[Anonymous]

Hi All,

I’m currently working full time while taking online sections for a master program from a (well recruited) state school a few hours away. I’m mulling going full time student in the fall for accessibility purposes in recruiting season, but I’d rather not slap on more debt.

I know meet the firms and the career fair are definite and set in stone, but my concern lies with the on-campus interviews. When a firm offers one of these interviews, are they set in advance, or within a certain set time frame, or are they sort of scattered randomly over the period of a few weeks? Is there short notice? In addition, is it common for firms to have their own little individual events as well? With living a few hours away, working around interviews and PTO at my current job may be too tricky to be realistic. I’d rather not work this hard on the exams and school to have to give up networking/recruiting opportunities because of my current AP job.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I was in the same boat. Worked full-time while going to school part-time but my employer was very flexible. There are definitely benefits to going to school full-time in that you can attend all these networking sessions and really get to show your face without having to worry about going back to work or taking a longer lunch break. It really depends on how flexible your employer is. But typically, in my school at least, if you are selected for the interview, they will let you know from a week to literally 1 day beforehand.

If you are only doing AP, I would suggest you take the risk and go school full-time to really make the best out of the networking opportunities to land yourself that offer. Also, if you can, join a club/business fraternity that will make you stand out. Networking is key. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I was in the same boat. Worked full-time while going to school part-time but my employer was very flexible. There are definitely benefits to going to school full-time in that you can attend all these networking sessions and really get to show your face without having to worry about going back to work or taking a longer lunch break. It really depends on how flexible your employer is. But typically, in my school at least, if you are selected for the interview, they will let you know from a week to literally 1 day beforehand.

If you are only doing AP, I would suggest you take the risk and go school full-time to really make the best out of the networking opportunities to land yourself that offer. Also, if you can, join a club/business fraternity that will make you stand out. Networking is key. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input!

If firms can schedule a day in advance, it looks like being on campus in the fall is definitely necessary. My campus is three hours away and my employer won't be that flexible. Besides the firm issue I'd rather professors and other students know who I am when I go to events, as well.

As for clubs, because I'm still taking online classes this upcoming summer semester I think joining a club right when I get to campus in the fall would look a bit too much like resume padding. I was in VITA in undergrad in 2012, so I at least have that club wise. I hope having done a long term temp stint at a F500 size company between undergrad and grad, along with passing the exams, will give me a unique resume boost when it comes time to apply. I'll definitely be going to ALL of the little networking events and activities, though. Gotta get what I'm paying for!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input!

If firms can schedule a day in advance, it looks like being on campus in the fall is definitely necessary. My campus is three hours away and my employer won't be that flexible. Besides the firm issue I'd rather professors and other students know who I am when I go to events, as well.

As for clubs, because I'm still taking online classes this upcoming summer semester I think joining a club right when I get to campus in the fall would look a bit too much like resume padding. I was in VITA in undergrad in 2012, so I at least have that club wise. I hope having done a long term temp stint at a F500 size company between undergrad and grad, along with passing the exams, will give me a unique resume boost when it comes time to apply. I'll definitely be going to ALL of the little networking events and activities, though. Gotta get what I'm paying for!

[Anonymous]

It doesn't hurt to have the additional club to your resume. I've been through 2 recruiting seasons and the 1st one, I was only able to land 2 interviews with GT and McGladrey before I joined any clubs. The 2nd season, I joined an accounting club and received a total of 11 interviews, with 2 being Big 4. I would definitely recommend it if you are going full-time anyway. They love extracurricular activities.

I think you will have a good chance of landing interviews. Just be yourself. My background is very similar to yours in that I did AR and worked in a F500 company prior to applying. But be sure to really stay on top of your game when recruiting season comes. Make sure your GPA is good as well. My school was pretty competitive. A lot of people had 3.7+ and I think around 50 interviews were granted per position posted.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't hurt to have the additional club to your resume. I've been through 2 recruiting seasons and the 1st one, I was only able to land 2 interviews with GT and McGladrey before I joined any clubs. The 2nd season, I joined an accounting club and received a total of 11 interviews, with 2 being Big 4. I would definitely recommend it if you are going full-time anyway. They love extracurricular activities.

I think you will have a good chance of landing interviews. Just be yourself. My background is very similar to yours in that I did AR and worked in a F500 company prior to applying. But be sure to really stay on top of your game when recruiting season comes. Make sure your GPA is good as well. My school was pretty competitive. A lot of people had 3.7+ and I think around 50 interviews were granted per position posted.

[Anonymous]

Wow, that's quite a drastic difference with the club involved. I sort of saw my work experience as a replacement for that, but I guess it's not quite the same. Was your second season during grad school, and your first during undergrad? I never participated in recruiting during my undergrad days (declared for accounting almost last minute, didn't want to do public back then, not a good move in hindsight), so this will be my first recruiting season. Maybe I should bite the bullet and go full time starting in the summer semester so I can join the accounting society and attend summer events.

GPA wise, I have a 3.2 from undergrad. I made bad decisions as an 18-19 year old, which dragged me down. So far with grad (6 credits) I'm at 4.0, and hope to keep it at that through the summer so it'll be on my resume come interview time. I'm also working on the exam now mainly to help mitigate my undergrad GPA even further.

[Anonymous]

Wow, that's quite a drastic difference with the club involved. I sort of saw my work experience as a replacement for that, but I guess it's not quite the same. Was your second season during grad school, and your first during undergrad? I never participated in recruiting during my undergrad days (declared for accounting almost last minute, didn't want to do public back then, not a good move in hindsight), so this will be my first recruiting season. Maybe I should bite the bullet and go full time starting in the summer semester so I can join the accounting society and attend summer events.

GPA wise, I have a 3.2 from undergrad. I made bad decisions as an 18-19 year old, which dragged me down. So far with grad (6 credits) I'm at 4.0, and hope to keep it at that through the summer so it'll be on my resume come interview time. I'm also working on the exam now mainly to help mitigate my undergrad GPA even further.

[Anonymous]

Nope, both recruiting seasons were during graduate school. I just took a little longer to graduate so I could take advantage of another recruiting season after coming up with a better strategy. We've all made mistakes in the past but what matters is that we learn from them so to not repeat them. Your grades will definitely get you noticed but I think the most important thing is really getting your name out there and being known by the recruiters. To be honest, when I spoke with people going through recruiting season, passing certain parts of the exam didn't really get them more interviews, which doesn't make any sense. Also, work experience doesn't nearly matter as much as you think, since everyone in your class will start from a clean slate. Your undergraduate GPA will not matter anymore seeing how you have a 4.0 now. Good job!

[Anonymous]

Nope, both recruiting seasons were during graduate school. I just took a little longer to graduate so I could take advantage of another recruiting season after coming up with a better strategy. We've all made mistakes in the past but what matters is that we learn from them so to not repeat them. Your grades will definitely get you noticed but I think the most important thing is really getting your name out there and being known by the recruiters. To be honest, when I spoke with people going through recruiting season, passing certain parts of the exam didn't really get them more interviews, which doesn't make any sense. Also, work experience doesn't nearly matter as much as you think, since everyone in your class will start from a clean slate. Your undergraduate GPA will not matter anymore seeing how you have a 4.0 now. Good job!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the input!

I have decided to go to school on campus starting this summer, the networking seems far too important to pass up compared to the extra money it'll cost me. I'm still going to try to pass the exams before recruiting season (can't hurt), but networking with professors/students, joining the accounting society, and going to every little event on campus will be my priority for sure.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the input!

I have decided to go to school on campus starting this summer, the networking seems far too important to pass up compared to the extra money it'll cost me. I'm still going to try to pass the exams before recruiting season (can't hurt), but networking with professors/students, joining the accounting society, and going to every little event on campus will be my priority for sure.

[Author]

Replies