[Anonymous]

So I was an intern at one of the Big 4 this summer. I screwed up pretty good and made a huge mistake. I went and got a DUI during the internship. I realize what I did was a dumb mistake and that it was very dangerous. I accepted full responsibility for my actions and decided it was best to face the repercussions head on. I went and told HR immediately. Long story short, I finished out the internship, did well, got good reviews, but as I expected, it didn’t matter. They didn’t extend me an offer and I was sent on my way. So my question is, where should I go from here? I assume firms and companies are going to ask me about what happened at the Big 4 internship? How to I respond to this question? I don’t have any intentions of lying about the DUI; however, I can’t see talking about it this during a networking session or an initial interview working out in my favor. I fully intend on bringing this up to would be employers, but I don’t know at what point I should mention it. I also don’t know whom I should even be applying to with this going on. I would have everything with court completed before starting full-time; however, this is certainly going to be an obstacle. Does anybody have any advice or possibly insight on how to handle full-time job recruiting this fall?

[Anonymous]

My thoughts are that the smaller the employer, the more likely they are to be flexible. The CPA firm downtown is less likely to ever ask or care about the DUI than the Top 10 regional firm. I don't know enough about Big 4 or Top 10 to know what will or won't be a problem for them…but it sounds like the larger the firm, the stricter they are. So, you could still try for the big firms, but if you have trouble there, I'd look around the smaller firms – the mom-and-pop type places. I've interviewed at 2, got a job at 1, and there was never any questions about my criminal convictions!

[Anonymous]

In Texas, they offer a confidential support network ( https://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/exam-qualification/moral-character-ACAN.html ) Your state may have some thing similar and I would recommend asking them of their opinion.

I went to school with a guy who had a DWI and he spoke highly of the Texas network. He said they offered a lot of assistance on the random issues that popped up related to his past and were very encouraging of his future as a CPA. They even connected him with an older CPA who had a DWI years ago and the guy became sort of a mentor for him.

In regards to applying for jobs, I would not bring up a DWI charge until the topic of a background check comes up. I have worked with several executives with prior DWI's and it was a non-issue if it did not impact their current position. When people or job applications ask why you left your internship, say it was an internship. Most recruiters know they are temporary.

[fuzyfro89]

Anything related to your history should be disclosed when you are submitted for a background check (typically after you have been extended an offer). I've known people to keep their offers and start working even with a DUI. More likely than not, you were not extended an offer for other reasons not specifically related to your work performance (personality conflicts… Or even just lack of a good fit).

Just talk about it as if it was not s good fit for you (no interesting work, poor scheduling, etc). When you're interviewing for another internship or full time, you talk about any job like that. If they ask whether you got an offer, don't lie, but give a brief explanation including something like it wasn't s good fit for you.

[fuzyfro89]

Anything related to your history should be disclosed when you are submitted for a background check (typically after you have been extended an offer). I've known people to keep their offers and start working even with a DUI. More likely than not, you were not extended an offer for other reasons not specifically related to your work performance (personality conflicts… Or even just lack of a good fit).

Just talk about it as if it was not s good fit for you (no interesting work, poor scheduling, etc). When you're interviewing for another internship or full time, you talk about any job like that. If they ask whether you got an offer, don't lie, but give a brief explanation including something like it wasn't s good fit for you.

[fuzyfro89]

Anything related to your history should be disclosed when you are submitted for a background check (typically after you have been extended an offer). I've known people to keep their offers and start working even with a DUI. More likely than not, you were not extended an offer for other reasons not specifically related to your work performance (personality conflicts… Or even just lack of a good fit).

Just talk about it as if it was not s good fit for you (no interesting work, poor scheduling, etc). When you're interviewing for another internship or full time, you talk about any job like that. If they ask whether you got an offer, don't lie, but give a brief explanation including something like it wasn't s good fit for you.

[Anonymous]

Like @fuzyfro89 said, you can find a way to state things in such a way that your internship ended without an offer, and it wasn't due to DUI. You don't want to complain about your prior employer, but you can find something that is factual and puts things in a good light. I have had job situations turn sour, but a new employer doesn't want to hear you are seeking employment because your current boss is a Grade A Expletive. So, you find something else… But make sure it's something that won't look like you'll be a bad employee. For example, if all jobs that would be available to you for your next position would be rather routine, somewhat monotonous work, then you wouldn't want to say that the last job was too boring, or they might fear you'll leave them soon. Anything related to a boss's behavior is not a good choice, unless they were doing something illegal, because an employer won't know if you had a bad experience or a bad attitude. Keep it to generic things like “I didn't seek a permanent position because the drive was too long for me on a long-term basis”, if you're interviewing for a place that is closer to home, or if you're moving for a job, then you could say that the internship was not in an are that you wanted to settle down…etc. Don't lie about these things, but try to find something more generic that could be accurate and encourage the idea that your internship ended on good terms.

After all, there's a fair chance that the person in HR has driven drunk or something equally as stupid. According to some stats I'm finding through Google, 25% of college students have driven drunk in the last month from a 2010 study, and 1 in 5 Americans have driven drunk in the past year, from a 2008 study. So, according to these statistics, there's a decent chance that the HR people has close experience with this form of stupidity, and while they (hopefully) didn't endorse it, they probably also realized that you could still be a great employee, as long as you'd learned from this mistake. So, there's nothing that says the reason you didn't get the offer was due to the DUI conviction.

[Author]

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