from management was definitely one of the best parts of my placement. Whenever you asked, people were more than willing to help you out and give you advice etc. The only advice I would give is to ask in the first instance, as if you are not proactive your learning will be reduced.

I felt most of the time I didn't have enough to do and was left pretty bored. However, that being said, there were periods on different projects were I had loads to get my teeth into, but this was not consistent. I definitely found busy periods were where I most enjoyed the job.

I feel most of the time, the level of responsibility in relation to my grade was pretty good. However, again due to the nature of project-based consulting, this varied from project-to-project. In general, I would say the level of responsibility was good if not very slightly lacking, but this is obviously due to my grade.

I definitely felt like my placement led to a plethora of invaluable skill development, not only in the context of academics/University, but also for life in general. For example, I was able to develop soft skills like networking, but also some really tangible skills such as VBA coding and advanced spreadsheet management.

I would say the environment is pretty much what you would expect from an office-based job like that. It was quite quiet, but also it was okay to have a chat and things like that. I have heard the Deloitte Digital office is really good fun though, robots and games everywhere!

The placement was extremely well thought out and designed. In particular, the Analyst Induction Programme (AIP) at the start of the placement was a real highlight. This was a 4-week induction with loads of different skill sessions and socials. Also the support network was second to none - there was always someone to reach out to.

As was seen with the AIP, the investment in training and development was of the highest quality. I felt that at all times my learning and development was prioritised, with loads of opportunities to book on to free training courses on top of the initial training programme work we did at the start of the placement.

I managed to get a job as an Analyst on the Graduate Programme. As a placement student, you get a final-round interview automatically at the end of your year (this is the final stage of the recruitment process). I was also able to defer my entry by a year to allow me to take some time to travel.

Really good social scene among placement students/analysts/etc. There were monthly socials called 'First Friday' as well as regular team socials and events. This was especially prevalent during the induction, with multiple after-training socials each week, all expenses paid! Socials included going to 'Bounce' ping pong bar for drinks and food - really fun!

As the main office was in London, it was pretty expensive to go out as you would expect. However, given that there were quite a lot of events with subsidised drinks, this wasn't too much of an issue.

Although it was expensive, being in London meant there really was endless opportunities for going out/socialising/etc.

Loads of opportunities to get involved in sports events, clubs etc.