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Career, Paul

Internship Series: I. Embarkation

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Rolling down the interstate, gazing in awe as the Hill Country slowly becomes vibrant with the life of spring, I begin to reflect upon the experiences of the past ten weeks. I turn up Led Zeppelin on the radio and try to make sense of a whirlwind of the emotions endured from invincibility to hopelessness to redemption. Finally, once I’m in range, I switch from Zeppelin to KVET only to be reminded, “Ain’t it great to be alive in Austin, Texas?” Thus, as I was constantly reminded during my internship, it was time to stop worrying for a while and just enjoy the rest of the day.

Back in Austin, I will follow up my Recruiter Series with an Internship Series. (Note—As per MPA guidelines, I will not refer to any organization or person by name.) As my usual tradition though, I’ll start with tidbits. So, while I was auditing…

Bust out your DANCIN’ SHOES!

In case you haven’t noticed from all of my other blogs, I’m a tremendous college hoops fan! Anyone that knows me personally knows that I will temporarily change my major from Accounting to Bracketology. The NCAA Tournament is one of the only events I will actually wake up early to watch. (The other being the National Spelling Bee; I’ll save a lot of blog for that in June.)

The Longhorns earned a #4 seed in the tournament and will face Oakland on Friday. The Horns finished second in the Big XII this year and take a balanced attack into the tournament. If they win, then they’ll face the winner of Arizona and Memphis. Both Arizona and Memphis are in the tournament for the first time under second-year head coaches Sean Miller and Josh Pastner; should the Horns win on Friday, they’ll have their hands full on Sunday with either of these teams.

Congratulations to two future Longhorns

This is a shout-out to two fellow interns who were accepted into the Texas MPA program traditional approach in February. Congratulations, and I cannot wait to see you on campus in the fall!

Hello, Audit Team!

It was also discovered during my final engagement that I blogged for Texas MPA, so this is a shout-out to my team! Thank you all for making so much time fly by! (From now on, queso will always hold a special place in my heart.)

Okay, so about that internship…

What was this internship? Continue reading Internship Series: I. Embarkation →

Career, Paul, Student Life

Recruiting Series: III. The Attitude

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This segment is almost as embarrassing for me to write as it may be for you to read. It is imperative that although public accounting firms recruit Texas heavily, we are not by any means entitled to any sort of job or internship. As my usual custom though, let’s start with some tidbits since my last installment.

Artillery Fire Between North and South Korea

After North Korea warned South Korea not to participate in military drills near their sea border, South Korea responded by firing artillery, albeit away from North Korean shores. North Korea retaliated by shelling Yeonpyeong. The skirmish lasted an hour. For more, read here.

Former Player of the Year Kevin Durant (35) and Coach Rick Barnes; Barnes earned his 500th victory last night over Sam Houston State.

Congratulations to Coach Rick Barnes

Coach Barnes earned his 500th victory last night with Texas’ win over Sam Houston State. Barnes (500-250) is the 12th active coach to achieve the milestone and only the 50th in NCAA history. Congratulations, and I look forward to supporting the team this Saturday against Rice.

BA 324…Again…

I was going through the New York Times site earlier today, and I stumbled upon an article called Numbers in the News. This post shows how the New York Times style manual would handle certain sentences and their syntax. This is BA 324 heaven from probably the most renowned periodical in the country. Oh, and there are previous articles in this post also, so feel free to read older posts as well. (You know you want to…) Anyways, this serves as a good refresher, especially if you are GMATting, LSATting, or writing any sort of publication within the next couple of months.

Anyway, on to topic.

The Attitude

This episode is going to be short, mostly because there aren’t any sorts of steps or tips to make, other than to ensure that you enter recruiting with the correct mindset. Make no mistake about it—you are applying for a job. So yes, while you have the array of bright lights and glamorous recruiting events, at the end of the night, you better remember you are going to work with your recruiters and you better be able to account!

Be a Pro!

I know it’s weird trying to be cool while also being professional—at the outermost layer, these two almost seem to contradict each other. How can you do it? Continue reading Recruiting Series: III. The Attitude →

Academics, Career, Paul, Student Life

Recruiting Series: II. How do I study during Recruiting Season?

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This past week, I spoke to the ACC 151 classes about recruiting (i.e. the things I did well, the mistakes I made, etc.). This question came up that I feel needs extra attention. As my usual blog format though, first I’ll talk about some of the tidbits of the week!

Could you really use a wish right now?

Well stop looking for airplanes, silly! The annual Leonid Meteor Shower started on Wednesday. The shooting starts you’ll see are the remnants of a comet (Tempel-Tuttle) that passes through the system. When I was eleven, a couple of friends and I drove out to the middle of desert outside El Paso to see it, and it was awesome! I’m not sure where I’d drive here in Austin, but if you have a chance to see it, do it.

Giunta received the Medal of Honor Tuesday.

Congratulations to Salvatore A. Giunta

The staff sergeant received the Medal of Honor from President Obama this past week. Giunta “placed himself in the line of fire…to try to save his fellow squad-mates and to protect and comfort a dying American soldier.” Giunta was serving in Afghanistan. We thank you and commend you on your bravery!

New World Record

This is kind of off-topic, but I thought it was cool. A new world record was set this past week for the tallest married couple. Check it out.

Anyway, onto topic!

How do I study during recruiting season?

This is a very good question. As I told the ACE classes, the workload you undertake is a choice that you need to make based on your own personal characteristics. I would recommend that this is not the semester that you want to try to take more classes than usual. Here’s a quick background on the justification for my recommendations:

The Suzuki Method

If you didn’t know before, you’ll hear it now. I’ve studied the violin for more than19 years under this method. This method was started by Shin’ichi Suzuki of Japan; his rationale was that if a skill was nurtured for a period of time, then a student could learn a skill the same way one learns to speak a new language. (No, I’m not going to get into nature versus nurture.) Suzuki recommended repetition, to a degree, until the student gained “intuition” of the skill he was trying to accomplish; this type of learning is a process, and learning the nuances of a skill does not occur overnight. (There are, of course, many other factors involved in the Suzuki Method, but I will focus mainly on those I feel are apropos to helping MPA students.) For further reading on the philosophy, read Suzuki’s book Nurtured by Love or check out this synopsis.

Are you basically going to introduce us to the Suzuki Method…of Accounting?! Continue reading Recruiting Series: II. How do I study during Recruiting Season? →

Academics, Career, Paul

Recruiting Series: I. What Do I Talk About?

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After a week’s hiatus, I’m back to address some questions that I have been asked by some third-year students. As my usual blog style, though, I’d like to talk about some of the week’s tidbits first.

Congratulations to Texas Basketball

Tristan Thompson (13) shoots over a defender.

Congratulations to the Texas Men’s Basketball Team for kicking off the season with two victories in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Good luck this season, and I look forward to supporting the team in their next game against Illinois on November 18.

New Concept Statement?
Don’t look now, but it looks like Concept Statements No.1 and No.2 may be gone! Check out SFAC No.8, which was completed with collaboration from the IASB.

The Fed will Buy $600B of Treasury Securities
(Why is this important again? Umm, because we’re business students, and we live in this country.) The Fed announced last week that it will buy Treasury securities in an attempt to stimulate the economy. The hope is that interest rates will be pushed even lower, encouraging people to go out and spend. (Recall the composition of GDP.) There are concerns about what this policy will do to inflation and asset bubbles. Here is the Fed’s official statement, and here is an article to supplement it.

Anyway, onto the main topic.

What do I Talk About When I’m Talking With Recruiters?

Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show from 1962-1992.

There will only be one Johnny Carson, but that doesn’t mean you have the option to remain unseen and unheard during recruiting season. One of the questions I receive from third-year students is What do I talk about?! This is totally a valid question, and it’s more of an art than a science. From being there, I know that I had to somewhat reinvent myself in order to survive. From being the quiet guy in the corner to being a guy who would orchestrate the conversation, I’m going to relate what I had to do in order to escape anonymity in recruiting season.

First off, before telling you topics to talk about, know that I am not the best at this skill. The art of conversation is extremely difficult, and it is still something that I am learning today. (Just when I thought I had mastered the skill, I realized I had developed the opposite problem—I don’t shut up.) Learn from classmates who are really good at this. Second, I can’t stress the importance of being well-rested during recruiting events. You’ll be energized, and, perhaps even more importantly, you’ll be better able to think before you speak. There’s nothing worse than finally having the confidence to carry a solid conversation, and then blurting some faux pas….with confidence. You need to be mentally alert, and when you are, then you have the opportunity to get crafty and use elements such as wit, humor, emotion, etc. Continue reading Recruiting Series: I. What Do I Talk About? →