Category Archives: Recruiting

Experiences and thoughts on the recruiting process.

Events, Recruiting

Recruiting: Week Two

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Middle Market Firms and Big Four Firms

During your recruiting semester as an MPA you will face the decision concerning what company(s) you want to apply for. The best way to figure this out is to attend all the events and information sessions that these companies hold for you. I know this is repetitive and we probably have been told a million times to “attend all the events” and “gather as much information as you can”. However, it has become clear to me this semester that it really is the best way to make a knowledgeable decision about which type of company(s) will be the best fit for you. For example,  anyone interested in public accounting has to decide which firm size/type fits you.

A brief word of advice, try to not silo yourself into just the big four or just middle market firms. Really make the effort to go into recruiting open-minded. Try to give ALL of the firms a chance.

The middle market firms BDO and UHY held their own event the second week of school to give students information on why they are also excellent companies. I was very surprised to see the small turn out of MPA students at this event. There was around less than half of the students at the middle market firms’ info sessions than there were at the big four info sessions. The BDO/UHY event was really nice with catered food following their informative presentations. I learned a lot of new things about these companies and the differences between middle market firms and the big four firms that I had not known before attending their event. I also gained some more exposure talking with partners and recruiters, which can only help me in the long run. And hey, practice makes perfect, right?

Your major takeaway from this post: Be open-minded during recruiting. You might regret it later if you look back and realize you limited yourself in your choices. I actually gained a lot of perspective from attending BOTH the middle market and big four info sessions. In turn, I feel more confident in my choices and in my ability to talk with recruiters. All of these companies really are great choices. Let’s face the hard part though, you will have to choose just one of these firms eventually. The ultimate goal during recruiting is to ensure your own happiness with whatever choice you  make for your internship/potential career. You can only do this by putting yourself out there and attending all the events set out for you.

Click here to read Week 3 of April’s MPA recruiting experience.

Brooks, Recruiting

Big 4 or Bust!

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74307a The goal of nearly every student is to get a job relevant to their field of study. For many in accounting, the best possible outcome is to land a position with one of the Big 4 accounting firms. Previously the Big 8, the Big 4 is comprised of Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (Pwc), Ernst & Young (EY), and KPMG. The decision to go with either tax or audit (or something else) within those firms is another story. As can be expected at the top accounting program in the country, a vast majority of Texas MPAs take jobs with one of those firms. Considering that these four firms take the top spots in Businessweek’s “Best Places to Launch a Career” ranking, it’s no wonder so many students are eager to accept their offers of employment. However, one of the many selling points that brought me to Austin is this list of employers who recruit MPAs at McCombs School of Business. To focus on only four companies from this list is to sell yourself short in my opinion.

Not only are there plenty of top-rate companies besides the Big 4 that actively recruit at UT, even within the Big 4 there are opportunities that are not widely available. For example, each of the Big 4 recruited Texas MPAs for positions in their Advisory practices (labeled differently depending on the firm). I do not have full access to each firm’s recruitment practices, but I do know that these positions are not typically recruited for directly from universities. Further, it is my understanding that the Big 4 only targets a handful of schools for these practice areas. So, not only does attending the Texas MPA program practically make you a shoe-in for a position at the Big 4, but also it puts you in the running for positions not typically available to new graduates.

Beyond the Big 4 are options such as consulting, industry, and even investment banking. All the major consulting firms and plenty of middle market and boutique firms recruit at the McCombs School of Business and many are looking for MPAs. Plenty of Fortune 500 companies also actively recruit MPAs for various accounting and finance positions, including some of the highly sought-after financial management development programs. On top of that, a few MPAs have able to land positions with investment banks, from the bulge bracket banks to boutiques (although they likely had previously done summer internships).

alternative-careers-in-science

Yet another alternative for MPAs is the slew of mid-market accounting firms and specialty firms that recruit here. These firms provide a great alternative to the Big 4 in that you can get a high quality work experience and a great brand name on your resume. While you may not be working on Fortune 500 clients every day, the benefits to working at one of these firms include a better work-life balance and a broader range of exposure to different areas of accounting. On top of that, you won’t be just another worker bee at a mid-market (or even smaller firm) and you will have a chance to really make an impact and forge your own career path.

The moral of the story is that students at many schools are recruited by the Big 4 tax and audit groups, but few schools have the options that The University of Texas does. Also, even though the Big 4 recruit at many schools, it seems like they would hire every last one of us here if they could.

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.

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.

Alexandria, Career, Employment, Internships, Recruiting

Recruiting Pep Talk

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Be prepared- It is nerve racking coming into an event trying to make a good impression on an employer. Being prepared will ease your fears, and let you focus on what you are there to do. Being prepared goes farther beyond company research, being prepared means also know your own schedule and accommodating your recruiting events so you are not stressed about how much study time you are missing out on. Being prepared also means being sure on what the dress code is, where the event is, and how you plan on getting there, so you can show up on time and ready. Unfortunately, in both accounting and recruiting, the devil is in the details, and taking the time to account for them will help you not sweat the small stuff.

Be inquisitive- Ask lots of questions at these events. You have questions, and they have answers, so be sure to ask away. Asking questions about the work you are going to see as first year staff, advancement opportunities, training and mentorship programs, etc., shows you are serious about pursuing a career with the company.

Be eager- Every year, I see students at events for a firm they have firmly decided to not accept an offer that are completely disengaged and are making no attempt at hiding this decision. Even if you have decided to not go with a firm, if you find yourself at that firm’s event make an effort to seem be eager to be there because this network you establish in recruiting will follow you during your professional career. Not to mention recruiters talk to each other. In my experience, eagerness is the quality that translates to recruiters the most and is the hardest to fake. Recruiters remember people that are eager to be at their events.

Be professional- You will bond with recruiters, but remember they aren’t necessarily your friends. Avoid topics and language that would make a future employer hesitate to put you in front of a client. Again, remember that recruiters talk, so things can carry across firm lines.

Be yourself- This is the most important “Be” by far. The whole purpose of recruiting is to see where your personality and skill set will fit the best. It’s impossible to determine if you fit if you are not being yourself, and being whoever you think recruiters want you to be.