[Anonymous]

I don’t understand the internship thing at all. I mean why do they put so much time in money into Junoirs who may not even get the 150 credits or even 120 credits for that matter than someone with a masters and CPA exam credits tries to talk to them and they just blow them off. It makes no sense when most their employees only last a couple years. If I go to one of their internships for 8 weeks over the summer as a junior I’m automatically hired but if I get 150 credits and pass the CPA exam with no internship there is no chance. This is true at least where I live. And who gets the internships is really political and obviously favors the richer kids who can afford it.

Also what is the chance of a non accounting MBA or business student getting into big 4? A lot of my friends who are finance, economics, and IT majors are trying to do this.

[Anonymous]

lol ouch baby very ouch, you sound like Austin Powers

in all seriousness no one else finds it weird they put so much time and effort into interns who are years from graduating?

[barelystayingsane]

Internships are standard practice in the business world…. They're trying to gauge if you'd be a good fit.

[barelystayingsane]

Internships are standard practice in the business world…. They're trying to gauge if you'd be a good fit.

[Anonymous]

Let me start of by saying I'm not Big 4. This is based on what my Big 4 friends have told me

They are developing the interns and mentoring them through college. At least in my school, if you have 150 credits and your CPA already they tend to think, “why don't we know you yet? where have you been?”

[Anonymous]

Let me start of by saying I'm not Big 4. This is based on what my Big 4 friends have told me

They are developing the interns and mentoring them through college. At least in my school, if you have 150 credits and your CPA already they tend to think, “why don't we know you yet? where have you been?”

[gottapassb4b4]

Maybe I'm the exception rather than the rule, but I was hired Big 4 not just without a Big 4 internship but without any internship experience at all or connections in the firm. I'll have my 150 credits done before I start and hopefully will have 3 parts of CPA passed, but I think your preconceived judgments are way off base.

[gottapassb4b4]

Maybe I'm the exception rather than the rule, but I was hired Big 4 not just without a Big 4 internship but without any internship experience at all or connections in the firm. I'll have my 150 credits done before I start and hopefully will have 3 parts of CPA passed, but I think your preconceived judgments are way off base.

[tough_kitty]

They are looking for specific personalities….and they know that people right out of college will be less likely to complain about long hours for low pay…..

I talked to one partner at a regional firm and asked him if he valued masters degrees. His reply: “No”. Now, why would I want to work with someone rude like that?!?

As far as other majors – economics or just business – it's possible for tax team, not for audit.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[tough_kitty]

They are looking for specific personalities….and they know that people right out of college will be less likely to complain about long hours for low pay…..

I talked to one partner at a regional firm and asked him if he valued masters degrees. His reply: “No”. Now, why would I want to work with someone rude like that?!?

As far as other majors – economics or just business – it's possible for tax team, not for audit.

FAR: 81 (May 2013)
BEC: 81 (July 2013)
REG: 83 (August 2013)
AUD: 82 (November 2013)
California CPA since 1/30/14

[Anonymous]

I noticed this same thing at a Meet the Professionals event a couple weeks ago. Our graduating class had a lot of really stellar candidates, and about half of us didn't get jobs last fall. At this event, it was nearly half graduates working on the CPA, and the rest were seniors and juniors.

The biggest firm in our town was being extremely rude to the graduates – to the point where it was embarrassing. i.e., “we don't consider graduates for internships, no exceptions” was the first sentence out of their mouth. What can you possibly say to continue a conversation after that? Thank goodness, we have other options!

If you have your heart set on Big 4 and that's their mantra, you either need to move on, or try a more creative route. Not to be rude myself, but I decided then and there, ain't no way I'm working at a joint where professionals act like that. If you can't at least pretend to be polite for 5 minutes, you're not worth my time and effort.

[Anonymous]

I noticed this same thing at a Meet the Professionals event a couple weeks ago. Our graduating class had a lot of really stellar candidates, and about half of us didn't get jobs last fall. At this event, it was nearly half graduates working on the CPA, and the rest were seniors and juniors.

The biggest firm in our town was being extremely rude to the graduates – to the point where it was embarrassing. i.e., “we don't consider graduates for internships, no exceptions” was the first sentence out of their mouth. What can you possibly say to continue a conversation after that? Thank goodness, we have other options!

If you have your heart set on Big 4 and that's their mantra, you either need to move on, or try a more creative route. Not to be rude myself, but I decided then and there, ain't no way I'm working at a joint where professionals act like that. If you can't at least pretend to be polite for 5 minutes, you're not worth my time and effort.

[Zaq]

They're lying to you. You can still pursue even if you don't meet their credentials.

I know people with below 3.0 GPA's and other credentials that made them “disqualified”, but because they had a great personality and lots of strategic persistence they were let in.

They're looking for people who don't take no for an answer with a matching personality similar to theirs on top IMO.

FAR: 50, 76!
REG: 74... (ouch baby, very ouch), 76!
AUD: 65, 91!?
BEC: 80! Aaaand doneskies!

May 2012 to August 2013. Can't believe it's over.

[Zaq]

They're lying to you. You can still pursue even if you don't meet their credentials.

I know people with below 3.0 GPA's and other credentials that made them “disqualified”, but because they had a great personality and lots of strategic persistence they were let in.

They're looking for people who don't take no for an answer with a matching personality similar to theirs on top IMO.

FAR: 50, 76!
REG: 74... (ouch baby, very ouch), 76!
AUD: 65, 91!?
BEC: 80! Aaaand doneskies!

May 2012 to August 2013. Can't believe it's over.

[Mayo]

I think the main issue is that recruiting is a lot like dating. In other words, it's not necessarily an objective process regardless of what they say,

Yes, they “look” for people with high GPAs, leadership positions, extracurriculars, etc., but if your personality doesn't match up with what the recruiting team considers “someone who fits in and I would like working with” then that person can find themselves with no interviews and largely ignored.

I think it's unfortunate, since a recruiting team is only a handful of people at a firm, and doesn't necessarily represent everyone. But that's why forming relationships early as a recruit and casting a wide net (i.e. don't just focus on 4 firms) is so important.

And InfernoOmni is right. All these “criteria” are just guidelines. Much like anything, if they like you enough then all that goes away. I've seen people with low GPA's have filter overrides when applying for internships because the recruiting team thought they were a good candidate. I've also seen a firm give someone an internship for busy season, and hire them a few months late rbecause that person didn't fit the normal timeframe but was good otherwise.

As for why these firms value internships so much? Part of it has to do with the whole “right fit” aspect. However, they're also trying to lock in students early so as to stay competitive. It's very much like college recruiting for sports. You don't start calling prospects the day before commitment day. You do it while they're still in high school in order to form bonds and relationships, so they want to come to your school.

Big 4 internships are no different. As an example, it's very rare to see someone do an internship at say, PWC, and then turn around and go to KPMG for no apparent reason. Again, it's about competing for talent. This is even more applicable for non-Big 4, as they would rather recruit top talent and not be stuck with Big 4 l”left overs”. I'm not saying anyone non-Big 4 are “left-overs”, but I'm saying that might be the perception for some firms.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

I think the main issue is that recruiting is a lot like dating. In other words, it's not necessarily an objective process regardless of what they say,

Yes, they “look” for people with high GPAs, leadership positions, extracurriculars, etc., but if your personality doesn't match up with what the recruiting team considers “someone who fits in and I would like working with” then that person can find themselves with no interviews and largely ignored.

I think it's unfortunate, since a recruiting team is only a handful of people at a firm, and doesn't necessarily represent everyone. But that's why forming relationships early as a recruit and casting a wide net (i.e. don't just focus on 4 firms) is so important.

And InfernoOmni is right. All these “criteria” are just guidelines. Much like anything, if they like you enough then all that goes away. I've seen people with low GPA's have filter overrides when applying for internships because the recruiting team thought they were a good candidate. I've also seen a firm give someone an internship for busy season, and hire them a few months late rbecause that person didn't fit the normal timeframe but was good otherwise.

As for why these firms value internships so much? Part of it has to do with the whole “right fit” aspect. However, they're also trying to lock in students early so as to stay competitive. It's very much like college recruiting for sports. You don't start calling prospects the day before commitment day. You do it while they're still in high school in order to form bonds and relationships, so they want to come to your school.

Big 4 internships are no different. As an example, it's very rare to see someone do an internship at say, PWC, and then turn around and go to KPMG for no apparent reason. Again, it's about competing for talent. This is even more applicable for non-Big 4, as they would rather recruit top talent and not be stuck with Big 4 l”left overs”. I'm not saying anyone non-Big 4 are “left-overs”, but I'm saying that might be the perception for some firms.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Author]

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