Business Advisor Review

My job title here at BDO is a Trainee Business Advisor. I enjoy the work i do and it can also vary on a weekly basis and this can also depend on who i am directly working for that week as well. I can do typical admin work and get on with a specific job for a few days or i can also help out around the office doing smaller jobs and some for other people too. I don't mind the work i do as i get to chat to a lot of people i work with and they are all really friendly and happy to help as well.

I have completed my AAT level 3 and will soon have gained my AAT Level 4 qualification as well. Since starting to work for BDO, I have developed a really strong understanding of accounts preparation as this is what I do on a day-today basis, and I have been able to put my knowledge from my accounting A-Level and my AAT qualifications into practice. However, I believe the most important skills that I have gained since starting my apprenticeship has been the development on my confidence and social skills. I have always been quite quiet and shy, and so leaving 6th form and going straight into a job in which I didn't know anyone was a big step for me and quite daunting at first. But this decision has benefitted me massively, and I now feel a much more confident person.

Before joining I had a big decision to make - do I study accounting at University or Start a job and an apprenticeship? I chose to go down the apprenticeship route and I don't regret it at all. When I first started my job I felt like I was just going to be an annoyance - and, to be fair, I probably was - but I was genuinely overwhelmed by how helpful everyone was to me until I had fully settled in. I've made a lot of friends and I enjoy the variety of going to work but also attending college as well.

I have been made to feel like a valued member of staff at BDO, especially over the last few months in which I really feel like I have developed in my job role, becoming much more independent with my work. I have a good relationship with my manager, and I am now starting to become more involved with jobs outside of the office at client premises, and contacting clients from within the office.

I feel as though my programme as a whole is well organised, and I haven't had any problems following it. When I first started, it was the case that I was told when I had to go to college and it was put onto my work plan so I could see, which of course was no problem. For the second year of my apprenticeship, I took more responsibility as I was given a timetable of when I was supposed to be at college, and then told the manager in charge of the work plan when I was going to be at college. You can't afford you just sit back and expect that everyone will tell you where to go and what to do, but this is expected and has never been a problem. Also, this year saw a new addition to the AAT qualification that I am taking - a diploma in business skills. My training provider Kaplan are being very helpful with this and working hard to allow us to complete this diploma as quickly as possible so that I can move onto further study after gaining my AAT qualification. Furthermore, my line manager and other managers have been more than happy to help me with this, since it is based around the things I do at work and therefore I sometimes need to involve them.

I always get the impression from my training provider Kaplan and their tutors that they really want to help you and ensure that everyone passes their exams. The actual lessons at college are very good, and their website is also great for the amount of support it offers. The tutors always give you their email address and phone number so that you can contact them if you need extra help with something - and I have done this - so there really is a great amount of support to help you through the courses and exams.

Everyone in the office is always happy for you when you pass an exam and always wish you luck - everyone wants to see you do well. So far, I haven't really needed a great amount of support from my employer when it comes to my apprenticeship so this is quite difficult to answer - but anything I have needed from my employer/manager has never been a problem.

For me personally, my salary package meets my costs just fine, since I am currently still living with my parents. If I was, for example, renting my own flat, I would seriously struggle with money - but as it is, I earn more than enough to meet my needs as I have very little living expense. My main expense is probably the running costs of my car, as I live about 15 miles away from the office, so I drive about 150 miles per week just for work. As an employee who is also a student still studying, we receive pay reviews every 6 months, with bigger increases in salary seen when a qualification is complete. As I have been here for just over a year and a half, I have received 3 pay rises since starting, which is always nice.

I mentioned in one of my other answers that my biggest improvement in myself since starting at BDO has been with my confidence and social skills - and this is because I've had a lot of opportunity to take part in social events, usually organised with and by other employees. We ocasionally go out as a unit and wea learn a lot more about each other and it's a lot more easier to work with people you feel like you can trust and have a laugh with as well from time to time.

Yes

I think that if you are looking for a career in accountancy, BDO is a very good place to work. You can earn money whilst gaining qualifications and years of valuable experience. Everyone in the office has seen school leavers come and go, so they are very helpful and understanding towards you, and make you feel very welcome. Overall i would highly reccomend their schemes to anyone.

The process for me was to submit my application, then take an online test, then 1st interview and 2nd interview before I got the job. If your application is successful, you will have to pass online tests, which test your numerical and verbal reasoning. These are timed, and can seem difficult, but if your application was good enough to get to this stage then the chances are you are capable of completing them. You can also find practice tests on the internet to get used to the sort of questions that you get asked. If you pass this, you will have a first interview. The first interview is mainly about giving off a good impression. You should try your best to come across as a nice and confident person, (although this is of course easier said than done) and again, you should prepare yourself well and think about the sort of things you may get asked. The 2nd interview could vary for different locations - but - for me, it went as follows: Firstly, you had to re-take a shortened version of your online tests, to ensure that you didn't receive help when you completed them the first time. Again, just ensure you practice them a little and you will be fine. Then, I was asked to look at a case study, and had around half an hour to makes notes, before discussing my ideas with my interviewers - who were a partner and a HR manager. The case study involved 4 different made up companies, and I had to discuss which one out of the 4 I would invest in. Each company had their own problems so it was just a case of going through them methodically and picking out the good and bad points. After this, I then had a final, more formal discussion with them about why I wanted this job, why I wanted this company - those sorts of questions - to conclude my 2nd interview. My main advice would be to prepare yourself well in advance, making good use of the internet for your research!