Guest post courtesy of Angie Meyer - Associate Director, CPO and our resident Accounting Recruiting Guru
Accounting and Accounting/Finance students need to be ready earlier than most other students, as the vast majority of recruiting activity for accounting positions takes place during the first part of the Fall semester. The Accounting Fall Recruiting season officially starts on Sept. 10th with the Accounting "Meet the Recruiter" event, which will be held in the new Campus Center from 4-6pm. All Accounting students who graduate in December 2008, May 2009 or August 2009 should plan on attending this event and participating in the Fall recruiting season. Any student seeking an accounting internship during the Spring and/or Summer 2009 semesters should be ready to participate.
Accounting "Meet the Recruiter" is a mini job fair. Approximately 25-30 employers (accounting firms and corporations) attend this event in order pre-identify students to interview for their positions. The employers come on campus to begin interviewing students starting September 22. Many times, an employer will decide whether to interview a candidate based on whether they met them at the "Meet the Recruiter" event.
Most accounting firms require a 3.0 minimum GPA to apply to their companies - if you are below that GPA, you should definitely attend this event because you will have the opportunity to sell yourself to employers face-to-face instead of on paper, where you may be overlooked if your GPA is not listed or falls below the minimum). Employers have contacted us and asked us to add students with GPAs less than 3.0 to their schedules because they met with and were impressed with them at the "Meet the Recruiter" event and the student made an impression. While there is no guarantee that you will be selected for an interview, your odds will be increased if you attend and make a favorable - and professional - impression. What do you have to lose? Visit our office for job fair tips on how to best begin conversations with employers at this event and other job fairs.
Still not convinced? Below is an email I just received from a student who just got a job with a large public accounting firm in Indianapolis despite a less than stellar GPA. When I get stories like these, I am reminded why I gave up a high paying job in recruiting (a university is rarely the place to go if you want the big bucks) to come here and help students.
Angie,
I recently graduated (May 2008) with a double major in accounting and finance. I did not participate in the fall recruiting season because I had some things already in the works but they ended up not working out, so after graduation I needed to find a job. It was hit and miss because many firms were not hiring at the time. There were a few interviews here and there, but it was very frustrating because it seemed like I was the only person in a hurry. I'd submit a resume, then 2 weeks later get a call or email showing interest, then maybe 2 more weeks before an actual interview would take place. It was then that I set up a meeting with the KSB Career Placement Office (CPO), just to talk about my situation. Up to this point, I had focused on using contacts I'd obtained through networking, but I was almost to the point where I was going to start submitting my resume in bulk to various job postings. During my meeting with Angie Meyer, she stressed that I continue to be persistent with the firms where I had something in the works because networking usually provides the best opportunities.
I didn't graduate with the best GPA in the world, it was under 3.0, and for most large accounting firms you are disqualified right away. Sure, these firms want the best of the best, which is a big reason for this requirement, yet you have to remember that they receive hundreds of resumes and they have to have some criteria in place to bring that number down to a workable level. To make my long story short, I was granted an interview with a large accounting firm here in Indianapolis through the use of contacts from networking. I enjoy interviews and don't feel much pressure because I don't try and candy-coat anything and am always open and honest. However, I felt that I could have performed better in this particular interview. Afterwards, I was pretty hard on myself, thinking that this was the biggest interview of my life and I didn't put forth my best effort. I felt like Scott Sharp, who once qualified on the pole for the Indy 500 and crashed in Turn 1 on the first lap. Well, after a few more talks with the firm and submitting some requested writing samples, I was offered the job. I was stunned, couldn't believe it. This was a job at a firm where I didn't even think getting an interview would be possible!
So, bottom line, I hope others can take three things from this:
1) In most cases, the interview probably didn't go as bad as you thought, firms understand the pressure you are under. Do not be too hard on yourself.
2) All of the things our CPO stresses throughout your education --- believe them. They stress almost at nausea to use the contacts you have - family, friends, previous employers, etc .- as networking can provide opportunities that normally might not be possible.
3) Don't discount yourself just because you might not be at the top of your class. GPA is important, no doubt - if mine was higher the struggles to find a job might not have been there. But realize it is just a number and you graduated (or will graduate) from a top business school, and that is something in itself that will open a number of doors.
