Off the Ledger
Your days as a college student are almost numbered. The working world is calling. As you get ready to embark on your career, you have to be thinking, “What am I going to do when I graduate?” “Is a job in public accounting right for me?”
Where do you want to go?
You have so many options. Big firm or small? How do you decide? Where can you go to get the real, honest look at a career in public accounting? What is it REALLY like to be an intern? What will my life be like as a staff accountant?
See your future...
At Porter Keadle Moore, LLP (PKM) we’re here to help. We’ve created this blog site just for you! To help you find answers to these and other questions about working in a public accounting firm. Real interns and brand new staff accountants chronicle their experiences with our firm. Read what they have to say. Ask questions, share your opinions and we’ll respond.
Preparing for Career Fairs and Job Interviews
Sonny MacArthur - Audit Principal
Fall is here and with it comes the anticipation of career fairs and job interviews. To help you prepare for these important events, I thought I’d pass along some obvious, yet often ignored, resume and interview advice.
The Resume Don’t just spell check your resume, audit it! Look at it, or better yet, have someone else look at it to prevent costly errors. There is nothing worse than reading the resume of a qualified candidate and finding a typo or grammatical error. Yes, everyone makes mistakes, but on a resume is not the time or place, particularly if you are applying for a job where a numerical typo can have a financial impact!
The Interview There are many ways to mess up an interview, but keeping a few things in mind can make a big difference. First, DO NOT BE LATE! Getting caught in traffic is not an excuse. Traffic accidents are a fact of life in big cities, so plan for them. Plan to arrive early and utilize any extra time to review company information, prepare questions you plan to ask and rehearse your interview responses.
Second, know a little bit about the company and the position you are seeking. Even if you know everything there is to know about the company, be prepared to ask questions. While you might think that knowing a lot about the company might appear to be a thorough knowledge, the prospective employer might perceive it as a lack of interest if you don’t ask a question or two.
Third, keep the attitude in check. While confidence is good, arrogance is not! There is a fine line between being knowledgeable and confident and being disrespectful and arrogant. Show your confidence with strong eye contact and a strong handshake.
Finally, it is often said that you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have. This is a very true statement. In the field of public accounting, it is important to wear a nice suit, conservative shirt, tie and shoes, even if your prospective employer’s office is dressed business casual.
For more information on how to prepare for a job interview visit The Wall Street Journal Executive Career Site and review its list of interview questions.
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