I’m a recent university graduate, in my first year working in the Transaction Services team in Leeds. In this blog I’ll let you know about my experience in the Deloitte grad scheme, and give you tips to help with your application. Feel free to post any questions in the comments section below.

Regards
Grant.

In the last couple of weeks I have attended a few student recruitment events on behalf of Deloitte, and I noticed a few questions which came up time and time again:

1.       How can I improve my chances of my application being successful?My advice is to: do a thorough manual spell check of your application (automated spellcheck doesn’t pick up everything). Make sure your application highlights all of your transferable ‘soft skills’ as well as your academic record. Be well informed about the Service Line you are applying to. And, make sure you apply early.
I’ll be doing a later post which will set out in a bit more detail my top tips for getting a job at Deloitte, make sure to keep an eye out for that!

2.       When do I need to apply? There is no set deadline so apply as early as possible – applications opened on 1^st July 2014, for the September 2015 intake and the sooner you apply, the better your chance of securing the role you want.

3.       Do I need to have a degree in Accounting or Maths? No. The more relevant your degree is, the more it will help your application, but I know loads of people of people on the graduate scheme with degrees in other subjects, ranging from Politics to Modern Languages.

4.       In what ways is your job different to your expectations? The work in Transaction Services is a lot more fun than I expected – it’s a lot more about general business skills than number crunching; my colleagues are from a wider range of backgrounds than I thought; and the atmosphere is more challenging than I expected - if you join TS, be ready to be pushed outside of your comfort zone.

5.       Do I need to have done a [summer placement]/should I do one? If you do one it will hugely aid your application. But, if it’s too late to apply for a placement, don’t be put off applying for the grad scheme – I and many of my colleagues got the role without having done a placement.

6.       I’m a foreign student studying in the UK - will Deloitte sponsor my visa application? There is no easy answer to this one unfortunately, as it depends on the specific circumstances. I suggest looking here:  http://mycareer.deloitte.com/uk/en/university/apply-now/work-permits. If you are unsure of your right to work in the UK without a sponsorship from Deloitte, I suggest that you check with the UK Border Agency website.