Work Experience with KPMG

Posted Mon 16th Jan 2017 at 12:19
by Helena Tiger-Rose Brindle

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Helena talks about her month-long work experience placement at KPMG and how it has changed her life for the better.

2016 had not really been a great year for me.

It was my final year at college and I had missed nearly 2 terms of it because my tics had become uncontrollable and I was reacting badly to any medication prescribed. By the end of June, I was totally dispirited and exhausted from trying to scrape through my A levels and all I wanted to do was to go to sleep for at least 6 months.

I was in hibernation mode a few weeks later when my mother cheerfully shows me the Tourette’s Action Newsletter announcing a unique opportunity for someone with Tourette’s to have a month’s paid work experience with KPMG at their Canary Wharf offices in London. To be quite honest, I groaned at the thought. Don’t get me wrong – the idea of me working as part of a team in a smart office environment has always been a nice thought– but the reality was that I was never going to be that person. I had absolutely no energy, most of it taken by my constant neck and shoulder tics, I had most likely failed my A levels, despite originally being predicted decent grades, I had not socialised with anyone in ages, especially not in large groups and I had never stayed away from home for more than a few nights on a school trip. Nice idea, but nah!

However, to please Mum, I forced myself to read the article and I began to be intrigued by what it said. The fact was that KPMG were starting with a given that the person had Tourette’s. That meant that they had to have some understanding that it was not just about tics but also about exhaustion and distraction and possible social awkwardness. If they were prepared to be understanding to that point, then maybe it might be worth pushing myself to see what I could achieve out in the real world. One extremely basic CV and short letter later, I had officially applied. I had done my bit and it was now up to KPMG to decide if my application stood out enough for them to want to see me.

By the end of the summer, I was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed and a little bored with having nothing to do, so I was really pleased to get an email from Suzanne Dobson (CEO of Tourette’s Action) offering me an interview at the Tax training office in South Quay Plaza. I had never been interviewed before, but I reasoned that, if my qualifications (or lack of them) had actually got me to the stage of being interviewed, then the next hurdle would be judged mainly on presentation and personality, so I needed to look and act the part. I persuaded my mum that a suit would be a good investment and dressed in a smart but understated way. I had no idea what sort of questions would be asked, but I knew that it would be a pretty friendly interview and they knew all the ‘tricky bits’ about me so I could relax and answer any questions honestly. The one thing I did prepare were some strong (but simple) questions. Have you ever noticed in a talk or a lecture (doesn’t matter about what), when the speaker has finished talking and asks if anyone has any questions? If no one asks one, there is always that awkward silence – where the audience try to think of something just to break the silence and the talker seems a little hurt that he has not interested his audience enough. I decided that an interviewer would probably be the same and he would be sure to ask if there were any questions, so it made sense to have some prepared.

The big day arrived and, having taken the train from Hampshire, there I was with the clock ticking down, struggling to locate the correct address in Canary Wharf (which was actually in South Quay). I found the place just in time, as the map given to both Suzanne Dobson and I seemed to be outdated, causing both of us to get lost for a short bit of time. The thought that it had not just been me helped me to calm down for the interview. The interview itself was very comfortable. Chris Shrubsole (Head of Technical Learning for Tax, Pensions and Legal at KPMG) went out of his way to put me at my ease. He showed me around the offices and introduced me to everyone in his team. They were all very friendly and welcomed me even though I hadn’t been hired for the work experience yet (I liked what I saw in that short time). One of my concerns about the job was that, since my illness, I had only been able to apply myself to a task for a short period of time before being wiped out, so I was not sure whether I would be able to go straight into an 8-hour work day. Chris suggested that perhaps they could start me at 5 hours a day and slowly increase the time so that I could adjust. It definitely seemed as though they would be accommodating. I then asked my not-so confident question – ‘Why did you decide to offer this opportunity to someone specifically with Tourette’s’ – and got quite an interesting reply – apparently, he had been inspired by watching one of the ‘Unemployable Me’ programs and felt that KPMG could do something similar. I did not think about it much at the time, but Chris must have gone to a great deal of effort to get approval for this opportunity from the heads of such a large organisation. The interview ended with me being told that they had a few more people to see and that they would let me know within the week. As I left the building, I decided that, if nothing else, I had experienced my first interview and that, even if I did not get the job, I should still be proud of myself.

The following afternoon, I had a telephone call from Chris Shrubsole, telling me that I had got the position! Tricky moment because my telephone skills are next to useless – for some reason, when I am on the telephone, I feel that I am trying to speak in a foreign language and translate as I go along, I think it is the disembodied voice that puts me off. I have just been offered an amazing opportunity and the man who has made it happen is on the other end of the phone and all I can do is politely say thank you. When I put the phone down, I realise that he may have expected just a little bit of excitement of happiness, but it is too late! An email confirms that I still have the job, despite my terrible phone skills, and I realise that I am actually going to have to move to London for a month, commute and work a full day for 5 days a week. Panic!!!

I only had a couple of weeks to prepare and these flew by in a flurry of paperwork, shopping for suitable clothes and arranging accommodation. I originally thought that I might stay with my sister and her boyfriend, but they only have a one-bedroomed flat and I suspected that I would need to have somewhere quiet to go after work and a sofa-bed in my sister’s living room was not going to be ideal, so I ended up staying with a friend of the family in Chiswick – an hour’s commute to Canary Wharf – where at least I would have my own bedroom. My mother drove me there the day before I started and, after she left, I began to realise how much I had taken on. I seemed to be tackling all of my problems in one go. I suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome and OCD, which is why I don’t like staying away from home and yet here I was in a strange house and not enough stuff to make it even slightly familiar, then tomorrow, I was going to put on some strange clothes and work my way through the one of the busiest transport systems in the UK and go and work in a strange office with strangers! Tempting though it was to pick up the phone and ask my Mum to come and collect me, I forced myself to calm down. It was for a limited time, I just needed to deal with each problem as it occurred and if it all went horribly wrong, then I could just go home and at least I would know that I have given it my best shot.

My first day was not exactly the best. Some of the tube lines were out of action, I had to take a bus and got off a couple of stops too soon, so had to walk for a long time. I just arrived at work on time and met up with Chris Shrubsole’s colleagues who were very nice. Chris was away for a few days, so I was given a small project that he had assigned to me. I was a bit put out. He wanted me to produce a PowerPoint presentation on Tourette’s! Having spent the last year struggling with my Tourette’s in one of the worst possible ways, I was hoping to be doing some ‘normal’ work that made me feel a bit more ‘normal’, the idea of unearthing all my demons and filling a presentation with them was rather a nasty shock. Chris was away though and I did not feel that there was anyone there that I could confide my feelings to, so I rather half-heartedly began my research feeling relieved that I was only working a short day. I did intersperse the work by helping out a little round the office so I did at least feel as though I was doing some ‘proper office work’.

A few days later Chris returned and I showed him the work that I had done. He liked it, but explained that he was looking for something a bit more imaginative that would help people really understand what it is like to suffer from Tourette’s. He also gave me more actual office work to do. Challenged to use my imagination, I came up with my Ant presentation. Chris really liked this and then asked me if I would be prepared to speak and present it to a couple of his tax students seminars in a couple of weeks. He told me that I could back down at any time and, probably numb from all the new experiences so far, I somehow agreed!

Work gradually improved, although I did occasionally feel like a spare wheel when I had nothing to do and nobody accepted my offers of help. It was at these times that I was glad that my shortened days had never really extended to the full 8 hours. I was also learning to cope with living away from home, although I confess to being a terrible guest who pretty much hid in her room the whole time.

The talks came towards the end of my work experience. Suzanne Dobson had also been invited to speak and it was nice to see her again. As an ice-breaker, the students had all been asked to lie down on the floor and imagine that they had an ant crawling over part of their body, then another one and another…. You get the picture! It might have worked with, say, a bunch of drama students, but fell pretty flat with the tax students. I then did my ‘living with Tourette’s talk which was followed by Suzanne’s project.

By the end of my work experience I was absolutely exhausted but I had stuck with it and, looking back, enjoyed most of it. So what did I get out of it? I think the biggest thing was the boost it gave to my confidence. Now I know for sure that, if I put the effort in, I can achieve anything I want. I also know that I don’t give up easily. There were some very difficult days when all I wanted to do was to crawl into a hole and hide, but I stuck them out. The most interesting thing is how much I learned about Tourette’s. I have never been able to meet up with anyone else who has Tourette’s so have no real experience of the problem, other than how it affects me. I have always thought of myself as being the ‘unlucky’ winner in our family. My elder sister has anxiety problems and OCD, my brother has Asperger’s and I have managed to get all of their problems as well as ADD and Tourette’s. What I discovered from my research at KPMG is that all of those symptoms are actually part of the general ‘Living with Tourette’s’ package. It made me realise that if even I did not know that, how are the general public ever to realise it when they still have enormous difficulty with the fact that not all Tourette’s sufferers make random noises or swear.

Well, back to my work experience…. All I can say is that it has changed my life for the better. I have not yet decided what I want to do in the future, but will be spending the next year or so trying different types of work to discover what really suits me. I have just finished a couple of Christmas jobs, one on a Christmas Market Stall and the other as a cashier in a supermarket – neither great for long term, but both showing me that I enjoy working with people. I now have the confidence to look for what suits me rather than to be passive and accept anything that I am offered.

Thank you Chris, thank you to the team at KPMG, and thank you Suzanne for enabling me to have this life-changing opportunity.

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