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I found the work placement quite enjoyable. The teams I was placed in were friendly and welcoming, ensuring it was a fun working environment to be in. During my internship, I carried out a variety of different tasks, which meant at times was interesting but other times could be a bit monotonous.

My team actually did a great job in making me feel valued. Even if at times I completed a task that did not appear to be extremely important, they explained where it fitted into the team as a whole and made clear that if I hadn’t been there to complete it, someone more senior would have had to.

We were given a brief introduction to some tasks we may be carrying out and some of the software we would be using at the beginning of the internship, which was helpful. But what I think was even more helpful was the fact that the senior people on the team were patient when explaining tasks and always willing to take time out to answer my questions. I was given clear instructions and where I failed to understand I asked for help and received it.

It did vary quite a lot – initially I had limited things to do and sometimes found myself bored…however in the latter half of the internship, I became a lot busier and at times had several tasks on the go at once. It depends what team you are placed in, but if I found myself with nothing to do, it was quite easy to ask for more work.

As an intern, it is obviously hard to have a huge level of responsibility, but I felt the balance here was good. I was trusted to carry out most tasks by myself, only requesting help when required, but I never felt overwhelmed. All my work was then reviewed, but this occurs at all seniority levels. I was also invited to attend a client meeting.

I improved my Microsoft Excel and presentation skills which will definitely be useful going forward. I gained a good insight into the profession which will be helpful in my future career. If I ended up working here, the training I had on my internship would definitely give me good foundations to grow upon.

The atmosphere in the office was friendly and welcoming, once I introduced myself as an intern, people were very willing to have a chat about what it was like to work there. The teams appear to get on well and it makes for a relaxed working environment. In busier season I get that the impression that although people are having to work harder, there is a strong element of support throughout the team.

To be honest, I think the placement could have been set up better. I thought there would have been a set plan of the work I would be doing, but at times I was simply waiting for something to be available for me. So in that sense it felt a bit disorganised. However I was also given tasks that occupied me for the week, so again it just depends upon the team you are placed in and how busy they are.

The firm seemed to really invest in the interns. We had 1 full week of formal training (out of 6 weeks), which involved introduction to the firm, line of service and IT. There were hundreds of interactive learning exercises that could be completed online in your own time. Also, team members were always willing to pause and explain the work I was carrying out.

The job prospects are definitely appealing – it is a huge global firm which hires hundreds of like-minded graduates in a variety of roles. You also have the opportunity to study for the professional qualification on a three year graduate scheme. It sounds like a difficult graduate scheme, with a very steep learning curve, but with a challenge, hopefully comes great reward.

The social scene amongst the fellow interns was great, which is unsurprising when there are about 50 in the office! Most people were keen to go out after work and at the weekends. Having not lived in London before, it was great to make friends with people more local to the area as we were able to go somewhere different each weekend which kept it exciting. In general the interns were really fun and we met at lunchtime and after work for drinks and socialising.

Working in London, I think it is pretty obvious that it is not going to be cheap. Rent is expensive, drinks are expensive, food is expensive, travel can be expensive… I guess that is something you have to just accept and get used to. Saying that, there are also plenty of free attractions and entertainment around the city. And you can definitely socialise on a budget, you just have to plan ahead !

Again, nightlife opportunities are endless. I am pretty sure that there is something for everyone in London. I often just followed the crowd and went where my friends were going, and we had a few friends that studied in London so I just trusted them to take me to the places they like. There is also a huge price range in the nightclubs, with some bars offering free entry, and some costing a small fortune..whatever floats your boat really.

So many. The firm has a whole range of sports clubs, including hockey, football, netball, yoga, etc. I also saw some signs for auditions for a pantomime! So there seems to be a good number sports and societies. I went out for dinner with one of my teams and bowling with another, so always plenty to get involved in after work.