I'm currently interning at a midsized firm (top 20).  KPMG and Deloitte do recruiting on my campus.  I was wondering if my internship experience would give me an edge in the Big 4 recruiting process.  Also, if I am extended a full-time offer from the midsized firm, should I accept it with the hopes of still pursuing Big 4?

thanks

yes, that experience will look great on your resume. you will have an advantage over other candidates with no public accounting experience, at least in terms of getting an interview. when you get to the interview stage, your performance there is going to dictate a signification portion of their decision.

regarding your second question, that depends on your personal ethics. you will not be breaking any laws, but to accept a job offer and continue interviewing with other firms in hopes of getting a "better" job is considered poor taste. on the flip side, the firms would not think twice about laying you off if they needed to, so why should anyone have that much loyalty to their employer?

if i were in that situation, i would work hard to get an offer from your current firm, and then explain to them that you had a great experience, but would like to participate in the OCR program at your school to see what the options are.

if they don't allow you the time to do that, you have a difficult decision to make.