[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I hope you guys have had a great winter vacation. This month, I will have my final interview for 2014 summer internship at a Big 4 firm. I have not known the exact day yet as I am waiting from the HR department. I am wondering if anyone could give me some advice how to prepare for it. Also, should I send cold emails to network with Partners at that department before the interview? (I had previous work experience in the field that I am applying to so I think that I could easily talk with Partners about it). Thank you very much for your support!

[Anonymous]

It is great, dpat124! Will try my best and let's see what happens. hope that I will have good news to share with you! 🙂

[Anonymous]

@cpacracker – Relax! It might seem intimidating, but it's really not as bad as you think. I did in house interviews with 3 of the big 4 firms and got internship offers from all of them. This was my strategy (and it worked well). The questions will only be behavioral and “get to know you” type questions so forget everything you know about accounting basically. I personally hate behavioral questions so what I did was I just kept asking the interviewer questions. That way you avoid having too many behavioral questions, plus you seem super interested and engaged. For example, when the interview started and they asked me about myself, I would respond and then ask something like “How did you get into this field?”. Then they'd answer and you'd ask them something about their response. Always tie it back to the interviewer. I found that most people love to talk about themselves. Hope this helps take some pressure off.

[Anonymous]

@cpacracker – Relax! It might seem intimidating, but it's really not as bad as you think. I did in house interviews with 3 of the big 4 firms and got internship offers from all of them. This was my strategy (and it worked well). The questions will only be behavioral and “get to know you” type questions so forget everything you know about accounting basically. I personally hate behavioral questions so what I did was I just kept asking the interviewer questions. That way you avoid having too many behavioral questions, plus you seem super interested and engaged. For example, when the interview started and they asked me about myself, I would respond and then ask something like “How did you get into this field?”. Then they'd answer and you'd ask them something about their response. Always tie it back to the interviewer. I found that most people love to talk about themselves. Hope this helps take some pressure off.

[Anonymous]

@cpadrone2:

Thank you very much for your helpful and interesting post! Congratulations to your awesome results!!! I actually intend to ask the interviewer many questions to show my interest and passion with the job. But normally, it will happen when the interviewer says: Do you have any question for us? I know that we should take the active role during the interview but is asking a question right after every interviewer's question a good strategy? And if it is, how many follow-up questions I should ask and when should I stop? Another thing is that I do know skills and knowledge about the industry that I applied for, so should I try to show off in every question I ask them? I would love to hear from you more.

[Anonymous]

@cpadrone2:

Thank you very much for your helpful and interesting post! Congratulations to your awesome results!!! I actually intend to ask the interviewer many questions to show my interest and passion with the job. But normally, it will happen when the interviewer says: Do you have any question for us? I know that we should take the active role during the interview but is asking a question right after every interviewer's question a good strategy? And if it is, how many follow-up questions I should ask and when should I stop? Another thing is that I do know skills and knowledge about the industry that I applied for, so should I try to show off in every question I ask them? I would love to hear from you more.

[Anonymous]

Like I said, I turned the interview more into a conversation than anything else. That's what they're looking for. Someone they can converse with. I think talking about the industry is great as well. But try to make it more like a conversation with the other person about the industry vs just stating a bunch of facts to showcase your knowledge. Mention an interesting article you read maybe. Basically just relax and be personable. Don't overanalyze this by determining how many follow up questions to ask. The key is to be in the moment and to let it come naturally. You got this!!

[Anonymous]

Like I said, I turned the interview more into a conversation than anything else. That's what they're looking for. Someone they can converse with. I think talking about the industry is great as well. But try to make it more like a conversation with the other person about the industry vs just stating a bunch of facts to showcase your knowledge. Mention an interesting article you read maybe. Basically just relax and be personable. Don't overanalyze this by determining how many follow up questions to ask. The key is to be in the moment and to let it come naturally. You got this!!

[Anonymous]

Yeah I got it cpadrone2! Who knows that I may meet you in the same firm one day? just kidding lol. Thank you very much for your support and good luck with AUD!

[Anonymous]

Yeah I got it cpadrone2! Who knows that I may meet you in the same firm one day? just kidding lol. Thank you very much for your support and good luck with AUD!

[Anonymous]

finally I got the offer. PwC-I am coming!!! Thanks everyone for your support!

[Anonymous]

finally I got the offer. PwC-I am coming!!! Thanks everyone for your support!

[Author]

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