Nominations now open in the National Placement & Internships Awards 2012!

Wew are delighted to announce that nominations are now OPEN for the third National Placement & Internships Awards 2012, sponsored by PwC.

Due to be held on Wednesday 18^th January 2012 at City University in London, the Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of employers, universities and students within the world of undergraduate placements and internships.

There are 15 Awards up for grabs, including 7 Awards for employers, 3 for universities and 5 for students. Awards up for grabs include ‘Best Placement Student, Best Intern & Best Society’ with up to £1000 for the winners!

Entering is really quick and simple just visit the website at www.rmpawards.co.uk

And fill in a nomination form before the deadline of Friday 18^th November.

To find out more, click here.

Good luck!

Name: Duncan University: University of Nottingham Degree: Economics Programme attended: 1NSIGHT Academy Current role/year at University: 2nd year undergraduate. Joining the UK 1NSIGHT Internship in East Midlands this Summer

1) What did you enjoy most about your 1NSIGHT academy week – were your expectations met or exceeded?

The 1NSIGHT academy was a great experience. After applying and getting accepted on the course, I went there with very few expectations of what was lying ahead. It did not disappoint. The best bit would have to be the surprise of how challenging and intensive the week was. We were required to undertake a week long project, and every day we faced new dilemmas and situations that we had to solve and adjust to. All of our activities were assessed by recruiters, and we were given individual scores and feedback, so we all worked to our full potential all week. The project culminated in a 4000 word write up and a 20 minute presentation to several members of the PwC board. High pressure! Our group won the overall challenge, which was the ultimate reward.

One cannot forget the enjoyment of the social side of thing too, meeting plenty of like-minded participants, and the extremely well-prepared and inspiring PwC staff.

2) What skills did you develop on the programme and how have you gone on to use them?

The week concentrated on PwC’s “core competencies” for employment, so these were always in the back of our minds. The week long project encouraged good project management skills, but I mostly developed my communication skills, with most of the week’s emphasis being on discussion, presenting and socialising. These skills are very helpful back at university, and have given me greater ability to manage my work and state my point of view confidently. Hopefully I can take these skills and use them in the summer internship that I have been awarded with PwC as a result of 1NSIGHT academy!

3) What advice would you give to prospective joiners?

Apply! I have advised all my friends in the year below me to apply if they were interested in going into finance post-university. There is so much to benefit from by going to the week, and nothing to lose. It is a fun week of challenging work and socialising with students from across the country, with the added bonus of something to add to your CV and the possibility of gaining an internship at the end of it all like me!

For more information on the opportunities available at PricewaterhouseCoopers, please click here.

Name: Liam University: University of Portsmouth Degree: Economics. Finance & Banking Programme Attended: 1NSIGHT Business Placement Current Role: Associate within Assurance – Corporate Audit. Southampton Office

1) What did you enjoy most about your placement – were your expectations met or exceeded?

I completed the Business Placement programme between my second and third year at Portsmouth University. A particular attraction of the business placements offered by PwC is that they can in effect constitute the first year of a three year training contract, hence I completed the same training as the those students joining the conventional graduate scheme. It also implied that I spent a proportion of my placement at college studying for the first exams of the ACA qualification. Working in Corporate Audit meant I was often out at client sites working as part of a team to complete the year end audit of a number of organisations from an array of industries.

I enjoyed the fact that the job offered such diverse experiences on a day to day basis. I never worked in the same place for longer than 2 weeks, and this therefore enabled me to gain an insight into a number of different organisations. Joining as part of the graduate scheme was also an enjoyable experience, enabling me to meet a number of people of the same age entering the same stage of their professional career. In some respects, the feeling of belonging to a ‘year group’ as you progress through the professional qualification with PwC maintains an element of university environment, albeit with earlier starts and later nights working! Completing the first exams of the ACA qualification was also a worthwhile, if not at times demanding, an experience that will no doubt stand any student in good stead upon returning to University.

2) What skills did you develop on the programme and how have you gone on to use them?

Completing my Business Placement with PwC ensured I improved a number of core skills required for any graduate job. It was imperative that I could communicate well with clients and fellow team members in order to complete audits efficiently and effectively as possible. My time management skills also improved, with each audit constituting a new project with deadlines to meet, it was essential that I managed my time and planned ahead in to meet my personal objectives on the job. Inevitably my business awareness skills have also been enhanced as a result of my 12 months with PwC. Witnessing first hand how our clients deal with business issues and economic pressures was an invaluable experience that I could take back to University.

3) What advice would you give to prospective joiners?

Overall I would sincerely recommend any student looking to complete a placement year to consider PricewaterhouseCoopers. In my opinion there are very few organisations that are held with such high regard in the financial industry and thus would improve any student’s CV. My advice to prospective Business Placement students would be to consider their options as early as possible, and therefore allow themselves to apply for positions early. It is also important to think about the skills/experiences gained already through University studies, and how these can be used to demonstrate on a CV that the candidate has the necessary capabilities. It is essential that students recognise how the advice and support offered by their University’s careers office can play a major role in preparing for a first interview / assessment centre. Completing a Business Placement with PwC can be demanding, especially since there will be periods spent at college with the other graduates studying for the ACA exams. However, there are very few organisations that offer placement students such a great opportunity to make their first step towards an interesting and rewarding career!

For more information on the opportunities available at PricewaterhouseCoopers, please click here.

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

Here at PwC we’re in the middle of ‘busy season’, so everything’s been a bit hectic so far this quarter. I’m writing this from Milton Keynes where I’m staying for two weeks on an audit with another office. Away jobs can be hard because they’re so far away from home, but they can also be a good opportunity to work with different teams, not to mention being a chance to chill out without worrying about cooking and cleaning. After this job I have two weeks in London, which I’m really looking forward to. It’s a new kind of client for me, which will be interesting, plus I’ll get to do some shopping and see a show – we work hard, but need to unwind in the evenings.

We had the Young Accountants Dinner a couple of weeks ago, which was loads of fun. It was a black-tie event held by the ICAEW, which was a great opportunity for everyone to let their hair down in the middle of such a busy period. Everyone looked amazing in their tuxes and gowns. The food was extremely posh, and we all had a laugh at some of the weird courses on offer. Chicken liver anyone? There were also some clients there, as we obviously work closely with the finance departments of local companies, so we got the chance to chat to some of them in a more social environment and they could see that auditors are normal people too!

In the next few weeks I’ll have an appraisal with my manager, and will potentially receive my graduate job offer. If I’ve met the standards required of me, and have had good feedback from my colleagues, I’ll get an offer in March. If I decide that I want to do the next set of exams, I’ll accept the offer straight away, and will proceed with the graduates, then come back as a second year after I graduate. If I decide not to do the exams and to get more work experience, I’ll have another appraisal in August and hopefully then receive an offer before I leave. It’s quite a difficult decision to make because there are advantages to both options, but ultimately the firm are supportive whichever route you decide to take, so there’s no pressure.

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

My last blog was kind of a whirlwind tour of the first 3 months of life as a PwC Business Placement student, so I’ll try and include a bit more detail this time…

I last posted at the beginning of the second set of exams, about a month ago. This study period was really intense, especially as I’d got an exemption from one. That sounds backwards, but you have to work on the days allocated to studying for that exam, so the mix of work and learning was quite tiring, but I’ve got some extra work experience in. When I started, I didn’t think I’d get any exemptions from the exams because I’ve obviously not finished my degree yet, but you can if you’ve done the relevant modules so make sure you apply!

Our exams were on the day of the Christmas party, which was a great incentive to work hard because we could let our hair down and really celebrate afterwards. Nearly all the office came along for a proper Christmas dinner, the highlight of which was the first years’ Christmas song. There’s a tradition in this office for the new starters to sing a song in front of the whole restaurant, and unfortunately for us this year was no exception. We’d re-written the lyrics of Jingle Bells with a PwC theme, which got a good reception, and then we sat back and enjoyed awards for ‘worst tie’ and other random achievements. It was a good way to get to see what the people we work with are like when they’re out of work.

The Christmas period here can be very busy, and as a first year I have to do a lot of stock counts. These are one-day jobs where you go out to a client on your own and audit their stock count, checking that they’ve counted, recorded and followed procedures properly. The first one I did on my own was fairly scary, because there’s a massive difference between spending time with a client knowing your in-charge and being on your own at a site. However, because you have to do it a lot, you pick it up really quickly and get a real sense of achievement from doing it yourself. It’s also a good way to get to know a client ahead of jobs, as you’re often booked to the stock count of companies that you’re auditing later in the year.

Looking ahead to January and February is a little scary, as I’m booked to clients back to back until late April, spending time both locally and away in London. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and learning more on the job, as being at home studying does leave you feeling a little detached. But I’m sure I’ll be taking that back in a few weeks when I’m desperate for a day of textbooks and exam questions! That’s the thing that’s great about this placement; it’s a mixture of work in the office, and work studying for exams, just like uni, so you won’t feel like you’ve had too much of a culture shock!

Find out what our Guest Bloggers are getting up to. Throughout the year we will be following the progress of our Guest Bloggers as they find a placement or keep us updated as to what they are doing on their placement. Click here to read all entries from our bloggers or click here to meet them.

After a pretty hectic induction week, starting with a large welcome event in Manchester, our group embarked on study for the first 3 professional exams. It was intense, but the tutoring and support were second-to-none and everybody passed. We celebrated with a big night out, and pushed the next set at Christmas to the back of our minds!

We then had a couple of weeks of vocational training with new starters from other offices in the area, which was really useful to get an idea of what we’d actually be doing on the job, as nobody really had a clue! It was also a great opportunity to meet new people. ‘Networking’ is a massive deal here.

We then had a month of working, which varied for everybody. As placement students are essentially treated the same as graduates, there’s a massive amount of responsibility straight away. It’s challenging at times, but we’ve found that they weren’t lying about the attitudes of everyone in the office towards the new starters; no question is stupid, and they always have time to help. I’ve learned so much already! There’s been a surprising amount of client contact; I didn’t think I’d really be allowed near finance directors and heads of departments, but job managers have real faith in your abilities, and there’s nothing like being thrown in at the deep end to teach you to think fast.

The welcome we’ve all received has been unbelievable. In the first week at our office, we were taken out for drinks and had a bit of a party in one of the meeting rooms, which was a great way to get to know everybody with a bit less pressure. All offices are different, but I’ve not heard any bad stories from graduates in other ones. I haven’t met any other placement students yet because I’m the only one in the North, but they set up a really useful conference call where we could all ask any questions or voice concerns, and we’ve been given useful contacts in case we need any help. I don’t feel at all isolated though, because the graduates I’ve started with are such an amazing group, and I reckon I’ve made some friends for life.

We’ve just this week started studying for our next set of exams, and it’s going well so far. We also have the Christmas party to look forward to later this month, and then work, work, work in January. As a placement student, my path moves away from the graduates’ after these exams, as they will do even more in March, whilst I will continue to work. Provided my work is of a good enough standard though, I will get the opportunity to do even more exams in the summer to get a head start if I accept a graduate position, so there are lots of options. I’m really excited to get as involved as possible and make the most of an amazing opportunity.