Category Archives: Career

recruiting, internship, professional development, career workshops and events

Brooks, Career

Committing to a Career

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two_pathsMany students leave their undergraduate studies with a job and either with or without a clue about what they want to be when they grow up. Let’s face it: few people know how they want to spend the rest of their lives (or at least the rest of their twenties) while they are in college. I recall it feeling something like a paralysis of opportunity – there were so many options that I didn’t know which to choose. So I, like many of my peers, worked aimlessly for a few years. I held jobs, but I didn’t have a career. I had bosses tell me that I could “make a career out of this” but I wasn’t quite ready to settle down. Sound familiar? The truth is, no one really knows the best way to choose a career, but we all make that choice whether by actively pursuing something or by passively taking the path of least resistance.

At some point, I decided that it was about time to take the bull by the horns, and the first step in that direction would be to pick a career. One. Ugh. I had conjured up some ideas in the past, but I had always grown out of being interested so I was skeptical of my ability pick a single career and stick with it for the rest of my life. To narrow my focus, I decided to build upon my strengths: I did well in Economics in college, so maybe something in the financial realm would be a good fit. Perhaps I could go for the CFA certification or get an MBA. I also remembered the CPA option and started looking more into it. When comparing the CPA to the CFA, I had heard that the former is as wide as the ocean but not as deep, while the latter is as deep but not wide. Learning that CPAs fill roles as diverse as CFO, Controller, Partner, Financial Advisor, and Consultant was what sealed the deal for me and satisfied my inability to commit.

As I learned more about becoming a CPA, I explored the options for getting the necessary education. MBA programs could do it, but specialized Master programs for Accounting cut down the time and expense. I applied to several programs and chose the one with the best array of career options. Even today I wonder if I can remain committed to this career path, but no matter what, I have a good start with a great job lined up after graduation. Sometimes, you just have to put one foot in front of the other one and accept that you probably know what you are doing and aren’t making a mistake. The Traditional MPA program at Texas has helped me put it all together and harness my energy towards starting a rewarding career that will rival that of many Law and MBA students.

Career, Events, Recruiting, Uncategorized

Recruiting: Week One

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Welcome back everyone! We all know that syllabus week does not mark the beginning of the semester. It’s the second week of classes now, so school is officially back in session! Being in my second semester of MPA, I already hit the ground running by finishing up my syllabus week with two important recruiting events last Thursday and Friday. The two events were Meet the Firms, which took place on Thursday evening, followed the next morning by Career Day.

MPA Meet the Firms: Not just your normal job fair.

Meet the Firms

This event was basically a career fair exclusively for MPAs. I know that we all fear the term “career fair” but let me just tell you that Meet the Firms is NOTHING like your average career fair. For one, this event is located on the top floor of the DKR Stadium with glass walls overlooking the stadium and downtown Austin at night. There is catered food and drinks and the set up as a whole is extremely nice. That is all fine and dandy, but let’s be honest, what we are all more concerned about is the actual recruiting and networking aspect of the career fair. Meet the Firms goes beyond  your normal expectations in this area as well. You know when you go to the normal career fairs and you feel like there are a million students and only a handful of firms? Well flip that scenario and that’s what Meet the Firms is like. The student to recruiter ratio is great, so you are not nervously waiting in line for your turn to talk next. You can browse tables and find an open recruiter to talk to in the mean time until another becomes available. When you are going to the tables of each firm, you already feel welcomed. The recruiters are very inviting and friendly. Also, most of the time they lead the conversation for you. This does not mean you do not need to prepare, it just means you can feel relaxed in your conversation!

Career Day

On Friday morning, the Big Four firms (PwC, Deloitte, EY, KPMG) host Career Day. The day consists of each firm giving a small info session about their company followed by a short networking opportunity. These sessions are actually helpful in getting to know the culture of each firm by listening to what each has to say and by talking with their recruiters after the presentations. The environment was very relaxed and each firm had a gift for you! What career event have you attended where each company brought you a gift bag?! Exactly! This event was not only extremely helpful in getting you acclimated with the Big Four firms, it was also really fun!

Don’t skip any recruiting events in your recruiting semester as an MPA because you will be missing out on a lot of great times, nice people, and solid opportunities!

Read more about the MPA recruiting experience in the Recruiting: Week Two.

Admissions, Career, Joel, Student Life

Why a Statement of Purpose

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If there was one requirement for admission to the MPA Program that I struggled with the most, it would be the statement of purpose. I can’t remember the actual number of days it took me to write it, but I do know that it felt like an eternity to fill two pages explaining my intentions for pursuing an MPA degree. The brevity and substance of the work posed a serious challenge, which not only required so much thought but also due time.

Looking back, I’m glad that it’s part of the admission requirements because it helped me really think about how an MPA would be helpful in my career and assess the main drivers of my decision to forego work and go back to school.

The statement of purpose asks basic and straightforward questions: Why an MPA? Why here and why now? It sounds simple yet daunting at the same time. I have found my answer to these questions to not only be helpful but also essential in guiding my decisions during recruiting and even within my own MPA experience.

From time to time, I read over my statement of purpose and reassess where I was to where I am today and whether the steps I have taken thus far are consistent with what I planned to do. In my response, I talked about my short term and long term goals and the overall trajectory I would like for my career to take. I discussed the values that I hold dear and that will never be up for compromise. I set lofty goals for myself and aimed high.

This exercise reminds me of time capsule activities I used to do back in college as part of retreats and workshops I attended. At first, I found them to be cheesy projects looking for a grand purpose to support. How naïve was I! Even though I haven’t been in the program for that long, I relish my statement of purpose because it reminds me of why I’m doing what I’m doing and the goals I have set for myself. So many things have happened from when I wrote it to the present time, which can make me forget about the big picture. In a way, it is like figuring out one’s true north.

Writing a statement of purpose is no easy task. It shouldn’t be. But I would assert that it is worth all the time and effort. Overall, I think the statement is designed to encourage us when we feel like we are at a loss and to remind us of our reasons and values in making such an important decision.

Career, Courtney, Employment, Recruiting

Food for Thought

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One of my favorite things about the holiday season is all of the delicious food. In honor of that, I have decided to offer you all some food…for thought. This sugar free, zero calorie advice is for all of the third years heading into recruiting season, fourth years ready to tackle their internships, and anyone else interested in career prospects as an MPA student.

Public accounting is not a prerequisite for success – Public accounting is a fantastic option, and I highly recommend that MPAs recruit for an internship in this industry if they are interested. However, I have heard of far too many students accepting a full time offer in public simply because they wanted the firm name and experience on their resume. They disliked the work and envisioned a very short-term career in the position, but they felt that it would open doors and allow them to pursue other opportunities in the future. I strongly disagree with this attitude; I feel that you will have more opportunities in the future if you can talk about work experience you genuinely enjoyed and were invested in. Furthermore, work consumes the best part of your day, and you don’t want to spend that time hating your work and regretting your decision. If you are not excited about the prospect of an internship during recruiting season, or if you do not enjoy your internship, don’t do it. There are countless other opportunities available to MPA students, which leads me to my next point…

MPA students are not limited to accounting – You build up a very strong knowledge base in accounting from the MPA program, and this obviously will be an asset in any accounting career. However, it also makes you attractive to industry, consulting, finance, public service, and many other employers that are looking for candidates with strong critical thinking and research skills. I received full time offers for industry, consulting, and financial services positions because of my MPA experience, not in spite of it. A director at a financial services firm I recruited with put it best when he said, “We prefer to hire accounting students because we know we can teach you finance and you will pick up quickly. It’s much harder to teach a non-accounting student accounting concepts.” Ultimately, though, the most important piece of advice I can offer is…

Do what makes you happy – Incredibly cliche, but so true. As you recruit, you are going to find that everybody has an opinion about different firms and career paths. Your friends. Your parents. Professors. Acquaintances. Random drunk people you meet at parties. You’ve got to block all of that out and make a decision based on what you want. Others may perceive certain companies or jobs to be more prestigious or impressive, but they are not the ones that will be working there. While Company XYZ may impress people at your high school reunion, the fleeting glory doesn’t really seem worth it when the tradeoff is spending 40+ hours per week in a job you dislike.

The job search is stressful in many ways, but it is also fun. Never again will you have access to hundreds of incredible employers right at your fingertips through OCR or career fairs specially planned for you, so take advantage of this time. Explore different opportunities, talk to as many company representatives as possible, and identify what you value in a career. This research and reflection will help you make the right decision.

Academics, Alexandria, Career, MPA Council, Student Life

Points to Ponder from MPA Council Ethics Week

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MPA Council had its second annual ethics week on October 21st through 25th in conjunction with the university wide Integrity-UT week. During this week, MPA Council hosted multiple events, including a screening of the movie Wall Street, an ethics lecture led by Professor Robert Prentice, and an ethics discussion for students.

My personal favorite event was Professor Prentice’s lecture, and the points he brought up will stay with me for some time to come and hopefully will lead me to make ethical decisions in my career.

He opened the lecture by pointing out that, as individuals, we tend to think we are one person who acts a certain way based on our original personalities. However, research shows that our decisions are heavily influenced by our environments and these environments can even change our personalities.

Money especially can have a huge impact on the decisions we make. Professor Prentice showed multiple academic researches that showed people behaved much more selfishly and minimized the concerns of other people in their decision when prompted with money.

Morality is something we consider when dealing with other people, and as money takes us farther away from the consequences to others, we are less likely to make ethical decisions.

Other things can also influence our decision making, such as the colors present in our immediate environment and the actions of others around us.

To learn more about Professor Prentice work in business ethics, you can check out his work and the perspective of ethics from McCombs students through Ethics Unwrapped.