My Summer Internship At Ernst & Young - Priyanka From IIM Visakhapatnam

I was elated, the moment I was selected for an internship at Ernst & Young. I knew that loads of work and fun awaited me. Excited and anxious, I started for Mumbai- my home. I was looking forward to work loaded weeks and fun filled weekends- with friends whom I hadn’t met for a year and family.

The Internship started with a formal two-day induction program where all the interns and new joinees were introduced to EY- its Leadership, Service Lines and Rules, etc. This was followed by Domino’s pizzas for lunch on each day (Who cares about the diet resolutions!). After this, the excited interns were allotted their projects, mentors and buddies who would ensure a smooth journey. And with this began my journey in the ‘Valuations and Business modelling’ department.

Initial two weeks were very relaxed, with ample time available to catch up with friends at Marine Drive and the Gateway of India. Then followed work in full swing. I began to get a flavour of how a consulting career would be! Office became my new home; and colleagues turned to friends with whom I could have long chit-chats and coffee table discussions. Thus despite the work hours being hectic, my buddy and colleagues ensured that we did not fall for the ‘all work no play’ kind. We had our share of fun at the lunch and over ice creams! Overall, work was fun.

Throughout my internship, I learnt how companies are valued pre-merger and applied the techniques learnt to individually value and present a Company to the partner of EY.

The highlights of what I learnt through this internship, beyond Valuations, can be summarised by the word ‘PLANS’

-P: Being Proactive, a very important trait if you wish to succeed in a service organisation. It ensured that all my doubts got addressed in time and I did not have any last minute hassles.

-L: A day is as long as you wish to make it (learnt in PGP1 as well! Vetted here)

-A: Articulate clearly

-N: Networking, being that critical bond that nurtured relationships for a life time

-S: Structured thoughts, like a client deliverable, clear, concise and precise

During the final presentations, I realised that all the jargons that were thrown at us in the class were not meant to give us a competitive edge but were essentials to survive in the industry. More or less, all the industry people knew them. (And I thought I had an edge over some :P)

Then came the realisation that two months had passed by. It was a time to bid adieu. The last day was spent with an ice cream party, mimicking people and loads of masti. Not to forget the pen that EY gave me, a personalised pen with my name inscribed on it!

As internship draws to a close, I have to leave Mumbai again. However, the excitement of being a PGP2 takes over the sadness of leaving home and am excited to have a hectic (or not-so-hectic) year at IIMV again.

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About the Author:

Priyanka Mehta

IIM Visakhapatnam

PGP 2015-17

Priyanka is a PGP2 student at IIM Visakhaptanam. Apart from writing, she likes to read, meet new people and is a finance lover!