This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.
Rating
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The Role
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The Company
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The Culture
- 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
- 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
- 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
- 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
- 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
- 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
- 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
- 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
- 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
- 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
- 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
- 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
- 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
- 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
- 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
The Role
Fantastic 8 months - interesting and varied work, experience living in multiple UK locations, friendly and fun colleagues, plenty of social events. All round great experience.
Each team that I worked with (3 in total) treated me as a proper analyst (i.e. there was no difference in how they treated me against all the other graduate analysts) I was given lots of responsibility and felt trusted and valued by other team members. Everyone I worked with was friendly and always willing to help out / involve me in any social or wider Accenture community events.
This varied from project to project. During my first role, I didn't really have a 'supervisor' as such, so guidance was fairly limited. I don't think this was a bad thing however - my managers always made sure I felt able to talk to them whenever I needed it and I enjoyed the responsibility of learning on the job. The team was also very aware that I didn't really have a supervisor/buddy and so by the end of my time on the project, the team was re-structured and I was given someone to 'report to'. My second project was very different as I was working closely with one lady almost every day. The guidance and support was therefore much more comprehensive.
Project 1 - varied from day to day. I had specific tasks to complete on a weekly basis but some tasks were more 'ad-hoc' and therefore some days would be busier than others. Project two - much more 'ad-hoc' tasks, as the nature of this project was more fast-paced and short term. This meant that I was busy most of the time. Much longer hours on this project however so difficult to compare to the previous one. In summary - never bored on either project. Especially with being 'out of town', there is not much room for free time during the week! It's taken me a while to recover from the 8 months - definitely a busy (but incredibly worthwhile) period.
I was surprised by how much responsibility I was given from the word go. Especially on my first project - I was sending team deliverable documents directly to the client, with little/no review.
Hugely rewarding. My Excel, PowerPoint and more general communication and organisation skills have improved significantly. I have also had the opportunity to attend 'financial analysis' training sessions which will be particularly useful during my Economics degree.
The Company
First project - huge account, lots of team socials, dinner out almost every day with the other interns, friendly atmosphere, great people. Second project - much smaller team, friendly and supportive team, team dinners each week, plenty of wider Accenture strategy events, real 'community' vibe, friendly clients, slightly cramped working conditions at client site. Third project (only on this one for a couple of weeks) - even smaller team, very friendly, supportive environment, great working conditions in the London office
Well organised - HR was incredibly supportive the whole way through the placement and was always quick to reply to emails etc. The on-boarding process was however a little messy and I ended up receiving my Amex card late (not ideal when I was being placed on an out of town project straight away and therefore needed to pay for hotels/trains etc) Otherwise a very good set up.
Treated as if I was already part of the firm so was able to attend any training / community events alongside my team. Given that I was not working in London for 7 out of the 8 months, I thought that it may be difficult to attend any of these, but Accenture clearly sees a great deal of value in bringing everyone together and ensuring that events are accessible to all.
Flexi Time
Subsidised Canteen
Sports and Social Club
Company Car
Subsidised/Company Gym
National Travel
International Travel
Financial Bonus
Company Parties/Events
Staff Sales/Staff Shop
Above 25 days holiday
Working from home
Healthcare from home
Healthcare/Dental
Travel loan
Have been offered a place on their 'development scheme' - 3 years of funding throughout uni, a summer placement and a graduate job offer. Can't really fault the employment prospects!
The Culture
HR organised a number of social events for all interns, including a Halloween party, a medieval banquet, a bowling party and leaving drinks. Team social events were fantastic too - plenty of meals out, drinks and community events.
As I was out of town for most of the placement, most of my living costs were covered by Accenture. Social events were also mostly internally funded so socialising was actually fairly cheap! Weekends back in London were more expensive however (especially travel) but I was fortunate enough to live with my uncle so wasn't having to spend lots on renting a flat. Overall, I was incredibly lucky - I know a lot of other interns spent a great deal of money on flats in London, even if they then had to spend a few months living mostly out of town.
First project (Newcastle) - fantastic. Super cheap and great colleagues to go out with. Second project (Bristol) - good night life but we didn't really go out in the week. London - great nights out, expensive though (obviously)
I know that Accenture offers a number of sports clubs etc. but unfortunately I wasn't able to get involved in many of these as I was not based in London. Didn't really feel like much of a problem though.
Details
Business Management, Consumer Products/FMCG, Financial Management, Management Consulting, Market Research, Marketing, Government
May 2015