This is the first of a series of blogs that I am writing to give prospective joiners an idea of what life is like during the first few years of the Deloitte graduate scheme. A new blog will be posted every month, each with a different theme and perspective, and you can keep up to date with my new postings by following the graduate careers team on Twitter: @DeloitteUKgrads and Facebook: www.facebook.com/yourfutureatdeloitteuk
This first blog aims to give you a taste of what a month at work is like for me by taking you through my experiences in the past four weeks.
First taste of managing
I have just been given the results of my last professional stage exams. I'm relieved to have them out of the way, but its straight back to work! November started with a few days returning to a big retail client.
It was my first experience of mentoring a new joiner, a fresh responsibility for second years that involves answering lots of questions and making sure that they leave on time for the evening's exam prep.
There have also been plenty of other opportunities to meet some of the new joiners in our buddy group meetings and department socials. The buddy groups combine four people from each year group together and the group leader organises regular socials in the bar below the office.
Working hard
Another new experience that week was working directly with a partner to finish an audit from October of a small subsidiary company. As it isn't normally the task of a second year to finish an audit file, this was a steep learning curve!
The next three weeks were split between audits at a law firm, a restaurant group and a marketing company in the heart of the city. At the marketing company I enjoyed developing a good working relationship with the FC by discussing what the key challenges and opportunities are for them and their strategy going forward.
It's not all about work
It's been far from all work and no play in November. The bi-annual pub quiz took place, and in a team of my intake we showed that we still had a lot to learn on our general knowledge beyond sports and geography. A few beers definitely helped to console our poor performance!
A few days later, having a meal at a Peruvian restaurant was an excellent way to celebrate the end of a demanding summer job, and a good chance to relax with colleagues outside of the audit room.
Deloitte has a wealth of social club and sport opportunities to get stuck into and meet people beyond the department. November saw the final mixed hockey match of the year at Battersea Park in fog so thick you couldn't see the other side of the pitch.
Playing hockey with other departments and against other companies has been a great way to meet new people over some pizza and beers in the local pub afterwards. The hockey team is now looking forward to defending the annual Corporate Games trophy in June.
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