Question about Big Four campus recruiting (CPA, schools, credits, career)

[winlie88]

I go to a school that isn't recruited by the Big Four, but I want to try to get an internship next year after my Junior year. I am an accounting major that is going to have the CPA focus so I get 150 credits before graduating. My grades are excellent and I have decent EC's. Since my school doesn't get recruited by the Big Four (It's a mid-sized state university) I don't know how I would go about applying and interviewing for an internship since they wouldn't be at my campus. I live within 50 miles of a school where I know the Big Four recruits, but I don't know if they would allow somebody from a different school onto campus just for interviewing purposes. Anyone have any insight into this problem and or possible solutions?

[slim04]

Originally Posted by winlie88

I go to a school that isn't recruited by the Big Four, but I want to try to get an internship next year after my Junior year. I am an accounting major that is going to have the CPA focus so I get 150 credits before graduating. My grades are excellent and I have decent EC's. Since my school doesn't get recruited by the Big Four (It's a mid-sized state university) I don't know how I would go about applying and interviewing for an internship since they wouldn't be at my campus. I live within 50 miles of a school where I know the Big Four recruits, but I don't know if they would allow somebody from a different school onto campus just for interviewing purposes. Anyone have any insight into this problem and or possible solutions?

After you get this semester's grades, you just send a resume and cover letter to the office where you want to work.

In addition, some firms allow you to upload your resume on their website. You should probably check with your career service's office to see if they will be doing a resume drop or collect for the Big 4.

If you want to be proactive, you can ask around (professors, classmates, or career services) if they know any recent alumni that work at a Big 4. You can call or email them, explain your situation and see if they will forward your resume to the appropriate person in the office.

Also, you can see if any of your professors have contacts with the Big 4 (many professors are alumni of the firms or have students that they kept in touch with, or work as consultants with the firms). If a professor recommends you, it is a powerful referral that will likely get you an interview.

As for how they will interview you, it kind of depends. Sometimes they will just invite you to their offices, they might have you meet with a interviewer at the nearby school "after hours" in hotel lobby or restaurant, they might do a phone screening interview, maybe they'll ask you to attend a job fair in a nearby city, etc. If your school has video conferencing capability, I'd mention that in your cover letter.

Anyways, my start class had 30 or so new hires and about 1/4 came from smaller schools that had no Big 4 OCI. Most got interviews by sending a resume in and having superior credentials.

Also, you should ask the firms when their internship interviewing cycle is, in the old days they interviewed for full time staff in the fall and interns in the spring, but I've heard some firms are jumping the gun and interviewing much earlier. So you might want to start you plan by mid-Sept. at the very latest.

[The Great Gatsby]

I have seen people who did not attend a school where the Big Four recruited but managed to find out the schedule and locations of what schools they will be recruiting and just sneaked in. A lot of times big colleges don't bother checking for school IDs when going into these recruiting events, so why not give it a shot.

[Jaggy001]

Originally Posted by winlie88

I go to a school that isn't recruited by the Big Four, but I want to try to get an internship next year after my Junior year. I am an accounting major that is going to have the CPA focus so I get 150 credits before graduating. My grades are excellent and I have decent EC's. Since my school doesn't get recruited by the Big Four (It's a mid-sized state university) I don't know how I would go about applying and interviewing for an internship since they wouldn't be at my campus. I live within 50 miles of a school where I know the Big Four recruits, but I don't know if they would allow somebody from a different school onto campus just for interviewing purposes. Anyone have any insight into this problem and or possible solutions?

Best advice I can give is to call your nearest Big 4 offices and ask to speak to the person in charge of recruiting. Another angle is to try to find out the name of the partner in charge of recruiting at the school where they do recruit and write/phone him/her directly. Partners tend to be less "process happy" than recruitment and more likely to make exceptions. You have to figure out how to get past the 1st level screening and get the interview. Also, be aware, that a successful internship usually leads to a firm job offer after you graduate. Big 4 recruit primarily from their priority schools but, if you are aggressive and proactive, you can get around this.