[payaza2000]

So I had my first phone screening from the Public Accounting firms that I applied with this morning, and lets just say it went terribly. At one point I described my personality as “shy” and “off putting.” I am in reality not “off putting.” but rather outgoing when it comes to work. I just got nervous, and it turned out that the questions that I was expecting to be asked were not asked, and I got caught completely off guard. Public Accounting is a challenge that I am up for, and passionate about, but I know that repeating the disastrous phone screening will cause me to go without offers, no matter how technically gifted I am.

How to deal with nerves during these interviews? When I interviewed for one or two (just for fun) Accounting jobs in Private Industry it went terrific, I came across confident & articulate.

The interview I had this morning is a lost cause, there is no way I can redeem myself from that performance this morning? Should I write an apology email?

Regards,

FAR 5/6/2015- 84
REG 8/3/2015 - 87
AUD 10/25/2015- 69 1/20/2016 -75
BEC 2/26/2016- 80

Thank you God

[Jdn9201]

I'm sorry you feel like your call went badly. If I were you, I'd send a thank you email but would not acknowledge anything you said. There's no sense to draw attention to it. Besides..they may have not gotten the impression that it was a bad interview. If you wish to proceed further in the process with them, I'd just let them know that you appreciated their time and look forward to hearing back from them. The process is hard whether you go into public or private, especially when you are first coming out of school and have little to no experience. One thing that helped me is to remember that it's a two way street – yes, you want to make a good impression on them, but you also want to figure out if it's the right fit for you too. Once I started thinking about it like that, it took the pressure off of me. And paint yourself in the most positive light, but be honest. If i get asked if I have experience with x, and nothing I've done even relates to x, I'll let them know that while I'm a quick learner, I have no experience with x. If they ask you a weakness, give a real one but explain what you've done to improve upon it. And at the end of the day, even on the phone, I think people figure out whether or not they like you fairly quickly. Besides putting your best self forward, there's really not that much you can do to change it. From my experience too the best interviews aren't interviews at all – they are more like conversations. Once you keep doing this over and over, you'll feel more at ease and not so nervous. Good luck!

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[itsanaccrualworld]

At the end of the day, these interviewers should be seen as normal people that want to have a normal conversation. You obviously have demonstrated you're smart enough to be there otherwise the firm wouldnt waste a full time professional's time (and firm's money) during the day to interview you. At that point it's just making sure you're sane enough to work with others. The more you can connect and talk less about the actual interview and more about things in your own life or something of interest to him/her interviewing, the easier it becomes for both sides to enjoy the conversation. Plus, if you've passed all your tests, id be surprised if you dont get picked up by a good firm.

FAR - 75
REG - 69, September 16
BEC - 80
AUD - 69, October 16

[ruggercpa2b]

I used to practice responses. I would google potential questions to be asked and I would write down what my response would be and practiced my responses. Because you have to work in a team environment, if they ask you to describe your personality I would say that I am outgoing and a team player and work well in a group setting. I had one HR person ask me once if I do well in a group or working by myself. I prefer to work by myself, however, knowing that is not the field I am going into I said I like group settings because I have people that I can bounce ideas off of and also have some more tenured people that I can use as a resource.

I am sure you will be fine. There were times I did so terrible but they called me in for interviews.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[Author]

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