Why an internship is the perfect first step in your career - Olivia

RSM’s six-week paid internship programme is the perfect opportunity to build your confidence and develop personal and professional skills to boost your career prospects. Olivia, who joined us for her internship in our consulting service line through the 10,000 Black Interns Programme, shares her highlights and where the internship has led her to today.

Olivia explains that the opportunity to rotate through our six consulting solutions (business transformation, deal services, risk and governance, finance function support, restructuring and forensic investigation services) was particularly beneficial. She describes the weekly rotation as “exciting”, giving her the chance to meet people across the service line and gain practical insights into the work each team does.

Our ‘grow our own’ philosophy at RSM encourages everyone to own their career and seize the opportunities in front of them. This doesn’t always mean a straight path. Olivia agrees, “It’s great as you know that you will be supported in your endeavours if you ever want to try something new.” And that’s exactly what Olivia has done.

Now a graduate in our data analytics team, Olivia said the internship helped her feel prepared to start her graduate role with us.

“I gained a much stronger understanding of RSM as a company and had the opportunity to build many foundational relationships before starting. This really paved the way for a smooth transition into my full-time role.”

At RSM, our work experience programmes involve an application, test and interview process, but Olivia knows it’s nothing to be concerned about.

“My interviewers were friendly and chatty, which made the process much less intimidating. The communication from the RSM recruitment team, both before and after the interview, was consistent and I felt well-informed throughout the entire process.”

Her advice is to prepare well as it makes the interview process much less daunting when you can talk about yourself confidently. While you can't predict every question, there are some that you can expect. Create a document with common interview questions and familiarise yourself with your answers. Just make sure you don't memorise them word-for-word so you can still sound natural.

Olivia’s story highlights the value of investing six weeks in an internship programme. It’s set her up for a journey of growth and opportunity at RSM. So, if this sounds like a culture, you’d like to be part of, check out our exciting work experience opportunities below. 

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