What did going on the Business Academy help you with and teach you?

Hi Eleanor - thanks for your question! I attended the Business Academy in July 2020 and I believed it was really beneficial for me. It helped me with my confidence as EY ran a session on interview preparation to help anyone who was going to apply for the apprenticeship. I learned more about the STAR technique which helped me during my interviews in the application process. It taught me more about Assurance - what it's about and whether it would be suited to my skill set and interests. It also taught me about the importance of networking. I actually made some connections on LinkedIn with people I met during the Business Academy.

That's really helpful, thank you!

You're welcome Eleanor! Is there anything else about the Business Academy you're unsure about or would like more information about?

What activities did the week at the Business Academy entail?

Hey Eleanor - I apologise in advance, my answer's pretty long!

We had to create an elevator pitch which is a quick summary of yourself - usually around 60 seconds. We learned about how the audit process works. We learned about the engagement team structure within EY and I've seen the structure first hand within my teams. We had talks about Diversity and Inclusiveness which also mentioned the variety of networks at EY. There was also a Resilience quiz which was a scenario based quiz on what you would do in different situations.

The next day, we had a panel with the Business Apprentices where we were able to ask any questions we had and get an answer straightaway. There was another session on Business Writing and Presenting Skills. This was especially useful - I still use the tips from the business writing section, when writing emails now.

On the final day, we had a case study given to us. We had to work on it individually then join with our team and present this. Please forgive me, I don't remember exactly what the case study was about! We were then given advice on how to proceed and tips for the Experience Day and Final Interview. This was vital for me, I took notes and applied them to my Experience Day and Final Interview months later.

That's very useful to know, and sounds great. Thank you!

You're welcome Eleanor!