EY- Women in Tax Review

The Discover EY Women in Tax 2020 insight day was originally supposed to be held in the London office, however, due to the current circumstances, EY chose to hold it online as its first virtual Discover EY Insight Day. Whilst initially I was apprehensive as to how this would work, I actually found the day extremely informative and enjoyable given the virtual format.

It was frequently emphasised by several of the employees that EY truly values their interns on the summer internships. This is very encouraging when applying for the summer placement as it can often feel daunting and unlikely that you would play a significant role in the office. However, several speakers reassured us that interns prove to play a vital role in the summer season when other employees may be out of the office.

This Insight Day offered guidance and support at every stage of the process, from initial clarity as to how the day would be structured, guidance on internship applications and how to make the most of the summer internship and also on developing broader skills, such as confidence in the workplace.

The information from all the speakers on this event has been particularly helpful for outlining the nature of work in Tax not just at EY, but more generally. Furthermore, the sessions on confidence and personal branding was also useful for considering future applications and performance on the summer internship to secure a graduate placement offer.

Given that the event was moved online due to unforeseen circumstances and this was the first time EY had held such an event in a virtual setting, I felt that it was very well structure in this format. The structure of the planned sessions was clearly outlined at the start, including several breaks and opportunities to ask questions throughout the day.

Despite the event being held on Microsoft Teams, I found the atmosphere of the event very supportive thanks to the guidance and support offered by the organisers and speakers. As expected, communication was slightly less seamless than it would be under the usual face-to-face event but, overall, I found interaction to be easy and effective in this online format.

I was surprised by the level of commitment the organisational team had put into this event. Not only had the day been clearly well-planned and researched to provide the best and most informative experience for participants but there was a sense that participation in the event meant inclusion into the broader EY community, through access to internships and grad placements.

The insight day offered the opportunity to engage with several leading women at all levels within the Tax division. It was particularly helpful to hear about each sub-sector within Tax and the day-to-day tasks required for each role. This will prove useful when deciding on which sub-division to apply to for the internship.

As above, the engagement will many employees across the division made it very clear to understand the company culture at EY. The sessions were clearly well-planned and informative but were conducted in an informal manner so it was easy to ask questions and fully engage, which I think reflects the company attitudes towards work,

The event made it extremely clear the next steps available to me to further my career journey with EY. This included detailed information about the Tax division itself and the varied sub-divisions within the sector which will help my decision for where I would like to attend a summer internship.

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Several of the employees who were speaking at the event expressed their openness for interaction on LinkdIn and/or left their email address. I felt that the speakers were very willing to help and offer further guidance beyond this event, despite the fact that this event had to be held online so more traditional networking opportunities couldn't occur.

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Several speakers in this event alludes to several opportunities to travel within work and opportunities for socialising with teams outside of the work environment In particular, the event included a session on the Women's Network at EY which was particularly engaging, given that this was a Women in Tax event.

I would definitely recommend the Discover EY Women in Tax Insight Day to a friend, not only for learning more broadly about Tax services as a division to work in but for EY as a company generally, and specifically their Tax division. Furthermore, the emphasis on women's representation in this event, as well as sessions on confidence and personal branding, were especially useful.