[Spartanmaker]

While an undergrad, I had interviews with BIG 4’s such as EY and Deloitte, but was not given an offer. I have since graduated and am still interested in working at a BIG 4 as an entry level. Would BIG 4 firms consider a candidate for an entry level position, who they previously interviewed and denied?

[Desert Fox]

Yes, I received a phone interview from KPMG when I applied in college and after being in private.

[Recked]

It can't hurt to try. Pass those 4 sections asap to increase your chances at standing out.

[Pete]

Once you graduate, it's EXTREMELY difficult to land a position within the BIG 4 accounting firms. Hell, it's extremely difficult to land a position in a mid-sized firm as well.

The problem is that most firms will look at it negatively that you weren't able to land while a campus recruit. I was able to secure interviews with E&Y and PWC while in college for internships. Once I graduated, they wouldn't even speak to me, despite the fact I was able to still use campus recruiting. Unfortunately, as I've found: a lot of opportunity evaporates once you graduate from college. It's also very difficult to land with below a 3.6 GPA.

Your best bet is going to be to try networking. I spent over a year trying to get into a public firm (while working in private) and couldn't do it. Granted, I eventually managed to find an internship at a medium sized CPA firm for tax season (even that was really hard to do). Unfortunately, internships don't guarantee a job as I found out; I was told the firm wasn't hiring. Ended up stuck in private again, after the whole ordeal and gave up on public for a while.

Your best bet will probably be to try networking (how I landed the internship at the national firm). Even then, it's going to be a pretty tough task. If you don't mind doing tax work, I would focus on working at a smaller firm, then transitioning to a larger one. A few smaller firms I've seen, even do some audit work. I personally hate doing taxes, but I might just have to settle in order to gain my CPA experience.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Warrior]

@Desert Fox, did you receive an offer from them?

[vbmer]

Yes, it is possible. I would suggest getting solid industry experience and trying to come in as an experienced hire (Senior or Manager) in Accounting Advisory, Transactions, or Advisory/Consulting. All of the Big 4 need experienced specialists (you don't need to be all that experienced) to fill the ranks in specialized practices where most ex-auditors don't have the necessary skill set. You will get all of the benefits of Big 4 experience without having to go through the meat grinder of audit/tax. (of course, the hours and travel in other practices can be brutal, too)

A CPA + analytics/data visualization skills (Tableau, Spotfire, SQL, VBA, Python, R, etc.), which are much easier to pick up in industry than in Big 4 audit, will make you a strong candidate for many practices at any of the Big 4 firms.

[RichieCunningham]

Agree with the above posts. Big 4 start their recruiting process early for their entry level associates/analysts/staff 1. They spend massive amounts of resources in campus recruiting and basically have their formula pretty set in stone, interviews in the fall for positions starting in July. If you did not land an internship or a position through that, it's unlikely, but not impossible to get an entry-level role. I would reccomend looking outside of the Big 4, get your CPA and some experience, and look to get hired as an experienced associate.

Source: I was hired into Big 4 out of college, spent 3 years there, did internal networking with HR and participated in recruitment efforts.

Good luck!

[Author]

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