What to tell the interviewer?

Hello
I have got great advice from this forum before so I am coming back.
I have an interview in a couple days for an accounting position at a mid-size firm.
I thought I was graduating after this summer and I told the company this. However some problems have come up. When I was audited on my courses they found that I have to many business courses and am missing a social science course (general education course) and that I can not graduate until this is resolved. I am dealing with the deans office now so that I can use my business courses for the general education course and I am waiting for this to resolve however I may have to stay an extra year for this one course. I have all of the accounting courses but just need this one course to graduate with the degree. I am just wondering what should I tell them at the interview? Should I still say I am graduating until I am 100% certain I cant graduate or tell them the problem I am having? I really want this job as it is a good position and a good location. I know I can work full-time and do this course as it is an easy course and it wont affect my work-life or training. However I may not be able to write my CA exams till I graduate so will they not hire me because of this? I have seenpeople work full-time and go to school so it is possible.
What should I do guys any advice? Thanks.

tell them the truth..

Getting a gen ed social science should be easy. Sign up for your next community college gen ed that is accepted by your uni and take it there. Heck, take the class distance ed. to get it over with and graduate by this fall quarter/semester. Walk across the platform with your degree by this winter.

Talk to your employer and be honest now about your mixup. Try to get them to work with you and let you for them while you do a distance education social science during your evening/ weekends. Just make sure it counts and transfers so you can graduate for sure with the Registrar's Office.

If your lucky you'll be able to keep your job and finish your degree before the year's out. If you're not so lucky you could be dropped from employment and maybe placed for consideration fro hire during the next round.

Can you take a distance ed course? Lots of online courses will even let you "challenge" a course, and write the final for credit. See if you are eligible to do this for any course that would satisify your required social science course. Unless you loaded up on the intro courses, you should be able to find a intro econ/poli-sci/sociology that you can take, read the textbook over a few days then write the final.

Originally Posted by erdawe

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Getting a gen ed social science should be easy. Sign up for your next community college gen ed that is accepted by your uni and take it there. Heck, take the class distance ed. to get it over with and graduate by this fall quarter/semester. Walk across the platform with your degree by this winter.

Talk to your employer and be honest now about your mixup. Try to get them to work with you and let you for them while you do a distance education social science during your evening/ weekends. Just make sure it counts and transfers so you can graduate for sure with the Registrar's Office.

If your lucky you'll be able to keep your job and finish your degree before the year's out. If you're not so lucky you could be dropped from employment and maybe placed for consideration fro hire during the next round.

I know a lot of universities require you to take all of your courses with the university if you're within so many hours/credits of graduating.

Btw, just tell them the truth.

Originally Posted by Texasmade

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I know a lot of universities require you to take all of your courses with the university if you're within so many hours/credits of graduating.

Btw, just tell them the truth.

Good point, I'm sure many do tuck that stipulation in.

I transferred all of mine pretty much on the front end of my time, so I guess I never explored his problem too heavily... Registrar should be able to clarify institutional policy in a 30 second phone call.

Also, I do know that some universities allow the student to petition for credit to be transferred if it does not automatically go through. Again, check with your uni on this stuff for final say.

I'd simply tell them, you're short one qualification of graduating but am doing it ASAP. They have the option of hiring you knowing you're going to be fully qualified in 4-6mo, or not hiring you. And quite bluntly, you don't get to pick and choose what job you want. In my field, people get hired because they have a qualification, but in other parts of my job, people are hired because of behaviors and abilities that have nothing to do with sitting in a classroom.

If they seem squeamish about hiring you without a proper degree, offer to do it for 75 bucks a month less until you're fully qualified. That way, they've got an incentive to get a trained (but not degree holding) person, you're given a reason to finish uni and you get to work there and have a real good reason to finish.

In parts of my field, we hired a man who ended up being a department head who would take off every Fri afternoon, drive seven hours to Edmonton and finish up his graphics/marketing degree. He's now the head composition worker.

T

Wait until you're hired. Then tell them.

Originally Posted by Jay Gatsby

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Wait until you're hired. Then tell them.

I'd recommend against this. Most accounting firms understand that things happen and will let you delay your start date. It's no big deal for them to do this but to misrepresent yourself when you start is a big no no.

Originally Posted by Texasmade

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I'd recommend against this. Most accounting firms understand that things happen and will let you delay your start date. It's no big deal for them to do this but to misrepresent yourself when you start is a big no no.

Agreed.I worked at EY and they have a thorough background check...It would flag because your records wont be released to the clearinghouse

Hello everyone great post.