Tag Archives: Texas MPA

Academics, Austin, Career, CPA Exam, Events, Paul, Student Life

While you were Meme-ing…

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…I was studying with Becker. It seems that the relaxed semester is impossible under my terms and lifestyle. Nevertheless, it is what it is, and explains my hiatus from the blogging world for the past two weeks.

There is no shortage of stories though. Here is some recent Conversationalia from the past couple of weeks:

 

Texas to Host 2014 Menuhin Competition

The University of Texas will host the 2014 Menuhin Competition for violinists. It will be the first time the competition will be held in the North American continent. Read more about this in the Daily Texan’s article.

Yehudi Menuhin was born in America, but he spent most of his professional music career in the United Kingdom. He was a popular violinist during the 20th century, during which time recordings were available. My mom used to play a CD of Menuhin playing the Mozart violin concertos in the car. When you’re nine years’ old, you don’t particularly listen that closely. However, there was something about the last movement of Mozart’s fifth violin concerto that I just loved. I’m not sure if it was the sweet innocent opening theme or the somewhat raucous “Turkish” section in the middle, but this piece was my motivation for continuing to study the instrument throughout elementary school and high school, since it was only five Suzuki books away. (Otherwise, I’m not sure how much longer I would have lasted at the time…) Anyways, here’s Menuhin’s performance of that piece:

PitaLicious!

What I love about Austin is its entrepreneurial spirit. It’s awesome, and one of the great ways it’s exemplified is through the Trailer model. Here you save on fixed costs and experiment with your product in a small food trailer instead of a brick-and-mortar restaurant. One of my new favorites is PitaLicious on South Congress.

Why do I love it so much? Two reasons: the first is that the owner is Lebanese (where my great-grandparents emigrated from, thus earning extra points in my book) and serves kafta (which is a dish my siti loves to prepare for my brother and me when I visit El Paso). Second, and more substantially, is that the owner and his girlfriend have full-time jobs. (He’s an engineer, and she’s a nurse.)That’s right—they operate this food stand for fun. When talking to him, he told me that this was one of his passions and always wanted to do it. And that is what I love about Austin—the culture of doing things because you want to and taking some chances with life! PitaLicious is open on Thursday and Friday nights as well as the weekends. Follow your dreams.

Final Thoughts

Speaking of music, the University Orchestra—of which I have been a member of for my entire five years at Texas—is performing Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, “Pastorale,” on Tuesday, February 28 at 7:30 p.m. The piece is awesome, invoking a lot of imagery of nature and minimalism. This is, to me, one of the best pieces ever written—a true work of art—and a great piece to listen to even if you are not a hardcore classical music person. This is simply a must-hear.

Academics, Events, Feature, Melissa, Recruiting

Surviving my first week of career events

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Recruiting is all about finding your perfect fit among the firms.

It is the point in the semester where all of the firms hold “Career Nights” for the third-year MPAs. Essentially, it is a less formal information session paired with a networking reception. To mirror my blog about mock interviews, I will tell you a few things I learned this week.

1. You really will start to discover the firm where you will fit best. Originally, I approached that notion with skepticism, thinking there was going to be a consistency between the firms. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. By no means are there “good” vs. “bad” firms, but moreso you will start to see where your personality fits in.

2. Know what makes you fun/unique. Of course it is important to know what year you are, what track you are pursuing, where you want to intern, etc. But how long do you think you can talk about that in a networking setting? Not very long. It is great when you talk about where you studied abroad, your favorite hobby, or your favorite food in Austin. And when you connect with someone who also lived in Paris, or also loves P. Terry’s, it makes the conversation more memorable and personal.

3. Get business cards and send thank you emails. But, do this because you WANT to, not because you think it something you have to do. The professionals can tell if your email is genuine or if it is forced. Make it personal. Do not have a shell email with which you “fill-in-the-blank” for firm and professional’s name.

These are just a few tips- but hopefully you get an idea for what Career Nights are really about, and I hope that my advice helps you in the future.

Academics, Events, Melissa, Recruiting

In defense of mock interviews

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Rishnie and I at our first MPA recruiting event!

Hello everyone! Recruiting season is officially here! This week was a relatively light week according to older MPAs and my audit professor, Professor Kachelmeier.  Regardless, this week has definitely taught me that time management is going to be ESSENTIAL as the recruiting season goes on. This week we had mock interviews, and company nights with a few firms. I will share with you three things that mock interviews taught me this week.

1. Don’t be nervous: This is KEY to the interview process. I can tell you that before I have even had my first ‘real interview’ because it is a universal truth that completely applies here. Your interviewer can sense your nerves. Sounding nervous can convey the message that you are unprepared, which is something that can quickly put you at the bottom of the firm’s prospective intern list. You have to remember that recruiters are people too.  Don’t be nervous because you think that they are judging you. They truly WANT you to succeed.

2. Be yourself: I think this little idiom applies to every aspect of life, however, I will explain its relevance in regard to mock interviews/real interviews. Basically what it all boils down to is that we are all MPAs.  Texas has the number one accounting program in the nation, and the recruiters know how well McCombs prepares us for our careers. That being said, your interviewer is really trying to discover if you would be a good fit for his/her firm. It is all about your personality because nobody wants to work with colleagues that they do not like. You must stay true to yourself because the “interview version” of you must be consistent with the “work version” or else you convey that you are not being real.

3. Practice makes perfect: There is no better way to prepare for real interviews than participating in a mock interview. If you make a mistake in a mock interview, you can fix it before your real interviews. If you make a mistake in your real interview, you can’t go back and fix it.

I strongly encourage EVERYONE to do mock interviews and please comment if you have any questions about the process!

Career, Paul, Student Life

A Stand

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Lady Justice

Most people that know me hopefully see me as jovial for the most part. I pray I am slow to anger and generally cheerful. Every once in a while, though, I see something that upsets me.

Last week I read a story about a girl in Philadelphia that angered me. I am truly irate. My jaws were sore on Saturday morning from clenching my teeth all day Thursday and Friday. Even after trying to give myself some time to cool down, I am certain that I can’t. See, this little girl was denied a kidney transplant because she was mentally disabled, and I cannot keep silent about that. It’s a blatant slap in the face of civil rights.

Why is this important to MPAs? I have said on several occasions that MPAs, because of our role in society, need to be civil role models as well as corporate role models. That is, we need to go vote, volunteer, etc. Our actions need to reflect the values we hold. It would be hard to look up to someone in the boardroom when you knew that that person was slime when he left the office.

For me, this is no exception. It would be difficult for me to stand by passively on a topic too close to my heart with such a responsibility on my shoulders. So here it goes:

Amelia Rivera

Amelia Rivera is three years old and has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. She needs a kidney transplant within a year, to live. However, a doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (“CHOP”) told her parents that she could not receive a kidney transplant there because she was “mentally retarded” and because of her “quality of life.” More upsetting is the fact that when her parents told the doctor that they would try to find a donor on their own, the doctor insisted that he still would not perform the transplant.

This is clearly discrimination against those with mental disabilities. Even while I am cautious to go to an extreme on this issue, it seems that there was no other rationale from this doctor to deny this child her right to live. Had several other reasons been given for this child to be denied her kidney, I may have been more understanding. As it is, I am not at all understanding. Continue reading A Stand →

Career, Employment, Paul, Recruiting, Student Life

Heads-Up on Recruiting Season…

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Snoopy as Joe Cool and Woodstock: the epitome of charisma.

As the Spring semester commences, intense recruiting begins for third-year MPAs. While technical knowledge is crucial, it’s interpersonal skills that make or break a recruit on this field. Keep in mind, even if you are interested in a firm, that firm is not going to be interested in you unless they perceive you are interested in it. In other words, this is not merely an “avoid losing” situation; it is imperative that you demonstrate to recruiters that you are interested in them.

Why am I bringing this up? (1) A recent study by MIT and (2) two commercials that just irk the hell out of me.

Charisma

CBS Sunday Morning had a segment on charisma. What charisma actually is is still inexplicable. However, it is undeniable that really successful people have it…whatever it is. (Even the etymology of the word comes from the Greek word for “gift.”) Notwithstanding, researchers at MIT devised what was called a “sociometer” which, as best as an accountant can explain, tried to measure the energy that one radiated. Movement of the hands, inflections of the voice, etc… contributed to giving off more energy.

What’s the point? The point is that MPAs have a LOT of charisma. Recruiting is not the time to be nervous or shy, unless you want to be overlooked.  Without being overbearing, use your personality, listen genuinely, and become interested. This will help make recruiting successful for you. Continue reading Heads-Up on Recruiting Season… →