Hello MPAs – I hope the semester is going well for all of you! I have recently started recruiting for full-time positions, which has led me to reflect on my internship recruiting and work experience. The benefit of going through the process again is that I can identify ways to make myself a stronger candidate than I was as a third-year MPA. Of course, I have more experience and coursework than I did two years ago, but there are also ways you can prepare outside of the classroom that will help you stand out among your peers. Here are a few lessons that I have learned since my first year in the program:

1. Read the newspaper – every single day. “But I don’t have any time!” – myself, as a third year. The thing is, if you have time to keep up with your news feed on Facebook, you have time to follow real news as well. As an accounting student, it is important to be aware of what is going on in the world, because events can impact our future clients, the standards and regulations in which we operate under, and the entire profession. A recent example is the Detroit bankruptcy and the city’s underfunded pension, which has led to pension accounting standards being questioned. We are not going to be able to simplify problems someday as we do in class and ignore tax effects or pretend that interest rates will remain constant – our work is going to be affected by market forces and world events, and we need to understand how these complexities interact. I highly recommend subscribing to the Wall Street Journal; student subscriptions are very affordable and will definitely help you make an impression.

2. Take finance courses. “But I want to be an auditor…why do I need to know about beta?” – myself, as a third year. I think we sometimes we accounting students feel smug when our fellow finance majors do not know how to record journal entries or build a balance sheet – however, it works both ways. We are missing a piece of the puzzle if we only focus on accounting. How can you audit a financial instrument someday if you don’t understand how the derivative was priced or what features it includes? Finance coursework will strengthen your skill set and will make you a more well-rounded accounting professional in the future.

3. Practice case interviews. “But I don’t want to go into management consulting!” – myself, as a third year. I am guessing that the majority of us do not plan on going into management consulting – however, we all plan on going into some type of client service, which involves the exact scenario a case interview simulates. Our clients or managers will ask us to identify problem areas and propose solutions, and we will likely be put on the spot. Case interviews help you practice organizing your thoughts and communicating them in a concise and coherent way. I recently did my first mock case interview, and while I correctly identified the problem and solutions, the path getting there was a little bit rough. This is a skill I will continue practicing, because it will help me sound more organized, confident, and articulate when I have to give impromptu proposals or presentations in the future.

4. Explore a variety of career options. “But I already know what I want to do!” – myself, as a third year. I was fully confident when I started the program about what position and employer I wanted to apply for. A year and a half later, I ended up declining my full-time offer for that exact position and employer and had to go back to the drawing board, because the experience was not what I had expected. The MPA program affords you so many different options, and I recommend taking some time to research all of them during the early stages of your career exploration. You may end up signing your offer with your original top choice, but you also may end up discovering a career path that is a better fit for you.

Career exploration is something I have really been concentrating on over the past few months, and I am excited about pursuing several different opportunities this fall. So far, I have decided on applying for positions in industry, financial services, and forensic accounting. I will keep you all updated on my recruiting journey – feel free to comment if there is anything you would like to know more about!