[Phllop]

Hey guys, I did an internship over the summer and the CFO of the place knows a partner at a big 4 firm. She emailed him saying:

“I’ve encouraged Phllop to reach out to you for ideas on where to focus his job search efforts.He did an internship with us this summer and we were impressed blah blah blah”

he responded:

“Sounds good – look forward to catching up Phllop – throw out some options for a call on Tuesday or Thursday and I am sure we can connect.”

Now, this seems like an awesome opportunity for me to help myself stand out when the recruiters come to my school in a few weeks. I need to ask the right questions and have an idea of what to say. The only problem is I have -no- idea what that might be! Any of you guys who’ve been through this process have any advice for me?

REG: 85
AUD: 74, 85
FAR: 74 (sigh)
BEC: 80 (don't even ask me how)

When I say C-P you say 'Ayyyyy show me the money'
-PO

[Anonymous]

Be excited about an opportunity. Make sure he/she knows you are very interested. I usually ask about what a day in the life of a tax associate/audit associate is like.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Personally, I never ask the “what is the typical day as an associate like?” question because I figure if the person is serious about the career in public accountng, he/she would have already done the research and should know what a typical day is like.

It sounds like the call is more about the job search process in general. “Focus his job search efforts”. Sounds more like an informational, casual call not a job interview. So questions would be geared more towards the recruiting process, are some offices or locations impacted or are there some offices/locations that recruit more associates? What can students do during recruiting off seasons to get attention from recruiters, What are some of the other ways to get into a big 4 outside of the college recruiting process, who makes the hiring decision? etc.

maybe talk about the work you did in the internship and how that would make you a better candidate for a staff position at the big 4.

Good luck!

[Phllop]

Thanks guys, that's good info, I'll let you know how it turns out

REG: 85
AUD: 74, 85
FAR: 74 (sigh)
BEC: 80 (don't even ask me how)

When I say C-P you say 'Ayyyyy show me the money'
-PO

[ScruffMcGruff]

From my two interviews at B4 firms, the partner interviews are the ‘social' types of interviews. Basically, they want to see how your social skills would relate/adapt to their specific team/group. All-in-all, you just need to be able to hold a conversation with the partner for 10-20 minutes (I actually remember in one of mine, I only answered like 2-3 questions… The guy went on talking about himself for like 30 minutes and was cracking jokes the whole time, it was GREAT!).

Anyhow, in my experience, the partner interviews are the easiest type of interview to do if you're not intimidated by them and have decent social skills. It's the manager and senior interviews where you will have the tough questions.

AUD - 85
FAR - 78 (lol@ FAR Sims)
REG - 85
BEC - August

[Joe36y]

I would agree with Scruff. I just had a phone interview today with the recruiter from the big 4. This is the time where you want to highlight what is on your resume/ show your qualifications. The recruiter is the one who will make the decision to get you to round 2 of the interview phase. After that the partner decides. If you make it to round 2 it basically means they think your qualified on paper for the job. Now its time to see if you will fit with the team.

BEC: 82
FAR: 79
AUD: 85
REG: July 10th

[ScruffMcGruff]

Exactly what Joey said too there near the end. In general, for ANY interview sequence, the first set of interviews (i.e. on-campus or phone) usually tests your actual qualifications (GPA, class-standing, work-related experience, ect…) for the job. The second set of interviews (on-site) is really just a check to see if they could see themselves and their staff members working with you.

From my previous experience earlier in my college days, I can remember a few large companies I interviewed for which I didn't end up receiving an offer from afterwards. Looking back on it now, I'm almost 99% certain it was because my social skills during those interviews were sub par, not beacuse of something listed (or not listed) on my resume. Needless to say, that was one area I really had to work on (and continue to work on) before I was able to land a top tier job.

AUD - 85
FAR - 78 (lol@ FAR Sims)
REG - 85
BEC - August

[valueofnothing]

starting week 3 of a b4 job its already clear why the ability to socialize is important. it has been very fun to go out every night with my start team/random employees (we're just training right now) and i think team chemestry would be very negatively impacted by outcasts.

p.s. concerning interviews i second the general advice thus far; an interview may actually be one of the more fun things a partner gets to do (spend some time BSing with a young person about whatever he likes to talk about) so just make it a fun phone call for him.

REG - 81
BEC - 88
AUD - 85
FAR - 81

[Author]

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