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Cappuccinolover
Contributor

Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 16

Posted: 02 Nov 2008 at 17:44 \| IP Logged

I don't know if this is going to help any of you. I don't mean to sound
arrogant or anything, but I just think that this might be useful to some of
you. I came up with these questions before going into my big 4 interviews
and actually got offers. If there's anything you guys want to add on or
change, please feel free to do so. I really appreciate for all the help and
encouragement I got from this forum, and I truly hope this post will
benefit those who are looking for jobs.

I actually classify the questions into 3 categories: general questions,
questions for lower management, and questions for upper
management/partners. And I also paid a lot of attention during the
interviews when the interviewers tried to explain things to me. I asked
some additional questions based on the things they talk about. Here is
my basic list:

General Questions
*What, in your opinion, is the core value of the company
*What is your typical day like (I actually never got any chance to ask this
one)
*How would you describe your work environment
*What kind of skills outside your accounting background do you feel are
the most important to have as an employee of XXX
*What qualities do you believe are the most important to succeed in a
public accounting firm? What quality has helped you make it this far?
*How do you maintain the relationship with your colleagues when you
spend most of the time working on a client's site(I think this one is for
those who travel a lot, like an auditor or something similar)

Tier I Questions
*What made you choose XXX
*Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years
*what are your favorite/least favorite parts of your job
*Tell me a little bit about your most interesting engagement
*How do you solve conflicts in a team
*What was the most difficult engagement you have had
*How would you describe the style of management at XXX
*What was your biggest challenge when you first started working at XXX?
How did you overcome the challenge
*What do you believe are the factors that made your company this
successful (Mine firms are listed as the bast place to launch a career, so I
asked about that)

Tier II Questions
*How would you define success in XXX
*Where do you see XXX in the next 5 years
*What kind of growth does management expect to see from a new hire in
1 year. Will there be anyone to help me achieve the goal?
*When 2010 comes, GAAP will be replaced by IFRS. What kind of influence
will IFRS bring to the auditors? Will XXX provide training on IFRS for
auditors? What kind of training is there?
*What kind of training do you provide for a new hire?
*What are your women/diversity/community service initiatives
*How does XXX choose its clients

I asked some tier I questions when interviewing with upper management.
But one thing I found out is it's kind of difficult for a lower management
to answer some of the Tier II questions. It's always worth a try though. I
really hope this helps. Those who already have jobs, if you have any
better questions/ suggestions, please let all of us know. I'm sure we will
all appreciate it very much. Thank you in advance.

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lelik
Major Contributor

Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1396

Posted: 03 Nov 2008 at 19:03 \| IP Logged

Cappuccinolover, great questions. Actually, those questions you need to ask during an interview were the most difficult part for me. :-) Ha-ha, until the moment I accepted an offer without asking too much and getting into a company that I really hated. Afterward, an interview process became much more meaningful for me. :-)

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mikesgirl
Contributor

Joined: 03 Nov 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 78

Posted: 03 Nov 2008 at 19:37 \| IP Logged

Those are great questions, thank you for sharing them with us - I appreciate any advice I find about the recruiting/interview process! Congrats on your offers!

Edited by mikesgirl on 03 Nov 2008 at 19:38

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