Business Transformation Intern Review

My internship at PA was a mix of structured internal project work, whilst having the freedom to get myself onto some really interesting external client projects. Most mornings I’d spend time with the other interns doing our internal project. This involved doing research, stakeholder interviews and developing recommendations. For the rest of my time, we spent networking with PA staff across the business, picking up tips and getting involved with client projects.
I took part in regular training sessions and worked on tasks like producing analysis, preparing materials and attending client workshops. There were chances to support community initiatives and get stuck into volunteering days as well.
The culture was supportive with good balance between structure with the internal project but also the freedom to shape my own experience and get practical, hands-on experience to the many exciting industries PA works across.

I was trusted with a good balance of responsibility at PA. The internal project work allowed me to contribute and collaborate more directly to research and recommendations. Whilst at the same time, I had the freedom to not just shadow but add genuine value client projects, where I got involved in tasks like analysis, formatting deliverables and supporting workshops. Overall, it was a good mix of guidance and responsibility, which made the internship very rewarding.

Stakeholder engagement: I organised and documented interviews and workshops to clarify priorities and ensure there was a general consistency of perspectives across internal and client teams.
Structured problem solving: I applied top-down thinking to analyse challenges and relay complex information in an easy to understand way.
Technical: I built Excel frameworks for risk tracking, using functions like VLOOKUP and conditional formatting for a well-structured and client ready resource.
Communication: Able to communicate complex information to different audiences, formatted slides for clarity and acted as a presenter for a client roleplay scenario.
Adaptability: I navigated ambiguity and moved between different projects, quickly onboarding to new topics.
Networking: I built genuine relationships across the business which I was able to maintain and use throughout the internship.
Teamwork: Enjoyed collaborating with fellow interns and colleagues - where I was able to distribute work according to strengths for the best outcome

The line manager, buddy and assignment manager support systems were incredible - no matter the scenario I had someone to turn to and get help from.

The flat structure of PA is genuinely amazing. From the start, all interactions across the firm were really welcoming, from analysts to partners.

I really enjoyed the internship, made friends for life and learnt so much across the business. Both our internal and client projects were great experiences to gain insights into how the company works so efficiently.

Yes