Shaheeda Mulla

Employer: London Borough of Hounslow
Qualifications: BSc physiology, King's College, University of London; MSc international management, King's College, University of London

After graduation I was keen to get a place on a graduate training scheme and the public sector appealed to me as I felt that I would gain a greater level of job satisfaction. Searching graduate career websites, this particular scheme attracted me because I had enjoyed the finance and accountancy side of my postgraduate qualification. I applied online and after completing a telephone interview and attending an assessment centre, I was offered a job with my current employer.

My job

Currently I am working in internal audit in the chief executive’s directorate. My responsibilities include conducting audits on various systems within the council. This involves looking at previous audits, attending meetings with the people we are auditing and testing systems.

An example of an audit is checking that the payroll is up to date and employees are being paid as they should be. Before now I have had placements in the corporate accountancy and finance technical departments – trainees complete between four and six placements during the three-year scheme.

I am also studying towards the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) exams, which means I attend college up to two days a week and have exams every six months. I have met a lot of people through working in different areas and all of my colleagues have been really accommodating. I work 36 hours a week flexi-time, which means I can potentially get one day off per month.

Highs and lows

Moving departments means I get an overall view of how everything in the council works. I will also have a better idea of where I want to specialise once I’ve completed my training. However, although I wanted to work in London it is frustrating not being able to get on the property ladder because of high housing prices.