MY STUDENT PLACEMENT IN ACCOUNTANCY BY MUSTAFA MERALI
21 December 2009 20:03
A-Levels finish and everyone breathes a sigh of relief – especially when you attain those grades which you have been praying for. The notorious uni life is waiting just a few months down the line and you can guarantee this will occupy you for the next few years (at least). Well, not if you decide to take a Gap Year, which is what I did. A Gap Year is more than just taking a break and delaying your entire life for one year, which is what many people think. The reason for my choice was that I was sure it would put me in a better and stronger position with my career prospects later on down the line. One useful tip: if you haven’t semi-planned your Gap Year at least six months prior to it, then it’s not looking too promising. A Gap Year is a great opportunity only if you plan it and make the most of it. Alhamdulillah, I managed to arrange a six month Gap Placement at one of the ‘Big 4’ accountancy firms about nine months prior to my Gap Year.
One might ask, why work for one of the ‘Big 4’? ... I was sure that working for such a large firm as a junior would almost definitely increase my chances of working there or at similar places further down the line. At the very least, even if I don’t benefit at all from it, having such a job stated on your CV would look very appealing to any employer.
The highly awaited job began in October 2008 in the financial hub of London. A lot of questions were running through my mind e.g. what kind of work will someone as young as me be able to do in a firm as big as that? It turned out photocopying and making tea doesn’t require a genius. By the way, that’s a joke. I was really impressed with the amount of responsibility and training they gave me. I was working in the Tax department, which involved completing Tax Returns for clients of the company. This started off to be really interesting. I assessed the income of all of my clients according to their P60’s and P11D benefit forms and then assessed how much tax they will be liable to pay or whether they will be owed a refund by HM Revenue and Customs. Although, this sounds complicated, it only really takes a week or so to get used to. At times, there was repetition involved in my work, making me glad I was only doing a six month program. It made me realise I am definitely too young to be stuck in an office job from 9-5 Monday – Friday. Fortunately, there were always people around me willing to help as they knew I was a new joiner.
My social interaction with employees as well as with my manager developed my communication skills as well as other key skills with fellow employees. I had to implement the core skill of time management: being late to work is not like being late to a class lesson at school. Arriving late to work means you should be staying later at the end of the day to ensure the work is complete. Even though no one tells you this specifically, there are always people watching you when you first start and they quietly monitor your arrival times, lunch times etc ... so arriving late to work and leaving early/on time is not a good way to impress. I got taken along to meetings with team members and managers, which is always a great experience to see how the company is functioning.
One of my best days on the job was shadowing a Partner in the Actuarial department of the company. I received first-hand experience of what a Partner’s day on the job is really like. I particularly enjoyed being taken on a cab ride to other companies for meetings and also being treated to a nice coffee to start the day.
As I mentioned before, I have no doubt in my mind that my job was countless experience that will help in my further education and future jobs. When applying as a graduate after uni, I will be one of a handful to skip out the online tests because of having already been a gap student. Everyone loves exemptions from tests, even if you know you can pass them. It’s just too much effort!
Overall, you can probably tell from my article that this Gap Year was one that I will always remember. It’s quite a sad feeling that it’s come to an end, but at least I can start uni with an eagerness to get back into study-mode after a year out. People who take a gap year enter uni as mature students and I believe this will allow them to make wiser decisions in their next few years to come.
