Consulting Assistant Review

This internship involved a lot of training based tasks rather than direct client work or live project work. Training tasks closely simulated live project work, and were often drawn from previous client work. These involved a mix of Excel workbook building and analysis, report-writing, information analysis, accounting preparation, as well as more general tasks that needed doing. We also had the opportunity to speak to many colleagues across levels and departments throughout the internship to learn about their roles across the business.

Given that the internship was two 3-week stints in different departments, we didn't have enough time to get that much exposure to live projects or client work, which would have been exciting to get involved in. The training materials simulated this, but because they were just training jobs using past client data, there wasn't much external responsibility placed on our role and it didn't feel like we had a chance to contribute to our departments very much. That being said, this also had its positives as we could really focus on taking our time with the materials to make sure we understood it properly in a low-stakes environment.

I've greatly developed my skills in certain software programmes, most notably Excel, Xero (in which I am now certified), CCH AP. We also gained exposure to Alteryx and other data analytics software, as well as understanding how modelling and valuation works. I developed my skills a lot in professional communication, presentation skills, relationship building and networking, as well as developing my general resilience and problem solving skills, with lots of new skills being tested and information being absorbed.

We were given support in the form of a buddy and a line manager in each respective department. Everyone that I had were very approachable, helpful, and supportive. They were keen to give us things to do and learn, and were very open to giving us help when we needed it. Equally, they facilitated introductions with the rest of the teams, ensuring that we felt welcomed and well supported by the team as a whole. I felt I could ask anyone for help, or even just a chat to learn more about what they did at the company (partners included).

The company was very friendly, and it generally felt like a very relaxed place to work. There were no instances of unkindness, and it didn't feel like a competitive atmosphere. Lots of people I spoke to had been at RSM for a long time (some had even started as interns/school leavers and progressed to associates, managers, partners, etc.) and everyone sang RSM's praises in terms of culture when compared to other similar firms or Big 4 firms. As interns, we were expected to come in every day but usually the office was empty on Mondays and Fridays which was slightly frustrating. All the teams were keen to get interns involved in team lunches, pub trips, socials, etc.

I really enjoyed my internship. We applied for a general Consulting internship and were placed into a department without being able to state our preferences, and were not assessed by members of the various consulting teams, so the role was different to what I initially wanted/expected. After I adjusted my expectations and treated it as a great place to train new skills and learn as much as I can, rather than getting involved in real, impactful work, I definitely enjoyed my time there. I would have preferred a balance of training skills and live work, and it would have been good to state a preference in terms of service line, but once I was settled in I enjoyed my time and learnt a lot that I can take forward into my future career.

Yes