Sprechen Sie Deutsches?

Late last year a friend of mine suggested we do the typical Kiwi escape and go to Europe for a Contiki.  Since I’d never really travelled outside of New Zealand due to my limited budget during university, I decided to take him up on the offer and started saving a portion of my monthly pay check (surprisingly easy when you’re working full time) for what would be the trip of a lifetime.  Now that I’m getting back into the swing of things at work and needed something to write about for my latest blog entry I thought I’d shine a light on my time on the other side of the world.

First off I have to say, if you have limited time to travel, a coach tour is going to be the best option.  For those entering the workforce this is pretty important as 4 weeks annual leave is probably going to be your time limit.  I had no problems taking the time off (thanks Deloitte) even though it was right in the middle of audit’s busy season, and was even able to take a few extra days leave when I had to push back my return flight.  Basically I was able to visit England, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France.  Learning a bit about each, going straight to the top attractions during the day, and finding out about the best restaurants, clubs and bars at night is all included in the package, making the holiday that much easier.  Even better, you’ll be doing it all with an amazing bunch of people from a collection of ethnic backgrounds who are all there looking for a good time, so no two days or nights will be the same and the energy level will stay at a maximum for the entire trip.

Going to places I’d only ever heard or read about was incredible.

 Walking around the Coliseum in Rome, drinking wine under the Eiffel Tower in Paris and enjoying the local specialty in Amsterdam (chips with mayonnaise, obviously) is what will be remembered and treasured for a long time.  During my time, I tried to do just about every optional activity, which saw me doing things like white water rafting in the Austrian Tyrol, snowboarding in the Swiss Alps (ok, it was a tiny slope but it still counts), singing karaoke in Florence and doing the Chicken Dance at a beer hall in Munich.  “It’s not wrong, it’s just different” became the mantra that everyone on the trip lived by, as we ate and drank the local specialties of each city.  Without getting too life coach, the same applies to work, in that taking every opportunity will see you doing things that you could end up enjoying a lot.  This could be joining a sports team, organising a party, writing a blog, or maybe applying for that secondment to another member firm somewhere else in the world (something I’ll be doing at the next opportunity).

The one thing I would definitely recommend to anyone doing a similar trip though, is that applying for annual leave AFTER the holiday is a really good idea.  Seriously, going to work on the Wednesday when your flight back from London only arrived Tuesday morning will not be the most pleasant experience; with the body confused if it should be jetlagged, riding the holiday high or focussing on timesheets.

Berlin:

Rather than regaling you with stories of the extraordinary one off things we get up to at Deloitte, I thought I’d try and offer a bit of a change, giving an insight into a ‘typical’ week for someone just entering their second year.

Since I wasn’t booked to work on a specific client, I bussed into the office on Monday, looking forward to what seemed like would be a fairly quiet 5 days.  About an hour after arriving, one of the seniors came and told me I’d be heading out to a client with him for a few days.  A short drive (including a meatball subway stop) later I was out on site, setting up my laptop and learning a bit about what I’d be working through.  The client was really easy to get along with and the work itself was pretty interesting, offering an insight into the consolidation of a decent sized company.

Auckland Audit had a training session organised for the Tuesday morning, so I left for the office bright and early, only to realise I had a flat tyre as I was about to leave.  Bribing mum to let me borrow her car for the day I managed to get to the session only about half an hour late, and was able to use the skills I’d developed at uni to silently sneak my way into the tutorial-like setting.  The afternoon was spent back at the client, as was Wednesday.  The manager and partner both came out on the Wednesday, so that we could give them an update into how we were going and discuss any issues.

Having wrapped everything up on the Wednesday afternoon, I found myself bussing in to the office again for Thursday.  Priorities took control and I headed out for a breakfast smoothie before settling down to help a manager out with some work for the day.  A bit before lunch I had a meeting with my counselling partner, who happens to be the head of Audit, for a casual chat about how I’ve found the last year.  You’d think sitting in a room with someone like that would be quite intimidating but, to quote something I picked up in one of my management papers (how to arrive late with nobody noticing isn’t the only thing I learned) the hierarchy of the company is quite horizontal.  Basically that means that a graduate or summer intern can sit down and have a latte and muffin with a partner.  That helps keep things interesting on sports teams where you’ll often be playing alongside your boss, celebrating goals, or grilling them if they miss a tackle.

Anyway, back to the week.  The ‘rules’ of the office are a little different on Friday, pink shirts are encouraged, packed lunches are discouraged, and everyone starts to come back in from the clients they’ve been at for the week to wrap up any admin before the weekend.  What this all leads to is that, by the time the day officially ends at 5, weekend mode is already well in the mindset of everyone.  This Friday happens to be a little different too, as we’re all going to find out if a promotion is coming our way (keep your fingers crossed for me).

I guess what you can take away from this blog entry is that, in audit, there’s not really such a thing as a typical week.  This week was (kind of) in the office, the week before was spent at a trust in Parnell, and next week, well it could start anywhere (although it will end with me getting on a plane to Europe, provided that volcano doesn’t start playing up again).  But that’s the thing about a week here, it’s the organised chaos and variability that keeps things interesting and that will have you waking up on Monday, wondering just what the week holds in store.

Cheers, Craig

Now at a point where I’m automatically reaching for a tie instead of jandals when getting dressed in the morning, I’m pretty involved in my Deloitte career.  Having interned for a summer before starting as a grad, I thought I knew what to expect, but everything over the last year has shown me just how much there is to working for a company like this.  With plenty of ups and downs along the way, I’ve learned more through my experiences here than I did over four years at uni, as I’ve dealt with difficult situations, interacted with different types of people, worked with a multitude of businesses in New Zealand and of course, met some great people both at Deloitte and in my dealings with the clients.  The businesses themselves have been extremely diverse, giving exposure to property developers, international hotel chains, hair product distributors, insurance providers and couriers, to name but a few.

As the interns and new grads come through it’s amazing to see how much you can learn and change over a year, with the favourite changes being a direct result of the change in budget, from the tough student life to the corporate dream.  The wardrobe is looking quite a bit nicer, the restaurants I’m going to are serving better food (although you still can’t beat Burger Fuel) and the holiday destinations are getting a little further away than the Coromandel.  The car might still be the same (see pic above), but why would you mess with the classic piece of automotive brilliance that is the ‘96 Nissan Bluebird?

Even with the support you’re on a pretty steep learning curve and time management is the most valuable tool to take into a job with you.  After the initial struggle of trying to include everything in your week, you’ll soon be feeling a sense of accomplishment when you realise how you can make it through so much.  With work drinks, parties, sports and other events happening throughout the week, there’s never a dull moment, with Deloitte encouraging you to “celebrate and have fun” from day one.  If there’s anything you want to know in particular about life here, feel free to leave a comment, otherwise keep an eye out for new posts where I’ll be sharing insights into my life.

Cheers, Craig