CPAnet Forum: Here’s some advice on recruiting

Active Topics

Memberlist

Help

Big 4 Talk
CPAnet Forum : Big 4 Talk

Topic: Here’s some advice on recruiting (

Topic Closed)

Author

Message

<< Prev Topic | Next Topic >>

WSPcpa
Contributor

Joined: 29 Jun 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 73

Posted: 15 Jan 2012 at 00:17 \| IP Logged

I had a couple people email me about big 4 recruiting
(mainly about low UG GPAs) and I wrote a lengthy email in
response that I figured I would just share with everyone.

"What I did when I started the Macc was read a crap load
on CPAnet. It's a really great tool with good info on how
to get a job with big 4. The biggest things I learned
are:

1) Recruiting takes place 95% of the time in the fall of
every semester. They recruit interns for the following
summer, and full time for the following fall. They will
in some cases start people in January, if you happen to
be graduating in the december that they are recruiting.
This is huge and I don't think a lot of my classmates
fully were aware of this. At this point in the semester,
the jobs have pretty much dried up. Depending on the
school, there will start to be networking/recruiting
events in the summer. This is essentially how I got my
job. I was invited to come to a cocktail party at a bar
in the city the office was in, and I met a lot of
employees and parters/managers. I did this with 2 other
firms also and was offered a job by 1 of them which I
didn't take.

2) I guess this goes into networking. At Meet the Firms
(search for more info on cpanet) and any recruiting event
like I described before, make ABSOLUTELY sure that
whoever you meet (unless you just briefly talk with them
and you don't make much of a connection) get a card, and
follow up with an email. Email them periodically (every
4-6 months, and in about May/June to ask about the
recruiting process for the upcoming fall. I did this with
a partner and he mentioned it to me when he gave me an
offer. He said only 2 other students followed up and it
really made me stand out. When you have interviews, send
an email the same/next day and also do a thank you card.
The thank you card is key because not many other people
do this. If you are interviewing with a partner, he is
accustomed to how things were back in the days of snail
mail, and it will definitely put you in a good light. If
you interview with someone <30 it might not be as
important.

Although the fruits of my labors didn't pan out, I would
use linkedin as a tool. I was able to search for people
who went to my school, were in alumni groups, or in
BAPsi, and was able to see where they worked. I sent them
a message just asking questions about tax/audit or big
4/middle market (MM) or anything like that. I usually
targeted people who were only a few years out (associate,
senior, maybe manager) because they remember the stress
you are going through. Don't ask to send your resume,
because they will more than likely do that for you.
Ultimately, you want your resume to be seen by as many
recruiters as possible. Most were more than happy to help
and applauded me for networking early. Some will take
months to respond, and that's fine. I did this
particularly at locations where my school didn't recruit
for. I did this because if a certain city was recruiting
from my school, and I sent the partner a message on
linkedin, and he for some reason thought it was desperate
or didn't like the tone of my message for whatever
reason, I thought I would be tainted somehow. While I'm
on this topic, firms in the area come to campuses to
recruit, and they are recruiting mainly for their
offices. When they come, tell them you are interested in
their city, don't say "I want to go anywhere, maybe NYC"
because that won't get you anywhere. If you HAVE to get
somewhere in particular across the country for a spouse
or girlfriend, they will try to help you, but they have
their own interests in mind. They also don't want people
who are going to work in the office for a year and
transfer out, so make your case that you want to stay in
that city because of family or whatever that city has to
offer. In reality most will only stay for 2 years
anyways, but you just have to jump through the hoops.

3) Resume - This is probably the most important piece.
If you don't pass the screening of the recruiters, you're
toast. I had a low undergrad GPA, but killed it in grad
school and had a 3.7+. Get a leadership role in beta
alpha psi, join any clubs you might be interested in and
get other leadership roles. It doesn't hurt to join
sports clubs or something that shows you aren't just 100%
focused on school - for example a sailing club or
something. GPA needs to be 3.5+ with the higher the
better. Work experience is helpful, but random
internships and graduate assistantships will suffice.
Obviously work with career services (for the business
school, not the school wide one) to refine your resume
over and over and over. My resume went through at least
50 iterations over 1.5 years. Things you think are good
may not appear that way to other people (like recruiters
and partners, the people that matter).

4) Interview - read cpanet for interview questions and
people's experiences. Generally it will be "behavioral
questions" like what is your biggest weakness ect. If
your
campus offers mock/practice interviews, absolutely take
advantage of them. I noticed I got much more
comfortable/confident/fluent/intelligent every single
interview that I went on."

__________________
If it were easy, everyone would do it
It's the hard that makes it great

bullandre
Regular
Regular

Joined: 16 Jul 2009
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 232

Posted: 18 Jan 2012 at 21:25 \| IP Logged

Thanks for the advice. I have a Meet the Firms event in February at my school and I'm very nervous and worried. I start this spring in a Macc program and I expect the program op take at least one year. SO far I have passed my all parts of the CPA, but do you think I will be considered for an internship position even though I havent established a GPA?

__________________
Done, passed all on the 1st try

BEC 87
REG 81
AUD 88
FAR 86 Rescheduled to Jan 2011

Brooklyn, NY

dksmoove
Newbie
Newbie

Joined: 24 Mar 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 19

Posted: 24 Jan 2012 at 00:39 \| IP Logged

For the people who do not like to read long paragraphs, I
will also offer an alternate version of my opinion.
For the undergrads,

1. Join the accounting club/association at your school.

2. Go to the networking events (e.g. Meet the Firms,
Networking Receptions, Speaking engagements, Socials,
etc.)

3. Get as much facetime as you can with the recruiters &
professionals. Talk to them about anything, just create a
flowing conversation and show them your interest.

4. Get your resume out there, and keep in touch via e-
mail.

5. Keep your GPA up-- 3.7+

6. *DO NOT* only focus on academics. Get a part-time job.
Get involved in leadership positions in organizations-
show dedication, show the ability to multitask, show that
you work well with others.

7. Interviews. 1st round-- Most likely will be resume-
based and the typical: "Why accounting, why audit/tax"
etc. They might also throw in a typical behavioral
question.
2nd round-- This is where they see if you are a cultural
fit or not. The whole day is an interview process-
lunch/dinner, icebreakers, etc. and of course the
interviews. The interviews can vary in 2nd rounds. Be
prepared. Be prepared to connect with your interviewer,
be prepared to show your personality.

This is just off the top of my head, but hope this helps
as well. Please PM me if you have any questions or
comments.

bullandre
Regular
Regular

Joined: 16 Jul 2009
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 232

Posted: 24 Jan 2012 at 19:44 \| IP Logged

dksmoove wrote:

There is no PM feature, do you have an email you don't mind sharing?

__________________
Done, passed all on the 1st try

BEC 87
REG 81
AUD 88
FAR 86 Rescheduled to Jan 2011

Brooklyn, NY

dksmoove
Newbie
Newbie

Joined: 24 Mar 2011
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 19

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 at 01:28 \| IP Logged

bullandre wrote:

dksmoove wrote:

For the people who do not like to read
long paragraphs, I
will also offer an alternate version of my opinion.
For the undergrads,

1. Join the accounting club/association at your school.

2. Go to the networking events (e.g. Meet the Firms,
Networking Receptions, Speaking engagements, Socials,
etc.)

3. Get as much facetime as you can with the recruiters &
professionals. Talk to them about anything, just create a
flowing conversation and show them your interest.

4. Get your resume out there, and keep in touch via e-
mail.

5. Keep your GPA up-- 3.7+

6. *DO NOT* only focus on academics. Get a part-time job.
Get involved in leadership positions in organizations-
show dedication, show the ability to multitask, show that
you work well with others.

7. Interviews. 1st round-- Most likely will be resume-
based and the typical: "Why accounting, why audit/tax"
etc. They might also throw in a typical behavioral
question.
2nd round-- This is where they see if you are a cultural
fit or not. The whole day is an interview process-
lunch/dinner, icebreakers, etc. and of course the
interviews. The interviews can vary in 2nd rounds. Be
prepared. Be prepared to connect with your interviewer,
be prepared to show your personality.

This is just off the top of my head, but hope this helps
as well. Please PM me if you have any questions or
comments.

There is no PM feature, do you have an
email you don't mind sharing?

Sure, shoot me an email at junshikk@gmail.com

Page of 2 Next >>

Printable version

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot create polls in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum