Shadow a Female Leader Review

The insight was excellent. A week really isn't a very long time to spend at a firm, but the programme was structured in such a way that I was able to shadow a significant number of teams and specific individuals within the Tax division. It was about as comprehensive as you could expect such a whistle-stop tour of the company to be.

The programme was only a week long so it was difficult for the firm to make me feel "valued". The focus was less on me engaging in drawn out projects, and more on giving me the opportunity to talk to existing employees and understand the nature of their work - content, typical hours, challenges, prospects etc.

Guidance and support were both satisfactory. One individual structured my timetable for the week and was particularly resourceful - the go-to person for any information I needed about where to be/who to talk to. I spent time with at least 5 employees across the week, and the support I received from them was variable - some were more interested in offering help/advice than others.

As I'm not reading a finance-related degree the skills I developed are unlikely to impinge significantly upon my present studies. That said, it is likely that I will pursue a career in financial services post-university (albeit not specifically in Tax), so general information about accounting and the jargon that I picked up may have some relevance.

From a macro perspective the week was very well structured - the member of staff responsible for orchestrating my week created an Excel spreadsheet to highlight where and with whom I would need to be at particular times on each day. At the micro level things were less organised - on one or two of the days some of the employees I was shadowing didn't really have anything specific in mind for me to work on, so it would be a case of me watching what they were doing or completing data entry work to fill in the time.

The atmosphere was a real highlight of the week. The members of staff with whom I interacted were largely super-friendly and inclusive. I would say that the office I was based at helped with this - it facilitated interaction and there were a few events like charity bake sales which fostered a positive working spirit.

Again, as the insight was just a week long, it was difficult and unexpected for the firm to invest in me significantly. They did, however, supply me with everything that I needed for the week's work - this included a laptop with carry case that I took home from the office each evening and returned at the end of the placement.

The fragmentary nature of the insight was good and bad from this perspective. Speaking to so many different people meant that I got a feel for a range of roles within the firm. On the flip side, it meant that I often didn't get into the minutiae of what was involved in these different capacities - I wasn't working on one specific project.

Employees were keen to give an honest appraisal of life at the firm, and the idea of a company-wide vision is obviously one that is pushed a great deal - during the week I spent there, the head of PwC's UK Tax division came to the Manchester office to discuss strategy from a firm-wide perspective. My experience of the office at which I was based is that the culture is one of both warmth and industry.

I had already decided that financial services was the career path for me, but that Tax/Accounting was unlikely to be my sector of choice upon graduation.

PwC paid the living wage for this programme. Travel costs to my main office were not reimbursed, and so I bought a 7 day pass for this purpose. When I left the main office to shadow at other locations as specified in my itinerary, the firm covered the costs.

Yes - this was pretty much the central focus of the week. The coordinator wanted me to get to know as many different functions/people within the Tax department as possible - this encompassed the full spectrum of employees from new joiners to partners in the firm. Shadowing multiple employees rather than just one made the experience feel bitty at times, but the pros outweighed the cons - I learned a lot.

The networking opportunities were excellent, and it seems that PwC makes a conscious effort to get involved with current affairs/the community - my placement, for example, coincided with the Labour Party Conference (based, like my main office, in Manchester), so one MP came over to talk about the future of the UK tax system ahead of the forthcoming election. This was a chance to hear the views of and engage in discussion with professionals from across the firm and politicians from outside.

Not really, although there was some mention of venturing to the gym at lunchtime or going out for a meal with colleagues during the Friday lunch hour.

Yes - in terms of the sheer number of professionals I was able to talk to about what it is like to work in professional services, the experience was invaluable. While a week is not really long enough to work productively on a "real" project - especially without having taken any professional exams - I did learn a great deal about the tax sector, and the programme was remunerated fairly.