Women in Business programme Review

I greatly enjoyed the insight. I was shadowing members of the Strategy team and was able to be present in kick off meetings and client meetings. I obtained a great insight into the range of projects which the team work on throughout the year, from IT to Oil and Gas.

I have to say that I felt very well valued during my time at PwC. Unlike other insight weeks, this one was brilliant because we were not kept in big groups. I was shadowing with one other person, which meant that there were a lot more opportunities to ask questions to the partner we were with.

Over the days that I was with PwC, I was able to ask any question I wanted to any member of staff. It was ensured at the beginning of the week that I was introduced to everyone in the team so I could really ask as many questions as I needed to anyone.

I am from a scientific background, therefore I am not as exposed to Business and Economics as others who do degrees in these fields. This meant that my business knowledge developed a lot over the few days. The work at PwC is fast paced so you pick up a lot of information very quickly.

I think there was not much of a structure to the insight week however this was a positive aspect and not a negative. I enjoyed the flexibility of going to lots of different meetings - on one of the days we ended up going to three different PwC buildings across London as the partner I was shadowing had many different clients!

There was a really great atmosphere. Everyone was so nice, friendly and truly happy to help. Instead of being seen as an intern, I was treated the same as everyone else which for me is an important factor when deciding companies to work for. Current interns also felt the same way after speaking to them.

There was not any training during the insight week as it was mostly shadowing. However, when PwC take you on as a graduate, you will receive heavy training before starting your job. They will invest a lot in you to get you up to scratch with all the skills you need.

I had the opportunity to talk to a vast array of staff, graduates and interns. This really helped me understand what it would be like to have a full time role at PwC. I learnt that whilst the working hours can sometimes be long, it is doable and definitely a rewarding career.

The best insight into the culture of the firm is through visiting their offices and talking to their staff. I went to visit three different offices and I obtained a good insight into the PwC culture. Listening to staff first hand is significantly more helpful than reading the culture page online!

From the insight day, I have decided on the career path I would like to go down, and the sectors I will be applying to for internships and graduate schemes. The work PwC was doing was very interesting and varied- the type of project work I see myself enjoying in the future.

Yes, I was paid during this time period, which allowed me to pay for the train to and from work each day. My travel expenses to the different offices were also covered, which was helpful being a student! This included a boat trip down the Thames from More London to another office!

Yes, there were many opportunities to network and meet other employees. I met several different people and teams after attending many different meetings with my Partner. She ensured that I was introduced in each of the meetings. I could ask questions any time I wanted because the environment at PwC was very welcoming.

There were not any networking and social events as such (ie there was not a drinks event in the evening for example), therefore I am unable to comment on how these were. Despite this, I still had many opportunities to network, outside of a set networking event, so that was fine!

I was on a Women in Business insight, so I learnt about how my Partner and other female employees balanced their working and family life. This was very interesting to learn about as there is sometimes a stigma around females in busy finance jobs and how they manage to balance family life.

I would definitely recommend this to a friend. You learn so much information over the insight week that would be difficult to learn anywhere else. You meet other like-minded people on the scheme and also the very interesting people who work at PwC. It is definitely a great opportunity to learn about the company too.