Category Archives: Career

recruiting, internship, professional development, career workshops and events

Academics, Career, Melissa, Recruiting

Getting the final rose: MPA edition

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some of my favorite MPAs.

Every time a new season of the Bachelor or Bachelorette comes on, I try to avoid it, however if I happen to watch the first episode, I’m hooked. Going through MPA recruiting is a lot like the Bachelor. I promise I’m not crazy- so I will explain.

1. You must dress and act to impress. The bachelor isn’t all about looks. I’d parallel this to the fact that MPA recruiting is not all about your resume. Sure, the Bachelor probably looks for a few characteristics in the women the first time they meet, just as firms are attracted to certain things on resumes such as teamwork, community service, extracurricular activities, and a good GPA. However, as recruiting continues, it is less about your resume and more about who you are.

2. There must be a mutually agreed fit. As in any relationship, there must be 2-sides of respect.  There should be trust from both sides and there must be a genuine interest in mutual success. Whenever you recruit with the firm where you are meant to work, this will become a reality for you.

3. You have to be genuine or it won’t work out. Here’s the thing about the Bachelor- sometimes these girls (Courtney for those of you who watched Ben’s season) act one way with the other girls, and another way with the Bachelor. When you act like something you aren’t to impress someone, it won’t work out in the end. This is probably why 90% of Bachelor relationships end up failing. As you recruit and try to find your perfect fit (#2), you have to be genuine. You must be real and true to yourself and your beliefs. If you are lucky, your internship will turn into a full-time offer, which turns into a career. This being said, it is important to begin the student-firm relationship with a true and authentic attitude and be sure that it is the real you that the firm knows.

HOWEVER, there is one huge difference between MPA recruiting and the Bachelor. There is more than one rose in recruiting!

When recruiting is over, I guarantee that everyone will receive “the final rose” from the firm that is perfect for them, as long as you are true to yourself throughout the process. Good luck!

Alexandria, Career, Events, Recruiting, Spring Break

Can Spring Break Last All Year?

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Back in day when I skated competitively

Greetings from Spring Break 2012! I know many of my fellow MPA’s were on vacations much more exciting and exotic than mine, but I thought I would share my experience anyways.

I spent my first weekend home for Spring Break not lounging out in the Texas sun, but in a below freezing ice rink judging a local figure skating competition. For those of you who don’t know, I am a US figure skating judge and help judge at a handful of competitions each year. This particular competition I judged at was Showskate 2012 and was different than most figure skating competitions because the skaters are allowed to skate to music with lyrics and use props to help them interpret the music. The competition is great fun for everyone involved, and is very entertaining, thanks to the crazy routines skaters performed.

I love judging because I was a competitive figure skater for 12 years, and judging allows me to stay involved with the sport. I am a huge figure skating fan. Continue reading Can Spring Break Last All Year? →

Alexandria, Career, Student Life

Spreading Light

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I’m sure I’m not the only one who has been shocked and dismayed at the news reports of our military’s horrific treatment of Afghans. The recent outbreak of these stories on top of an onslaught of reports regarding the poor treatment of US citizens at the hands of fellow Americans causes me to ask the question, “Is America becoming heartless?”

The Economic Collapse Blog certainly thinks so. The article, “19 Signs that America is Becoming a Heartless Place,” argues that as America has fallen on tough times with the down-trending economy and seemingly endless wars in which we are engaged, Americans have become more cynical and heartless. It then backs this claim with 19 recent American news stories.

The business world especially faces claims of being “heartless.” There are numerous frauds, Ponzi schemes, and immoral decisions led by business professionals that have led to the public perceiving business as “heartless.”

The thought that our country and the business world have become heartless makes me very concerned for the future. Obviously, my peers and I only have so much control in changing the future of our country. Yet, I do have faith in our ability to turn the tide and make the business world a more caring and considerate place.

I say this because McCombs instills the importance of ethical decision making. We value the needs of company stakeholders and community participants. Continue reading Spreading Light →

Career, Events, Feature, Melissa

And the Oscar goes to…

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Accounting firms in the public eye

Did anyone else see the PwC partners walking the Academy’s votes down the red carpet at the Oscars? There are a lot of things in the popular media that are actually done by accounting firms. The accounting nerd in me was really excited to see “PricewaterhouseCoopers” on the screen of the Oscars. So of course I snapped a quick iPhone photo, as displayed on the left. This spun me into some web research (Googling) about accounting firms in popular culture and I want to share it with you all.

PwC has been in charge of counting the ballots for the Academy Awards for 78 years, and the accountants in charge actually know the winners 48 hours ahead of the public. But even crazier is that, for all eternity, these partners know who came in second place, and are sworn to secrecy- probably because sometimes, the runner-up misses the Oscar by one vote. In the 78 years of counting ballots, there has been no security issues, leaked winners or miscounts. On the day of the awards, the two partners in charge take separate routes to Kodak Theater, with LAPD officers in tow. They both hold identical briefcases with one whole set of the winning envelopes. Also, they MEMORIZE the winners in case something happens to these briefcases. At the show, they stand in the wings and hand the envelopes to the presenters before they walk on stage. Sounds like a job I would LOVE to have!

It is interesting to note that after all the accounting scandals in the early 2000s, when the world looked down on the accounting industry, there were critics who actually raised suspicions that PwC was not to be trusted with the counting of the Academy Awards ballots. Of course, as I stated before, PwC has always handled the task with the upmost professionalism and accuracy, however, this was a reflection of the times.

Other instances of public accounting firms in popular culture:

  • E&Y counts the ballots for the Golden Globes
  • KPMG sponsors professional golfer, Phil Mickelson
  • Deloitte Sponsors the U.S. Olympic Committee
Academics, Career, Student Life, Xinmiao

Greetings from Chicago!

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Downtown Chicago!

Greetings from the Windy City!

I’m writing from a friend’s couch in downtown Chicago, enjoying the warmth of the indoors. This weekend, I am away from dear Austin to attend a three-day-long writing conference hosted by AWP. It’s going really well. And when not sitting in on panels entitled “Beyond Pulp – The Futuristic and Fantastic as Literary Fiction” and “Wilderness Writing: Theory and Practice,” I’m working on some Excel assignments for my ITAC (Information Technology Accounting Control) class, where we complete tutorials, create our own macros, and use conditional formatting to perform data analysis. I’m also wrapping up a work paper for an internal audit project which has my audit team working closely with the Office of the City Auditor (OCA). It’s a great, though at the moment overwhelming, combination of all sorts of activity.

I can speak a little further about my ITAC assignment in that it’s proving amazingly useful towards the work I’m currently doing for my internship at Greenlights. I am working with our donor database and trying to get good data from our archives to provide the development director with information. Learning about conditional formatting (IF functions and whatnot) and macros has really helped me finesse my approach to data analysis. I’m hoping by the end of the internship to produce a macros for the organization that sorts out information about our donors that will be really valuable for planning. Continue reading Greetings from Chicago! →