Employee Referrals at Big 4

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  • #160996
    pbnj
    Member

    How effective are employee referrals at Big 4?

    A friend of a friend’s wife (long association) just put me in for a referral for an audit senior position at EY. I’m pretty sure that my qualifications will be in question… and maybe severely lacking… but looking at the job requirements… I might just make the bare minimum… (I hope…?) but then again, who knows what the HR people are looking for…?

    Is this an edge that might get me an interview, or should I just tally it as wishful thinking?

    Thanks again for the advice!

Viewing 13 replies - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
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  • #290829
    thechamp26
    Member

    I guess it depends on how much pull the employee has. Someone in a higher up position, like a senior manager or director, has a lot more pull than say a first year staff. That being said – what are your qualifications? It doesn't matter who you know if your qualifications aren't up to par. You can't expect to go from like a bookkeeper at a small retail store to a senior associate at a public accounting firm by just knowing an employee at the firm.

    #290830
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I think it's pretty unlikely that they would be willing to bring someone in as a senior if they werent at least a senior auditor at another firm (like another big 4 firm). Sorry 🙁

    #290831
    Herbieherb
    Participant

    Ya maybe u can get a staff position, at best. without prior public audit exp at another big4 or regional firm, remote chance of being hired as a senior, no matter who you know.

    NEW YORK- DONE

    #290832
    ROACH
    Member

    what would a referral for an inexperience person do?

    whats the lowest gpa minimal and whats the lowest position someone can get in the big4? my gpa is cum is 3.2 and my major is 3.4 ish. plus i went to a state college.

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    #290833
    thechamp26
    Member

    I've always heard they won't look at you with a 3.5 or less. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, but I always thought 3.5 was the lowest.

    #290834
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I dont believe there is a minimum gpa, but if there is, its probably something closer to 3.0. I believe the entry level position at the big 4 is “associate”, basically staff auditor or staff tax accountant.

    Are you going through on campus recruiting? Also, dont rule out the local regional firms. Especially if you are coming from a state school. There are alot of good opportunities to be had going into a regional or large local firm.

    I worked for a large local firm in northern california, and helped do some of the recruiting. We typically took 10-15 interns during the summer, and 10-20 in the august start group, maybe 5-10 in the jan start group. My firm actually made it a point NOT to recruit from UC's because those students typically did not have as many accounting classes. None of the UC's (university of california) actually have undergraduate accounting programs, but virtually ALL the state colleges do.

    #290835
    ROACH
    Member

    ^I'm definitely looking at big4/regional/national firms. My state school has no recruitment program.. none.. it's really sad haha.

    Luckily right after I graduated I found a job doing G&A/accounting work for a logistics company. It's a bookkeeping job but it pays the bills.

    I am hoping after I pass all four parts of the CPA I can move forward in my career.

    and I was thinking the best way to get in big4 or a regional firm is studying for the GMAT and score in the 650+ range so that I could get into a good school that has some type of recruiting program.

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    #290836
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I'm a second year staff at a big 4 firm and I can tell you that a referral is going to help you get the interview if your resume is weak. You are on your own in the first and second round interviews though, as the impressions you make there will determine if you get the job or not.

    #290837

    maybe im just lucky to have gone to a big state school that all b4 (plus more) firms recruit at, but i think the notions of how difficult it is to get looked at by the b4 are incorrect if youre coming from an environment like mine. a 3.5 at my school was not that easy for an accountant to have, so that was definitely NOT a requirement…

    …but i guess if youre coming from another school or industry or a referral, they might be more selective. but if you're an underclassman at a school is visited regularly by b4 recruiters, i dont think you have to be academically exceptional.

    one thing to note is, if you first get into b4 through internship or leadership conference, you'll have to approximately maintain grades from that point forward. most people i know have contracts that stipulate stable grades throughout the rest of college or employment offers can be reevaluated/rescinded. i doubt there are many people that get dropped because of a .01 or even .1 drop in gpa, but straight D's your senior year might mean youre out of a job.

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    #290838
    thechamp26
    Member

    valueofnothing – of course a 3.5 “isn't a requirement” but if you think about it, who would a Big4 look at first? A kid with a 3.7 GPA or a kid with a 3.0 GPA from the same school? Schools with good accounting programs usually attract the brightest accounting students and if you don't think a lot of your peers have over a 3.5, you're mistaken. These same students are the overachievers with all of the extracurricular activities as well. Every accounting student wants a job at a Big4 or national firm, so don't you think they recruit the best of the best?

    #290839

    @thechamp i dont know what perspective youre speaking from (b4 employee, student, whatever) so i dont know what your personal experiences are… but my school is much different than what you perceive (though i guess we're not really a “top” accounting program). grade inflation did not exist within the accounting department…. so for a meaningful amount of 400 level classes, professors gave only 10 or maybe 20% of kids an a or a-… with maybe another 10-15% getting a b+… which means that only a third of kids (and usually less) are getting something above a 3.33. yes, there are a few easier classes and tons of underclassman-level general courses that some people aced to help the GPA out, but overall grades aren't as high as youd expect. maybe some “top” programs make give gentlemen's B's to students once they get into 400 level classes… but plenty of my peers that accepted b4 job offers were working hard during the final semester just to make sure they weren't going to fail a class.

    and to pontificate a bit more, 3.7 vs 3.0 isn't even necessarily true. so much of b4 (and smaller company) recruiting seemed to be about being able to network/socialize/get along with other interviewees/have fun without embarrassing yourself… employers rented out bars and restaurants for pre- and post-interview events. so the kid with respectable grades who can mingle may very well get looked at before someone that has a 3.8 but can't converse with someone for more than 30 seconds. just my observations…

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    #290840
    thechamp26
    Member

    My personal experience – graduated last year, interned with a big firm, and accepted their offer (I'm an associate now). So you're saying around 20-35% of students get a B+ or better? What average grade would convert to a 3.5/4? Low As and High Bs….

    I completely agree about other traits being a huge factor, though. I'm just saying, all other playing fields being equal (or close), I wouldn't expect to see the time of day with a 3.0.

    #290841

    @champ agreed.

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Viewing 13 replies - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
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