186 students took part in our second round of King’s Insights Projects. The Shared Value project was a 2-week virtual internship called the Business opportunity Accelerator project. Read more how BSc Accounting & Finance student Heli described her work experience!
Hello! My name is Heli, and I am currently in my penultimate year studying Accounting & Finance BSc at King’s College London.
Why I chose to take part in an Insights Project internship
Embarking on this journey of discovering more about Consultancy has been challenging, ranging from conversing with several mentors to attending several networking events. When I read about this opportunity of completing a virtual 2-week internship surrounding Consultancy, whilst gaining a chance to enhance my skills- such as teamwork (especially in Covid where it has been extremely tough to communicate with people and stay focused with your work)- I jumped on the application instantly.
After graduating in 2022, I aspire to become a Management Consultant and therefore chose to partake in the Business Opportunity Virtual Insights Work Experience Project to gain an improved understanding of the sector and role of a Consultant in today’s world. I believe this project has enabled me to do just that, having had the experience of working with a real company, in an amazing team of five, providing the business with quality guidance to implement into their business in order to become more competitive and achieve a larger consumer base.
The biggest challenge I faced & experience of working virtually
Due to this internship being online, having to communicate virtually when all teammates were in different parts of the world, ranging from the Philippines to France, to Peru, it was exceedingly difficult to find a time that fit all members of the team! Being able to communicate effectively with people you do not know, let alone have never met in person- and cannot meet throughout the experience- must have been the biggest challenge there was. As human interaction is natural and the need to interact face to face is extremely important, it made it increasingly tricky to form a strong connection and understand one another better.
Due to my team being cooperative and full of amazing people, it was easy to discuss individual opinions and put new ideas across. Despite the difficulties we faced, we were able to come together for several meetings per week and produce a professional and high standard report which the client was heavily impressed with.
How we managed our client’s expectations
Before we began working on the assignment, we conducted a meeting with the client to understand their needs and expectations from our report. In order to produce a report of satisfactory quality, encompassing points which they were looking for us to consider, and to present the report in a suitable structure, we made sure to constantly refer back to the brief and notes we had taken from the meeting. Initially, a draft was produced by the end of week one, gaining feedback which we took into consideration, finally producing the final version and submitting it by the end of week 2.
Skills I’ve gained through this experience
This opportunity has allowed me to develop my plethora of skills further, including teamwork, communication, resilience, problem solving and leadership. This was not achievable with my dedication alone, but also the work my teammates put into the project. We kept up with each other’s constantly changing needs due to having to handle personal lives alongside professional lives, alongside making sure our clients received the report on time to review.
The advice I would give to other students:
The main suggestion I would provide to future students taking part in this project is to have fun. It can be easy to get caught up in the academic or professional atmosphere being displayed, however it is vital students remember this is a project where you will be developing your skills and learning about the world of Consultancy. You should enjoy the invaluable experiences you are gaining!