Do you only get one interview with most companies?

College Majors Business Major
1

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I am going to graduating with a Masters in Accounting in a few months and have recently started looking for an entry level position in tax or auditing for next fall. The problem I am having is that despite having a great GPA (3.9 undergrad, 4.0 grad), I am having a hard time landing interviews. </p>

<p>The first time I applied for internships in the spring of 2009, I was interviewed by almost every company I applied to at my school's job fair. For one reason or another I wound up not landing an internship; this was when the economy was at rock bottom and a few recruiters told me they cut down on the number of interns at the time, I was new at interviewing and probably screwed up a few times, etc. </p>

<p>When I tried for an internship again in the fall of 2009, I noticed that I was applying to the exact same companies as before since no new companies attended the fall job fair. I hoped for a chance to interview again since my interview skills are much better than they were, but wound up with 0 interviews. </p>

<p>Now I am job hunting and so far applied to the firms that were at this semester's job fair. Once again it was the same companies, and once again no interviews. While I am not overly concerned yet (there are plenty of opportunities to apply to firms on my own), I am curious if my lack of interviews stems from policies of only interviewing a person once.</p>

2

<p>First impressions are everything. </p>

<p>It sounds like you probably came in unprepared and maybe nervous. At this point they know your personality probably won’t fit in with their firm. </p>

<p>Also, what kind of leadership experiences do you have? Your GPA may be great but in reality the big 4 and other firms tend to hire in that 3.4-3.7 range. Honestly this is because the people with those near perfect gpas lack social skills.</p>

<p>Unfortunately you need to start looking for companies you haven’t made a bad impression with yet.</p>

3

<p>Pretty much, yeah. My first few interviews I was nervous and unprepared for some of the questions but after gaining some experience I felt more comfortable and knew how to do a better job preparing. Unfortunately it looks like it was too late to do any good for those companies, haha. </p>

<p>As for your question, my leadership experience is decent. I’ve been a supervisor at my job for the last few years and also have some volunteer experience. My weak point is probably a lack of clubs or school activities, but I was unfortunately unable to do anything about that since I have to work full time to put myself through school. </p>

<p>On the bright side, your response makes me feel a bit better since it looks like my interview drought likely stems from my poor interviews a year and a half ago. Since I am more confident in my interview abilities now, I should have better luck when I apply to new firms.</p>

4

<p>Your GPA is perfect. Can you tell us briefly what kind of questions did they ask you, and what did you answered? Did you go to the interviewing workshops? I know that many colleges have that, and some of them have a “funny” interview or something like that, when you are being interviewd and recorded by a camera, to show you how do you look during an interview.</p>

5

<p>I work full time and I was a VP in 3 organizations. Honestly if you weren’t a member of Beta Alpha Psi you are at a huge disadvantage.</p>

<p>Knowing now that you have no activity in clubs or leadership to speak of (besides being a supervisor) than the problem could also be that you don’t bring solid teamwork experience to the table in an industry that requires so much of it.</p>

6

<p>“My weak point is probably a lack of clubs or school activities”</p>

<p>It doesn’t really matter. You are in a graduate school already, you have a high GPA, and a solid working experience. I bet that the only thing you are bad at is interviews. Sometimes an appearance also plays a role, but not as much as the interviewing skills.</p>

<p>BTW, I know many people who didn’t join any clubs at all, didn’t have any working experience, and had a lower GPA than yours, and guess what? They got accepted because they did well on the interviews.</p>

7

<p>plscatamacchia: I agree, lack of BAP on resume probably hurts me since I know how valuable networking can be. Props to you for managing to find time to VP 3 clubs, not being able to fit clubs in is probably my biggest regret from college. But oh well, no use worrying about something I can’t change now :)</p>

<p>I disagree about my lack of clubs/activities making me look like I don’t bring teamwork experience though. I have several years of teamwork/supervisor experience, so it’s not like I spent all this time sitting in the basement playing WoW, haha. </p>

<p>Toshtemirov: As for the questions during interviews, there wasn’t really anything unusual, just the typical “so why do you like auditing/tax, what is your favorite class, where do you see yourself in 5 years, etc”. But there were two questions that come to mind that I know I messed up on. (though I am sure there were more that I didn’t catch)</p>

<p>The first was when I was asked if I had any negative experiences with coworkers in the past. I was honest and mentioned a few instances (involving arguments and fights between others, nothing that involved me though). I later learned that is kind of a trick question since the interviewer doesn’t want to hear you say anything bad about coworkers. </p>

<p>The second question was about what classes I had difficulty with and the interviewer didn’t believe me when I said that I never had a problem with any of my classes. Looking back at it now I can laugh, but at the time it was really awkward. She kept pressing me and I was like “no, seriously, I haven’t found any overly difficult”. It seemed to annoy her as if she didn’t believe me. </p>

<p>As for workshops, I didn’t go to any before my first job fair, but I did for my second round since I knew I had flaws I needed to work on from my previous interviews. I learned a lot and it’s partly the reason why I feel much more confident than I did back then. </p>

<p>As for the appearance part, I’ve lost a lot of weight over the last year and a half and look a lot better, so if the interviewer is shallow maybe that helps too :)</p>

<p>I’m glad to hear about the people you know who were accepted. It’s nice to hear success stories about people in similar positions</p>

8

<p>From the questions you listed not only did you do bad but you bombed. You answered te questions in the exact way they don’t want you to answers. If it went like this for all your interviews, you were basically put on a no-fly list. Jeez, that’s brutal. </p>

<p>Tosh is right about appearances. This is a client services business. They want healthy, well groomed people. </p>

<p>I disagree with Tosh about the lack of clubs not mattering. I interned at a Big 4 in advisory and all the audit, tax, and advisory were heavily involved in clubs. Also, all of my friends that got big 4 internships had heavy club involvement. These activities are what the interview is focused around, so how it could not matter, I do not know. It does.</p>

<p>Your biggest obstacle now is that there are people with more leadership, just as acceptable of gpas, masters degrees, AND internships. Everybody I know who didn’t intern at a firm and tried again for post grad employment were asked “Why didn’t you intern”. If I were you I’d look into government work at this point.</p>

9

<p>I don’t know if I was like that for all of the interviews I had, but yep I know I bombed at least a few of them. Luckily I learned from my mistakes, so all I can do is try again when I get the opportunity.</p>

10

<p>What is your internship experience like? Did you have good work experience during summers, etc. because this can mitigate some of the lack of leadership stuff. Also, you made a mistake of not going to beta alpha psi meetings at least. At my school, anyone can go to BAP, so even if you don’t want to join, its good to at least go there and do some good ol’ schmoozing/get some contacts. That’s what I do, but I dunno, just keep fighting and don’t just rely on the OCR stuff. Apply to F500s online as well. The problem with this stuff is that its all really random. I agree and disagree with people who says clubs matter, because it really depends on the interviewer/what they’re looking for. I for one will argue that its best to find your own niche and be the best at whatever you’re good at. For example, I know how to get good grades and enjoy reading, so I’m trying to start a business journal or undergrad research club and getting a 3.9+ GPA instead of just being another tool that joins BAP or other BS business clubs and gets a 3.5. Its important to network, that’s constant for everyone, but there’s no one path to success. Just try to be the best and the most unique you possibly can if you want to succeed.</p>

<p>Finally, consider looking into industry accounting positions. If you knew how much the Big Whore suck, you wouldn’t be that depressed about not working there, believe me. I’m trying for industry positions as we speak, and those are typically less competitive anyway (anyone care to correct me on that, as this is just based on my observations)</p>

11

<p>“The second question was about what classes I had difficulty with and the interviewer didn’t believe me when I said that I never had a problem with any of my classes. Looking back at it now I can laugh, but at the time it was really awkward. She kept pressing me and I was like “no, seriously, I haven’t found any overly difficult”. It seemed to annoy her as if she didn’t believe me.”</p>

<p>:) Yeah, if I were her, I wouldn’t like that too. The same thing happens when they ask if you have any strengths and weaknesses; and when you answer that you don’t have any weaknesses, you are really doomed. :)</p>

<p>However, in your case, for instance, you could say that based on your GPA, you didn’t have any major problems with any subject, but you didn’t like a certain class, and give a reason why. Even though you have a 4.0 GPA, they assume that some classes required you to think/struggle more than other classes. I bet that a person who interviewed you had a much lower GPA, and when she herd you say that you didn’t have any difficulties, she probably said to herself: “He thinks that he is so smart?”</p>

12

<p>Well, since you are graduating soon you are a little bit screwed, but you could try immediately to get some experience working with a non-profit for free. Just try to do something that’s either business related(they need accounting type work done too) or having to do with human interaction(fundraising, talking to the target community, whatever). That will hopefully give you something to talk about. Or join the military and come out with a 5 point bonus like I did and apply to federal jobs. It’s not the ace in the hole you think it is for corporate jobs(better to be BAP president), but it’s better than nothing. It’s quite hard for them to turn you down for Fed jobs if you have a 5 point bonus and you have a 3.9 and an MS degree. They have a ton of rules regarding hiring and you are less likely to get rejected because someone doesn’t like the activities section of your resume.</p>

<p>Oh, I’m wondering if you can share a general rank range for your school and how many people get jobs from the companies that interview. My experience showed that except for the Big Four and one or two other accounting firms, nobody hired more than 1 intern from our school each year for any specific job. So when a big company comes in, they maybe hire 1 full time financial accountant, one for internship, one for tax accounting, maybe interview some engineers for various things, etc. Its going to be hard getting a job through OCR if they’re just looking for that one diamond and you aren’t it. If your school is way better than mine than maybe your odds are better, though.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>I might be the exception, but I ended up getting a Big 4 offer without an internship.</p>

14

<p>Oh, incidentally, I interviewed twice with the same company. Once in the Spring and again in the Fall. I don’t know if I “bombed” the first interview or was near the top. My guess is they had no idea I’d already interviewed with them when they gave me the second interview.</p>

15

<p>LOL @ Cream.</p>

<p>You don’t want to do like all the other “tools” and join BAP? Good. It just means you’re even less employable. Good luck with your dead end corporate job. Those cubicle, number crunching positions are the most soul crushing jobs that exist in the corporate world. They offer no challenge and such little growth opportunity it’s laughable. This mindset of yours is so anti-corporate its funny you think you will do well in a corporate world.</p>

16

<p>

</p>

<p>I wasn’t a part of any fraternity in my college days and nor did I hold various leadership positions in clubs or organizations, and nor did I have a stellar GPA, and still landed got the Big 4 job. So just because he isn’t a part of some organization like BAP, doesn’t mean he is “less employable”. Seriously, it’s all about how you interact with the recruiter and whether or not you give the “right” answers during the interview (provided you meet the minimum GPA requirement to get the interview in the first place).</p>

17

<p>

</p>

<p>LMAO you’re such a dumbass dude. You’re clearly another one of those ■■■■■■■■ kids who keeps drinking that accounting kool-aid your professors feed you. Brb, thinking I’m more employable because I attend BAP meetings instead of doing something meaningful that actually adds value and being so myopic as to think only 1 path fits all. And lol at you thinking that the Big 4 jobs are any more exciting. You really think that for one, Big 4 accountants don’t sit in cubicles crunching numbers and two actually enjoy their jobs? And talk about growth, you think being pigeon-holed as an auditor and only being able to do accounting-related functions after your inevitable exit from that crappy public accounting job is growth versus getting both finance and accounting experience (mostly accounting though) at a large F500 company that people outside of auditors know? LOL sounds good, more industry jobs for me.</p>

<p>Don’t worry though dude, after I become a senior controller I’ll be more than happy to hire you for a staff accounting position once you’re done having your soul crushed from your 60k a year for 70 hrs a week job at the Big 4 loooooool. Enjoy auditing one account over and over again.</p>

18

<p>

</p>

<p>I admire your cockiness. </p>

<p>Not really. </p>

<p>Yeah, Big 4 hours suck, as most people can tell you. But the experience is what most people go after. With the Big 4 you’ll have an exposure to a wide variety of companies and that really helps if you’re seeking a corporate finance/accounting position after working at the Big 4. And do you really think after working at the Big 4 for 4-5 years you’ll only manage a staff accountant position? You have no idea what you’re talking about. With that amount of experience you have a good shot at being hired as a controller and a wide variety of companies. In my opinion that’s better than starting out in corporate accounting as a staff accountant and making your way up to controller, as you’re mostly stuck in one industry. Some people might like that, but in my opinion I’d rather have a diverse work experience and have better employment opportunities later. </p>

<p>P.S. Within 2-4 years at a Big 4 you can easily make 70-75K (provided you pass your CPA as soon as you start). Yes, corporate accounting pays slightly better at the start, but Big 4 has bigger earnings potential later (and arguably better employment opportunities). </p>

<p>I’m not completely dissing your corporate accounting job. Just saying that in my opinion their are trade-offs to both and one should go with whichever fits his/her career goals best.</p>

19

<p>

</p>

<p>That’s my point as well. I hate these stupid kids like plscatamacchia who think that the only way to be successful in life is to join BAP and go to the Big 4. But this idiot thinks that the Big 4 is Candyland when it clearly isn’t. There’s a reason people just go there for 4-5 years max and then move on. The work SUCKS, end of story. Furthermore, there are tons of people who are plenty successful without having set foot in public accounting, much less the Big 4 and there is a lot more to being successful than just having a name on your resume. And I can care less if you don’t admire my “cockiness”. I’m very confident in my abilities and I’m not going to let some narrow-minded e-thug on a message board try and tell me that I’m not going to be successful just because I don’t follow the same cookie cutter path he chooses to. </p>

<p>Furthermore, I’m well aware that tons of Big 4 alumni get promoted and move into CFO positions even, but to think that the only way to do that is through public accounting is extremely stupid. I have personally talked to recruiters on campus and all of them are controllers having done it the old fashioned way: climbing the corporate ladder through playing politics. Fact is, its up to the individual to decide whether or not he or she is successful. The Big 4 can be a great launchpad, but so can working for a F500 company. To be successful within a company, you need to know how to network and play the corporate games and I’d bet on the person who can play politics/is a fast talker over someone who is less adept at such things but worked at the Big 4 and has BAP on his resume lmao. That’s an extended example of why what you said earlier about how one interviews being more important than being a BAP member rings true. I know dimwits with a 3.2 GPAs get into the Big 4 because they interviewed and networked well, so that shows that not everything in life is about pure brand name education/training.</p>

20

<p>Originally posted by creamgethamoney, “And lol at you thinking that the Big 4 jobs are any more exciting. You really think that for one, Big 4 accountants don’t sit in cubicles crunching numbers and two actually enjoy their jobs? And talk about growth, you think being pigeon-holed as an auditor and only being able to do accounting-related functions after your inevitable exit from that crappy public accounting job is growth versus getting both finance and accounting experience (mostly accounting though) at a large F500 company that people outside of auditors know? LOL sounds good, more industry jobs for me.”</p>

<p>That is probably true, since the majority of people who work at the big 4, are doing the same job day by day. (either audit or taxes). However, corporate accountants perform all the accounting procedures, for there only a few of them in each company, unlike in the big 4, where you have a certain amount of accountants doing taxes, and others doing something else. Many big 4 accountants tend to degrade, while they are continuing working in the same sphere. In other words, those people who are doing audit tend to lose their skills and knowledge in taxes, and vice versa. </p>

<p>However, I have seen with my own eyes that people who worked at the big 4 for a couple of years, and attained a senior or a management level, had a smooth transition to a corporate world, to the same or even higher positions. Don’t know why. Probably because Americans are very concerned with rankings and brands. :)</p>