What was the biggest surprise when transitioning into a graduate role from an intern role?
The biggest surprise was a pleasant one! After working multiple part-time jobs while studying, transitioning into a job where I could dive into interesting and exciting real-world work, and get paid full-time was so exciting. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the routine and consistency of working full-time.
Describe a typical day in your team.
I commute to and from work via the ferry and love to sit at work with views of the harbour. I will often have morning meetings with my team about our “workflow” to understand whether we need to redistribute projects and ensure everyone has the right amount of work (enough or not too much). Within corporate tax, I work on some pretty big and exciting clients. I help them file their tax returns and have recently been working on some tax advice and corporate structuring pieces too. I have had the opportunity to work with other tax sub-service lines, such as the Transaction Tax team and the Research & Development team, so I’ve had plenty of variety in my day-to-day work! I usually eat lunch either in the level 7 clubroom with people from other tax teams, or up on the level 9 terrace in the sunshine (when it’s out!). With hot- desks in the office, I tend to sit with different people daily, allowing me to glean wisdom from team members at different levels. I also love having the opportunity to meet with clients, often visiting them to discuss our work.
What do you enjoy the most about work at EY?
The people are incredible. From day one, I have felt like people here have my best interests at heart and want to see me excel in my career.
I struggled to find a good culture at university, especially through the COVID-19 pandemic with remote learning, so coming into a workplace where good culture is valued has been awesome. I also enjoy the diversity of opportunities that I am given here. Throughout my graduate year and internship, I have been encouraged to reach out for work that is outside of my comfort zone and try new things.
If you could go back in time and give your university self some advice, what would it be?
I would tell myself to make the most of it. Take papers that you find interesting, even if you don’t think they could be “useful” – it all comes in handy (as a Chemistry graduate working in tax, I would know!).