Deloitte is one of the best companies to work for and start your career with. The opportunity to work for such a company was really a dream come true. My summer internship experience with Deloitte was really enriching and rewarding. What truly intrigued me about the organization was the family culture, and I got to witness it firsthand. Under the guidance of my amazing mentors, I got the opportunity to learn from the best. The amount of emphasis they lay on the growth and development of their interns and the supportive work environment drives you to give your best.
The process started off with the W2D (Welcome to Deloitte) program and the next day we had a meeting with our POC, mentor, and coach. We were handed down our projects and my project topic was to study various financial processes across sectors, identify bottlenecks in that process, to implement artificial intelligence technologies to mitigate the bottlenecks and to analyze the business benefits. It was a project where we had to create a business case on the topic given to us through secondary research. The profile offered to me was Technology Consulting, and the project was relevant to the role.
Initially, it was a challenge to come up with a way to approach the project, but my mentor and coach really supported me and gave me proper direction and guidance. Despite their super busy schedules, our mentors and coaches interacted with me on a daily basis and guided me at every step. My first task was to analyze business processes which were common to all sectors, such as month-end financial close (general ledger close, intercompany accounting, reporting etc). Next, I started analyzing the processes thoroughly to identify the process which can be automated. Finally, I listed down 2-3 processes which can be automated and explored Artificial intelligence technologies which I can use to automate these processes. In the last leg of my project, I came up with the implementation, the proposed system process, and architecture and the cost-benefit analysis of each proposal.
The evaluation process at Deloitte is a fourfold process. The first criterion of evaluation is the feedback you receive from your coach and mentor based on the weekly presentations (project progress) and overall performance. The second is the midterm review, which happens around the 4
th – 5
th week. For the midterm, you have to organize all the work you have done so far into a PPT and present it to the senior management. You will be evaluated on the basis of both the content and delivery. The third criterion is the end term review which takes place in the last week. It is similar to the midterm review and here you will present all your work to a panel of senior management which will include your mentor and coach.
The last criterion is one of the most important criteria and if done well, will help you immensely during your project. It is the networking skills which you display during your internship tenure. Deloitte has an open door policy and people are extremely approachable and helpful. Hence it is very important to interact with managers, senior managers and subject matter experts on a regular basis, seek their help and get your work evaluated by them. The key point is to make your presence felt. Apart from this, one of the major areas to focus on is the PPT creation. A line often used at Deloitte is “your PPT speaks a lot about who you are”. Deloitte is very particular about the design and overall aesthetic of the PPT and the look and feel of the PPT is as important as the content.
Hence my major takeaways from the entire experience:
- Networking is very important.
- Make your presence felt.
- Delivery is as important as the content.
- Your PPT speaks a lot about who you are
- Be proactive and take initiative.
- Ankita Das
2nd year MBA student at IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University