Supported by a culture of encouragement and hands-on learning, Julia’s journey from economics student to Tax Associate began with a four-week internship that shaped her career path. In her own words, she shares how discovering her strengths, gaining real responsibility, and growing through feedback have helped her thrive in Financial Services Tax.
I’ve always enjoyed maths-related subjects, which led me to study Economics at university. After some research in the summer after my second year, I decided that I wanted to do an internship for first-hand corporate experience to help inform my career choices. I realised tax aligned well with my strengths – maths, economics, and problem-solving – so I interned with Grant Thornton.
The four-week programme was the perfect length to get a real flavour of the work and life as a tax associate. I worked closely with my buddy, got stuck into real client work, attended talks from people across the firm, and enjoyed the social side, too – including winning a netball tournament against other corporate firms! The internship confirmed that it was the right fit and gave me the clarity I needed that a career in tax was for me.
Coming back as a graduate and rejoining the same team, it was great to see familiar faces and take on more responsibility. I haven’t looked back.
What really attracted me to graduate programme was the opportunity to study for a professional qualification (ACA) while gaining hands-on experience. Initially it was a big challenge adjusting to the step up from university, juggling ACA exams alongside client work – but knowing that everyone on the team had been through it too made a huge difference. Their advice and support helped me find my feet and it’s been exciting to keep learning while contributing more to the team.
One of the most rewarding parts of my trainee journey has been seeing what we learn in the qualification come to life in client work. Even as an associate, you’re trusted with real responsibility – I’ve had the chance to get involved in more technical tax advisory work, which has helped me grow quite quickly.
The variety of work has been really interesting, too. Working in Financial Services Tax offers a great mix of compliance work – analysing data, preparing tax computations and returns– and advisory work including mergers and acquisitions work across the FS sector, from banks to insurance companies and asset managers. No two days feel the same!
The culture here is friendly, supportive, and genuinely caring. People are always happy to help, and since so many have been in your shoes, they offer great advice. The trainee cohort is also very social, which makes it easy to build friendships and connections and really feel like part of a community.
The open culture of regularly giving candid but kind feedback and advice has played a big role in my development, too. One piece of advice that stuck with me was: once you’ve seen a work stream through once, try to take the lead the next time. It’s helped me build confidence and understand how my work fits into the bigger picture.
I’ll always appreciate the managers who took the time to invest in my development – some spent hours patiently explaining concepts and answering all my questions. Whether it was during my internship or after joining the graduate programme, their support helped me build confidence early on.
If you’re thinking about applying, read up on people’s stories and experiences to get a feel for the role – and make sure to look into the qualification, as it’s a big part of the trainee journey.
One thing I wish I’d known before starting is that you’re not expected to walk in knowing it all. I remember worrying that everyone else would have loads of experience, but I quickly realised that prior corporate experience isn’t required. What really matters is having a curious mindset and being open to developing your professional skills – everything else is taught through training, exams, and hands-on experience.
