Ryan Basqual, Audit Trainee, Deloitte

What does your job involve?

A normal day for me would involve testing the controls around the financial reporting process; holding team meetings to catch up on the audit file; and interacting with and building relationships with our clients.

How did you benefit from having completed your masters?

For me it was about becoming a little bit more mature. I only had three years in college before that. It was really building my people skills, more so than any technical knowledge, that really helped me

What skills are important to be successful?

It’s really important to be self-led, to take responsibility for what you’re doing and do it to a high quality. It’s important to be able to work as part of a team and be a good communicator, as you’re always communicating with clients and your team.

What experience helped build your skills?

You get lots of opportunities to do different things, so it might even be something as simple as working as part of a group in college on a project. Or it could be your hobbies. I learned a lot of skills from playing football.

What do you love about your job?

My favourite thing about the job is the learning environment. You’re constantly building on your skills in a learning friendly environment. You’re given a lot of responsibility quite early. That’s important for a graduate as you want to get into it straight away.

What made you choose a job in this sector?

I always had an interest in it during school and college. People like doing what they’re good at and I always found studying this was easy for me. I went for interviews with all of the big four in the sector and Deloitte stood out for me as a better and friendlier environment to work in.

Any advice for first year students?

Get involved in as many things as you can to develop your soft skills. The technical knowledge comes when you start working, but it’s the people skills that set people apart in business.