Intern Experience at Corporate Finance: Deloitte Internship

Introduction

Growing up I often heard the names of the world’s largest companies in adult conversations. Whether that would be because a friend’s parent worked there, or because that company was sponsoring a certain event, one way or another I would come to know about many of these global firms. When the company sponsored a baseball league that I volunteered for in high school, that’s where I first heard of Deloitte and their intern experience. They had banners around the fields. I knew that they were part of the Big 4, although I had little understanding of their industry, and that was enough to spark my interest in the company.

Intern Experience: From Application to Selection

In June 2019, through Glassdoor, an online recruitment site, I applied for an internship at Deloitte. I provided my resume, cover letter, transcript and personal information as part of the application. Only two weeks later I received an email from Deloitte calling me to an interview with a partner and I accepted. This went very smoothly, with the interview comprised mostly of questions about my background why I chose this position and why Deloitte. I went through three rounds of interviews, all of which were behavioral

I was told the day after my first interview that if I was still interested, I would be able to join two final-round virtual interviews the following week. The first virtual interview was a video call with a partner who asked questions about me and my goals and why I had applied to Deloitte. And just 15 minutes after the interview, I was speaking to a manager about the same questions.

I was planning to have to wait at least a few days before contacting the recruiters back, but that same day I received a call telling me that an invitation to join Deloitte would be extended. Clearly, I was overjoyed with this news and contacted my parents immediately to let them know that I had secured the Deloitte internship. I can't believe how well everything turned out. As any other intern student suggests, it is important to apply for a wide range and numerous jobs in order to improve your chances of becoming an intern. What I learned through my job search is that emphasising transferable skills such as leadership, collaboration, research, technical and interpersonal skills is extremely important. Highlighting these transferable skills is always very necessary as well as being ready to tell interviewees where and how I have acquired those skills. As we learn from Schulich courses and numerous internship workshops, tailoring resumes by carefully going through job descriptions is a way to create an effective and attractive resume and cover letter.

Being an Intern at Deloitte

It was a dream-come-true when I got the chance to intern at Deloitte as I always wanted to work for a company that really takes care of society and actively promotes equal opportunities for everyone. As Deloitte is the world's largest professional service network, I thought that an internship at Deloitte was a great platform for me to gain more insight in the finance industry. Deloitte is also known for its focus on diversity and career development programs that I believe provide interns with numerous learning opportunities. I was interning as a financial analyst in the management reporting department, during which I was assigned to a couple of major engagements and had the opportunity to put my finance knowledge into practice and perform actual finance procedures for the partners and management team. My job scope included the handling of real databases and tasks which are normally assigned to full-time financial analyst associates. I find that being part of Deloitte's fall internship program has been an enriching experience as I have learned a lot of technical knowledge and gained valuable hands-on financial experience through my contributions. I also had the opportunity to bond and forge friendships with my bosses and fellow interns at various corporate events.

I gained a deeper insight into the financial industry, and it has helped me significantly with my career planning. Through the internship, I developed a better view of an analyst's career path, helping me make an informed career choice. The new long-term relationships and partnerships I had built with my Deloitte bosses and fellow interns would be my biggest takeaway. I have learned the tangibles, such as the technical aspects involved, such as how to run big databases, as well as the intangibles, such as the strong work ethics and the high standards that our work requires. To me, the biggest takeaway would be the relationships and friendships built through the internship. Having companions and peers in the same industry is definitely important and helpful in giving you advice and supporting you in your profession, especially in the competitive field of corporate finance.

Since the fall is normally a quieter financial season than the winter, a typical day was normally about eight hours long, although this definitely varies depending on the project and the time of year. Seniors at the company would catch me up on the first few days of each engagement on how the engagement was supposed to run and the client's characteristics. As an intern, I was guided through the engagement process first, and then by the third day was expected to take on more responsibility. Such activities would range from service line to service line but would often require various types of financial evaluation and analysis of large excel databases

Interning at Deloitte wasn't all glitz and glitter. Although fall was a much less busy time, it was still the norm for 40-hour work weeks. With that, the last few days of each engagement were especially hectic and demanding because my managers would view me as a trusted employee and give me multiple tasks to perform and accomplish at the same time. Due to the time-sensitive management needs, the steep learning curve and the long hours in the corporate finance department would be the most challenging parts. That being said, I was lucky to have helpful and friendly coworkers and mentors to direct me. There were also training sessions conducted by our colleagues for us interns to learn about the technicalities involved in the industry. What this experience taught me was to take notes on anything that I have been told, even though it seems basic, to avoid asking about something that has already been explained. However, those days were definitely my happiest, because I loved being given more and more responsibilities and felt I had more impact on the respective responsibilities. Another lesson I learned was to find solutions or establish my own answers to questions before I took them to my manager. Supervisors may not have the straightforward answers to some questions at times. I found that when I express my opinion to the managers, it makes the conversations more productive. One of the ways to contribute to a smoother workflow in the company was to research on the particular topic in question and to come up with possible solutions.

Even before I set foot in Deloitte, it was clear that I was well prepared for what was expected of me because of the Schulich culture. At Schulich group projects were assigned in almost every class I took, and students had to practice working in teams and on their communication skills. The experience made it easy to work with the teams at Deloitte. Schulich's students are also encouraged to practice making valuable connections in every environment, and before I knew it, I found myself writing emails to anyone in the company who caught my eye as a source of insight and knowledge and asked for a time to grab coffee.

Reflecting on My Internship Experience

The guidance and mentoring at Deloitte was something that took me completely off guard, I remember being told by many Deloitte professionals that the biggest differentiator of the firm was the culture it had, but at first I was still very skeptical that the philosophy of guidance and mentoring within the company was extremely strong and applied to everyone at every level. Deloitte interns are given an on-board counsellor to help them with daily issues, usually someone who has been at the business for about two years. We are also given a 'coach' who is usually a partner in the business who would regularly check in on the interns during their internship. Coaches also gave advice on career development and guidance over phone calls and lunches. I would never have thought that someone who spent 10 years or more in the company would take the time to support me anytime I wanted it. I was always encouraged to ask questions in all the activities in which I worked on and also, I noticed that no one would hesitate to take the time to help me out and discuss anything that I might be stuck on.

Although networking may sometimes seem like a daunting task, I would suggest using your own personal networks, as well as school networks and resources— like an alumni directory— and even cold emails and invites from LinkedIn. Business students have to remember to always do their homework before talking to a professional even if it's a really casual conversation or phone call. We have a 30-plus-year career ahead of us as university graduates, so we have to realize that no decision will make or break our careers at this age as long as we do our part and put the effort into it.

Conclusion

Overall, my time in Deloitte really highlighted how to apply the skills that I had already learned from my degree in Schulich, but also the skills that I should focus on in my 3rd year. I really stood by the problem-solving and excel skills I had learned. I have absolutely no regrets to be part of this internship program. I believe that I gained valuable experiences that I could have never learned from studying at school. This internship may have postponed my graduation date, but it has allowed me to prepare for my career significantly. Participating as an intern helped me define my future career interests. I was fortunate enough to work in the office environment and build professional relationships with my colleagues at Deloitte. However, I found myself wanting to go back to school and explore more about my second specialization interests in marketing. If it was not for my intern experience, I would not have known that I wanted to pursue future education after graduating. You never know what you want to do unless you try different things.