There must be an award for the cheesiest title?! This blog is a little overdue, but the joys of dissertations, journal readings and job applications have kept me more than busy over the last couple of months. Fourth year is certainly as demanding as I’d been told.  I’m actually quite enjoying the challenge of keeping the various plates spinning, and I’m sure it’ll all be worthwhile when it’s all over next June. I'm probably working harder now than I ever have done before, but to use another cringe-worthy quote from an inspirational sports film, if you want something you've never had you must be willing to do something you've never done.

I certainly feel my internship in Boston left me well-equipped for the pressures of Honours year. At Liberty Mutual I learned the importance of time management-staying organised to ensure that all work is completed on time and to a high standard, mainly by successfully prioritising the workload. The work ethic in the office was pretty sensational, getting through a heavy list of duties without working exhausting hours. They seemed to have struck a balance between work and social life, and whilst they were invariably in the office for 8 o’clock, few waited beyond 4 in the afternoon. That is something I have tried to achieve myself, though the stress relief of going to watch Hibs normally has the opposite effect! I should have stuck to American Football; the Patriots are 8-2 and looking solid. I can only imagine the atmosphere in New England if they win the Super Bowl this year, such was the passion we experienced at the pre-season match we attended.

I’m also making good use of the internship in application forms and interviews. My friends may have grown tired of the constant Boston tales, but employers are always interested in the work I did and experience I gained whilst there. It fair stands out on the CV, and I have already used plenty of anecdotes from my work with LM to answer the various application questions. The only difficulty is trying to stop talking about it and use other examples from different settings!

I’m sure everyone at the Saltire Foundation is busy too trying to finalise places for next year’s intake. Through some PR work for other companies I’ve been talking to plenty of students on campus, and have been slipping the SF opportunities in whenever I can. It isn’t a very difficult sell, and it’s good to hear that students are already aware of the scheme. I’m sure there will be another flood of applications when they open in the New Year, though I’ll be helping out with more than a tinge of jealousy that I'm not able to go again!

For now it’s back to my Accounting Research Methodologies assignment, jealous much?!

Cheers.

Colin