3 Things that I learned from EY
In February 2021, I got an internship opportunity in one of the Big Four accounting firms, Ernst & Young. This was my first internship experience since I went to campus in 2017. I realized that finding a job, even an internship in pandemic was quite a big challenge.
I got an internship opportunity at Consulting — Financial Service Risk Management (FSRM). I sent my CV and the talent acquisition team placed me to division that closed enough to my CV.
A few days later after sending my CV, I got an interview session with FSRM manager. During the interview, she said that she impressed with my coding skills. From her statement, I realized that coding skills that I got from campus were more than enough. If you can code, no matter how small it is, just show it. If you can’t, that’s okay. I believe there is something as precious as diamond that you have in yourself, probably you haven’t realize it yet.
I started my internship from middle of February 2021 until end of April 2021, around 2.5 months. It’s so fast. It was a WFH internship, but a few times I was invited to go to the office. Here are 3 things that I learned from EY during my internship:
- Walk with purpose.
In the middle of my internship, I was invited to the office. My manager and I had a nice talk start from my final project assignment, interest, etc. Then, the discussion that I remembered was when he asked, “What are you looking for from this internship?”.
For me, internship is time to know how they work, serve clients, and recognize the company culture. But, it’s more than that actually. Internship is a chance to grow career, at least help your career.
He asked, “What can I help for your career?”
At this point, I realized that my career goal was blurred. I had not set my goal yet. Problem? Yes. Because of these blurry, doing internship just like swimming in the river — let it flow.
That’s why I write this as a note to me and I don’t want this incident happen in you.
So, before apply for internship, please ask yourself:
What is my purpose?
Will this opportunity help me for my future?
What do I want to learn from this opportunity?
Give yourself a time to think about your goals. Make an internship as a small step to achieve your goals. - If you don’t know, just say it.
I was a mathematics student, with specialization in algebra. During internship, I found new vocabulary, like PD (Probability of Default), LGD (Loss Given Default), etc. that I never heard before. Internship period is a great time to learn new things, moreover, you will learn by doing.
The point is don’t afraid to ask for help. If you don’t know, it’s better to say it rather than keep it in yourself. Ask for explanation or references, so you can study it first. After that, confirm your understanding to them. That’s the key to adapt in new environment. - Lend a hand.
Internship period is not only time to learn, but also to give. You can give something that you’re expertise of, give something that you know exactly how to do it, etc. In my case, I got coding problems. There was a code that someone asked for explanation to me.
At first, I also didn’t know what it meant. I googled . Yeah, whatever new things you had, Google is your best friend. It will give you lots of information. Take the relevant one.
So, if you’re an intern, don’t set your mind that you are “below” the employees. Prove that you are great to do somethings. Show your quality.
In conclusions, internship gives me an overview about career, specifically career goals and how to take and give values to others. If you’re still in 2nd or 3rd year of your study, it’s great to find internship opportunities. Take the lessons from each chance. After you finish your study, you have a great
provision to start your career hopefully.
As EY’s purpose — building a better working world, I wish you grow to building a better version of you.
