[Peanut Butter is Good]

I am going to apply to these jobs, obviously. But, I’ve been under the impression lately that they already know exactly who they want, and this is simply going to be the culmination of long-time recruitment, or shoe-ins who have already gone through an internship program. Being that I don’t fall into either of those categories, am I basically just not a “real” candidate, and are these posting sort of just a formality?

[Anonymous]

@CPANB Honestly I don't remember how long after I applied I heard back. It was one of those situations where I let go of the thought of ever getting into Big 4, booked a vacation came back a few days later and saw that a recruiter reached out to me about furthering the process.

I applied to a different office to the one I had applied to in school. I was pretty flexible and open to moving (kept my options open basically). I can tell you it depends on the client needs of the office you're applying to. I started during busy season which I am pretty sure was due to the needs of the office.

I can say apply for as many jobs as you can. Different recruiters check those applications and ones just may reach out to you. If it gives you any assurance, I actually received 2 full time offers by 2 different Big 4 companies by applying online. Don't lose faith, if on campus didn't work out another way will.

[Anonymous]

Thank you @2014CPA. Job searching is a long process but your story really motivates me!!!

[Peanut Butter is Good]

Thank you all for the interest.

In response to some the questions posed:

(1) The jobs were posted to the university career center website, and I will apply through the university website, as well as through the firm's own site.

(2) I will have a “chance” to meet most of the firms by way of their recruiters. More specifically, my university holds an annual job fair in a few weeks, and recruiters from KPMG, PwC, and so forth will all be there, so I'll have a chance to wait in line, give my profile, and make a good impression. I'm going to try and show up looking as attractive as I'm capable of.

(3) I do have a handful of contacts at Deloitte, ParenteBeard, CohnReznick, PwC, etc. But I'm not positive any of these contacts are going to translate to success.

(4) I JUST set up a LinkedIn profile, and am strategizing (though honestly, I don't favor social media, LinkedIn included). But, I'm willing the play the game, so I'm setting it up to the 9's and preparing to mass-request everyone I can think of, as well as “head-hunt” for recruiters at at least 10 firms.

Despite all of the above, I remain deathly afraid that at the end of hiring season, I will somehow miss the boat, despite my 3.6 GPA, corporate accounting internship, and pending MS degree… because I'm 29 and don't know enough people.

[ahugemistake]

I'm curious as to how you find Big 4 recruiters on LinkedIn? I see a lot of recruiters that work for regional firms but never for Big4, am I not looking hard enough?

FAR - 78*
AUD - 66, 79
REG - 73, 76
BEC - 79

[Anonymous]

You're not looking hard enough.

[mystical guy]

What I've realized, the past 3 years, is that we can be so negative and it shows when we speak to recruiters. You apply for the job, contact recruiters on LinkedIn and mention how much you want the position. Some people even contact Partners and Senior Managers and form a relationship with them. Others, the more successful ones, attend networking events with their little elevator speeches prepared.

The key is to remain positive in your job search. Never let negative thoughts into your mind.

CPA - Since 2015
CISA - Smashed 2012
CIA - Passed 2015

[mystical guy]

What I've realized, the past 3 years, is that we can be so negative and it shows when we speak to recruiters. You apply for the job, contact recruiters on LinkedIn and mention how much you want the position. Some people even contact Partners and Senior Managers and form a relationship with them. Others, the more successful ones, attend networking events with their little elevator speeches prepared.

The key is to remain positive in your job search. Never let negative thoughts into your mind.

CPA - Since 2015
CISA - Smashed 2012
CIA - Passed 2015

[Goldenbearcpa]

Ex-Big 4 intern here, starting in a couple weeks at the firm with whom I completed my internship… Trust me, there are plenty of spots. If only you saw how many of my fellow interns did not return to begin full time.

REG: 84 on 4/18/14
AUD: 93 on 5/29/14
FAR: 90 on 8/8/14
BEC: 91 on 8/31/14

DONE!

[AScott89]

Hey guys is there anybody on here who can tell me what the job reference codes for Deloitte mean? I saw something on their site that said they would not look at submissions for job postings until after the submission end date and I am wondering if I can figure that out from the job code. The audit staff position I applied for starting fall of next year has ‘AF16SEPEH-AU' in it. Does this mean that the end date for submissions is the 16th of September?

BEC-65
AUD-72(8 '14); 68(11 '14)
FAR-
REG-

[Peanut Butter is Good]

Hey guys, I started this post a while ago. Thanks for answering and helping out.

So, I just joined Beta Alpha Psi. Through them, I'm going to meet practically all the available firms, from Big 4 down to small ones. However, some other people (in their late 20's, like me) say they have heard that the big 4 are not really going to hire any one for internships/jobs except for internal hires that they have already groomed. These people who told me this are very negative, and acting like it is a hopeless situation, but they claim they heard it from our student advisor and that it is legitimate information.

I can't stand such negativity, so I am going to be positive and try and charm the recruiters with hopefulness and a good attitude. However, I'm asking you guys. Be real with me: Am I really in a hopeless situation? I'm graduating in December with an MS in accounting, a 3.6 gpa, and some accounting experience. Not one top 10 accounting firm (doesn't need to be big 4) wouldn't want me to start in Spring 2015, either as an audit intern or full-time auditor? Seems unbelievable.

[fuzyfro89]

Estimates change all the time. The *goal* is to hire only past interns, but for obvious reasons this does not happen. Not everyone can or does do an internship, and obviously some people decline full time offers.

Also, estimates change. In Fall '14 they are planning interns for spring/summer '15 who they hope will start full time in spring/summer '16. By '15, their estimates could go up for '16 or could go down… you never know.

The goal is to hire *most* people who intern as full time associates, but for obvious reasons, this is not a science and things change.

If you can't get a job with a 3.6 GPA and at a school where all firms recruit, you don't know how to network/interview. That's a solid GPA and a solid school (my assumption based on the fact that all the firms go there), so the only question is if they have openings and you present yourself as a top candidate.

It's not 2009 where they cut hiring in half and pushed start dates for people who had already signed their offers.

Start networking, because Sep-Nov is the busy time for them to be giving interviews and handing out offers!

[Peanut Butter is Good]

Thanks man. My networking consisted of joining LinkedIn and request-bombing everyone I could think of (195 friends in 2 weeks lolll), and I was going to use LinkedIn to find recruiters. BUT it seems like this pales in comparison to the relationships I will be able to build by going to the weekly Beta Alpha Psi meetings, as well as another external job fair through an accounting organization, whereby even more midsize firms will be there recruiting, to the point where I will come into contact with just about every notable firm that is recruiting.

Most importantly, I would think, is that I am not taking Financial Reporting (Intermediate Accounting) this semester, the class which gives people fits, anxiety, and depression (I had my turn over a year ago), so it's a lot easier to stay positive when you're not faced with the impossible class which is FR.

[Author]

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