Give up?

xp90

Hi there,
You may notice from my last few posts I had 3 interviews with E&Y, which proved unfruitful, and now Im at a loss as that was my only interview, currently in final year of a law degree, predicted 2.1 or better. Trying everything to get my cv boosted with volunteering etc. I was thinking of the Dip in accounting in DCU, but to be honest, a part of me is saying whats the point if i could only manage to get an interview with one of the big 4 first time around? Im dead set on it as a career and thought i did very well in the interviews but obviously not. Sorry if it sounds like a rant, im sure there are loads just like me, but am just completely bowled over by the E&Y PFO and now maybe have to rethink my career. Any, i mean any, advice would be appreciated.

Pawwed Rig

Hi
First off sorry to hear bout the interview. Did they give you feedback on why you weren't successful?
The first obvious question is why the move from law to accountancy?
There may be issues with your application in that you only got one interview. Hard issues and soft issues. Hard issues are the minimum requirements for example did you get >420 points in your leaving cert? Soft ones are how you responded to the subjective questions on the application. E&Y are more open to hiring a wider range of people than other B4 firms and will often overlook some of the 'hard rules' in deciding who to interview.
Next issue is the partner interview. If you progressed to the partner interview stage you have already come through the HR interview and the assessment centre. This tells me E&Y were interested in you but for some reason you fell down on the final hurdle. Ask for feedback. They may give it to you. Mention that you are thinking of doing the post grad and if this will improve your chances for next years intake.
My recommendation to you is to do some interview skills training. I did some when I left my last job and found when I applied what I was thought in an actual interview the interviewer responded positively.
Without seeing your application I cannot really say why you were not progressed in the other big 4 firms.
Unfortunately there are tough times out there and getting jobs is not easy however you showed you are a good candidate in that you got to the final stage in the process. You need to figure out what went wrong.

smcgiff

If only the Big 4 will do you then you may need to rethink your career. However, if you want a career in accounting then you've only just scratched the surface of your options.

marbilio

Man whatever you do don’t give up, that’s the last thing I would say to you. If you really want to get into a training firm, you will. My advice would be, do the Diploma in Accounting in DCU/DIT and then next September or October apply to every single accountancy firm you can find.

Also next year when applying make sure you get the careers officer to look over you application form answers, and maybe do a mock interview with them.

I know people are obsessed with the Big 4 but they are not the be all and end all of accountancy firms. If you were to join a smaller firm you would get a much more varied experience, so if I were you I would apply to them all and hope you get something.

Finally my friend was in a similar position to you, he applied to the accountancy firms and didn’t get in, he had to wait to the following year and re-apply to them all again. The second time he got a big 4 firm. OK it wasn’t ideal but at least he got there in the end, so keep the chin up mate.

xp90

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Hi
First off sorry to hear bout the interview. Did they give you feedback on why you weren't successful?
The first obvious question is why the move from law to accountancy?
There may be issues with your application in that you only got one interview. Hard issues and soft issues. Hard issues are the minimum requirements for example did you get >420 points in your leaving cert? Soft ones are how you responded to the subjective questions on the application. E&Y are more open to hiring a wider range of people than other B4 firms and will often overlook some of the 'hard rules' in deciding who to interview.
Next issue is the partner interview. If you progressed to the partner interview stage you have already come through the HR interview and the assessment centre. This tells me E&Y were interested in you but for some reason you fell down on the final hurdle. Ask for feedback. They may give it to you. Mention that you are thinking of doing the post grad and if this will improve your chances for next years intake.
My recommendation to you is to do some interview skills training. I did some when I left my last job and found when I applied what I was thought in an actual interview the interviewer responded positively.
Without seeing your application I cannot really say why you were not progressed in the other big 4 firms.
Unfortunately there are tough times out there and getting jobs is not easy however you showed you are a good candidate in that you got to the final stage in the process. You need to figure out what went wrong.

Thanks for your reply, the points isnt an issue as i got 490 in the LC, and I should clarify its Business and Law im doing. The first interview was the asessment, the other two being partner interviews

censuspro

I was looking back on cv´s that I sent out when I was job hunting. I applied for over 20 positions and got none, Big 4 firms wouldnt look at me because I was coming from a small firm and I was getting to second stage interviews and not getting the job. The point is that you will get something and that this is all part and parcel of your experience. Just keep plugging away, stay active, try and raise your profile, do some networking and stick at it.

Pawwed Rig

xp90 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply, the points isnt an issue as i got 490 in the LC, and I should clarify its Business and Law im doing. The first interview was the asessment, the other two being partner interviews

That's great but means there is something wrong with your application strategy. Academics will get your foot in the door but then they look at the individual. They are looking for certain skills and competencies which you must not be demonstrating in the application and interview stages which is why I am recommending you do some interview and application skills workshops.
Also I agree with the other poster Big 4 isn't everything. There are plenty more companies to train with.

Da GOAT

not getting into big 4 is like having to do well on your LC, its not the end of the world. you can always train elsewhere then try get into big 4 as a senior.try go for all top 10 firms now.

Kingkong

My two cent;


As your coming from a law background you have little or no accounting exemptions and will have to sit all the exams. For this reason the big 4 are unlikely to hire you as is.

The failure rate in recent years has doubled causing many trainees to be let go within the first 2 years of there contract.

I would look at doing a masters is accounting or a convergence course of sorts. In reality this will be of major benefit to you. Going into practice with the disadvantage of having to sit more exams than your peers doesnt work well these days and proabably the reason E&Y didnt hire.

Pawwed Rig

Kingkong wrote: »

My two cent;


As your coming from a law background you have little or no accounting exemptions and will have to sit all the exams. For this reason the big 4 are unlikely to hire you as is.

Not true. There are people who started this years in all stages of qualification. Some doing CAP1, some CAP2 others coming in with a Masters. The fact that the guy is getting interviewed shows they are willing to hire him. The other advice is valid in that the more qualifications the better. But academics still only get you an interview

Theboinkmaster

xp90 wrote: »

Hi there,
You may notice from my last few posts I had 3 interviews with E&Y, which proved unfruitful, and now Im at a loss as that was my only interview, currently in final year of a law degree, predicted 2.1 or better. Trying everything to get my cv boosted with volunteering etc. I was thinking of the Dip in accounting in DCU, but to be honest, a part of me is saying whats the point if i could only manage to get an interview with one of the big 4 first time around? Im dead set on it as a career and thought i did very well in the interviews but obviously not. Sorry if it sounds like a rant, im sure there are loads just like me, but am just completely bowled over by the E&Y PFO and now maybe have to rethink my career. Any, i mean any, advice would be appreciated.

First off if you're dead set on this as a career do not give up, you just need to change approach and/or work harder to achieve what you want.

First off - "being completely bowled over by the E&Y PFO...." this suggests to me arrogance or over confidence.

You don't have a primary business/accounting degree and no practical experience - I'm surprised you even got the interviews.

Don't forget you're competing against people with accounting & finance degrees and BComms etc.

My advice would be:

- perhaps do dip in accounting in DCU
- get practical experience, work for free if necessary
- re-apply to all big 4 firms

I joined a big 4 in 2002 so did interviews in 2001 - this was when it was quite tough to get in. I only had a 2.2 BComm but i worked in a small practise for summers and this practical experience got me job offers in all big 4 firms. Also enthusiasm in interviews goes along way.

So get your practica experience and perhaps whilst waiting to re-apply next year do a course if possible to get you some ACA exemptions.

Best of luck. If this is your dream career do not give up, just try harder.