I landed a Big 4 (accounting) interview...A couple of questions

It's a big giant personality test. Dig up everything you can on the recruiter, which you can usually find out from professors / upperclassmen who have interned already. This way you can better engage him and get a better feel for what he/she specifically looks for. Everything else is all social skills, the resume gets you through the door but to hired you have to prove that people will actually like working with you.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific q's.

No specific help for you from me, but congrats on the invite!

If you've never had an interview before, the best thing you can do to prepare yourself is to rehearse your answers to commonly asked questions. Don't memorize a script or anything, but go over a framework for your answers in your head so you are familiar with them and are not stumbling over words during the real thing. Back when I was interviewing, I would practice each answer in front of a mirror the night before.

^ Oh, that reminded me J-5, I can help with interview type questions. For instance, when they ask the inevitable, "So, tell me about one of your weaknesses," give a sincere answer. However, preface it with this, "Well, this would in no way impede me from excellent performance in this positions, but I've found I need to work on...." Don't dodge these types of questions, but frame them in such a manner that they are not deal breaker type things or things where they would be thinking about a weakness come decision time.

Congrats on your interview. I'm not an accounting nerd, so I have no answer for you. But, while I'm here, my only one advice is: don't get tanked, regardless how good the booze looks and how much people seem like they're having fun. Heck, don't even have a single alcoholic drink.

A couple of suggestions:

Be prepared to engage in, and even initiate, some conversations. The primary element of the event is to evaluate your fit, and you should be ready to talk about a variety of things (e.g., current business news, sports, local headlines).

Research the firm and its leaders in your area. It's always good to demonstrate that you've made an effort to prepare, and this can often help you to stand out from other candidates. Surprisingly few people seem to do this. You may even be able to make some additional connections (e.g., perhaps you've volunteered for a group that the firm supports).

Good luck!

Along this line, don't let any questions throw you off. If you don't have an answer off the top of your head (or even if you do), think for a minute and then provide a good response. Anyone can spout off BS and anyone can spot it a mile away.

Never forget this rule: always, tell the truth during an interview.

Ask them questions about the specific type of work you will be doing, your coworkers, how many people who intern are hired, etc. Try to find out more about the position, what it entails, corporate culture. Ask about mentoring and how/if the company supports continuous improvement/education.

Your weakness is that you are too involved in work? So to improve your weakness you'd do the opposite, right? I'm not certain a prospective employer wants to hear that


I'm not so certain of this. In this type of situation, if your potential employers are drinking, go ahead and have a drink (or at least make it look like you are). If this is a "social event" you don't want to be an outcast or the stereotypical interviewee whose so uptight they stick out like a sore thumb. You want to fit in, right?

PS Congrats

I work at a non Big 4 firm (top 2 firm right outside Big 4) but the interviews are basically the same.
1. Have a good response to the weakness question.
2. Don't think of accountants as nerdy. Most are normal and aren't nerdy at all. Only a few are and they usually work in the accounting principles groups.
3. Have a good response on "why we should hire you over everyone else" in case you get asked that question. I told my coworker whose a manager at my firm to ask that question if he felt like the person wasn't going to be a good fit and if they can give you a good answer then we should hire them. It needs to be better then hard worker or smart since everyone getting interviewed already has those qualities.
4. Be reasonably sure of what practice you want to go in. Don't interview with an audit person asking to go into tax or advisory or vice versa.
5. At the pre interview social have a drink or 2 but don't get drunk. Accountants love to drink and if your future coworkers don't think you're going to be fun around, you'll get flagged pretty quick.
6. Don't try to sound like you know a lot about stuff you have no clue about. I saw a kid ask about getting the opportunity to work in upstream companies. A partner came by and asked him if he knew what an upstream company was. Kid didn't and looked pretty stupid trying to look smart.
7. Don't be cocky or arrogant regardless of your grades, volunteer work, the connections you have, etc.

Sounds like good advice to me. Good luck

I have worked in a couple of fields including advisory at a Big 4. IMO, this is all sound advice and will stand you in good stead even if you end up looking at another industry. Few things I would add:

1. Learn as much as you can about the industry, the department (not sure what you're applying for - audit/tax/advisory?), the daily work etc. This could help you in a few ways - you will come across as interested and knowledge without trying too hard and more importantly, figure out if you really want to be in this field. Can't emphasize that enough.

2. If your degree is non-related, it will be all about fit. But if you have done accounting/finance coursework, be prepared to answer questions. I have been grilled on markets, derivatives, modelling etc.

3. Be flexible during the interview. You need to try to build a real connection with the other guy. And be yourself, most importantly.