Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Placement platform helps Bethany secure role at PwC
Bethany, who is graduating from the BA (hons) Business & Management course, will start work within PwC’s management consultancy team later this year.
She has been inspired to pursue a career within the sector following her summer placement with Deloitte last year, where she worked in tax consultancy.
She says: “The summer placement was something I thought long and hard about. I considered a placement year, but I didn’t want to take a full year out. A summer placement was perfect for me as it enabled me to get the experience that I wanted.”
“I did some searching on Google at places that did summer internships, had a look at application deadlines and then it was just a lot of hard work to do those applications as each one would have three or four different stages and processes to go through before you were made an offer.”
Bethany also completed a management consultancy project in her final year, with the hands-on experience giving her an extra edge when applying for full-time jobs this summer.
“We did client-facing projects on the course, and that was very useful at Deloitte. I did data analytics in my first year, which was a big help when working in tax consultancy.”
“Having a basic grounding in accountancy was helpful as well, and you quickly see the practical elements which can be used once you work.” She adds.
It was the ability to apply skills learned in the classroom on real life projects that attracted Bethany to Leeds Beckett initially, alongside being able to work at in the heart of a big city.
“I chose Leeds Beckett because I loved Leeds as a city for a start, and I liked the sound of the course. It looked like it had a good mix of real-world application elements, as well as more academically grounded theory, which really drew me to it.”
“I come from a small town in Lincolnshire and moving to a city was very different for me. My hometown has around 10 or 15 shops and a small-town centre. Coming to a big city is like ‘wow!’, but it’s a great experience. There’s lots to do and being able to find different hobbies and activities keeps you busy.”
Her positive experience of Leeds, along with the presence of major organisations with offices in the city, meant that it was Bethany’s first choice when she started looking for jobs.
“I love Leeds as a city - I enjoyed studying here and it’s a nice place to be. It was perhaps more a conscious decision that I was looking for jobs in Leeds, and although I was never going to entirely restrict myself, I was keen to stay.”
As Bethany looks forward to starting her job at the end of the summer, her advice to students looking to follow in her footsteps is to throw themselves into university life and make the most of all opportunities.
“Putting in the effort makes a huge difference. I really threw myself into doing what I wanted on my course. I think I had a high self-expectation.”
“I’ve had setbacks – from A-Levels, to Covid, and it made me want to do the best that I could. Picking a course that you enjoy is a big part of it, because if you do enjoy it, you’re going to want to do that bit more and put the extra effort in. I’ve really enjoyed my course and my time at Leeds Beckett.”
“Finally, my main advice would be to get involved in as much as you can and enjoy your time here!”