Big 4 summer internships

jim.con666

Hey all,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma at the moment. I am considering applying for a summer internship position at one of the big 4. I have had a 1.1 average throughout university. My accounting results have always been in the 90's. I play rugby and G.A.A with local clubs. I am on 2 committees in my university. My problem arises from an incident last year when I received a 100 fine for a public order offence. I was out with friends and we were acting the clowns. We were asked to move on by local guards. Unfortunately after a bit of banter, two of us were arrested and charged with a public order offence. I am in the process of appealing the severity of the conviction as my solicitor feels that the probation act was more appropriate. I don't want to get into the rights and wrongs of the situation. What I would like to know is whether this will have an effect on an application to one of these firms? What level of checks do they do for summer internship positions? I think I will skip these applications if this will show up.

doctordolittle

jim.con666 wrote: »

Hey all,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma at the moment. I am considering applying for a summer internship position at one of the big 4. I have had a 1.1 average throughout university. My accounting results have always been in the 90's. I play rugby and G.A.A with local clubs. I am on 2 committees in my university. My problem arises from an incident last year when I received a 100 fine for a public order offence. I was out with friends and we were acting the clowns. We were asked to move on by local guards. Unfortunately after a bit of banter, two of us were arrested and charged with a public order offence. I am in the process of appealing the severity of the conviction as my solicitor feels that the probation act was more appropriate. I don't want to get into the rights and wrongs of the situation. What I would like to know is whether this will have an effect on an application to one of these firms? What level of checks do they do for summer internship positions? I think I will skip these applications if this will show up.

'after a bit of banter' - evidently the Guard didn't see it that way, nor the Judge for that matter!:cool:

sReq | uTeK

doctordolittle wrote: »

'after a bit of banter' - evidently the Guard didn't see it that way, nor the Judge for that matter!:cool:

Amazing he comes in here for some advice and you nitpick at the one thing he asks people not to nitpick at, he's just said he doesn't want to get into the rights and wrongs, he has legal council for that. He's asking how this would effect his application, perhaps try and concentrate on that ?

OP? It was a fine correct, did you actually get a conviction ? did you go to court ? if it was just a fine an you received a caution then I wouldn't be to worried if it was a conviction that's a different story and something I can't help you with.

doctordolittle

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

Amazing he comes in here for some advice and you nitpick at the one thing he asks people not to nitpick at, he's just said he doesn't want to get into the rights and wrongs, he has legal council for that. He's asking how this would effect his application, perhaps try and concentrate on that ?

OP? It was a fine correct, did you actually get a conviction ? did you go to court ? if it was just a fine an you received a caution then I wouldn't be to worried if it was a conviction that's a different story and something I can't help you with.

How do you reckon a conviction for public order offences will affect his applications for a big 4 internship?

Maybe if you read the opening post you'd have seen that he was charged and convicted of public order offences and that he's appealing the conviction - therefore to answer your questions; yes he did go to court, yes he did get a conviction!;)

jim.con666

doctordolittle wrote: »

'after a bit of banter' - evidently the Guard didn't see it that way, nor the Judge for that matter!:cool:

The background to the matter is not something I will get into here. It will only turn into a debate on the legalities of the situation and whether the judgement was warranted or not. I have actually studied psychology modules also and could really get into the psychology of judgments with you but it is not why I am here. It is what it is. I'm confident this decision will be overturned on appeal.
I asked a question based on how this would affect an application for a summer internship to the big 4 and whether background checks are as thorough for internships as they would be for graduate positions. I thought this would be the place to ask. If I wanted legal advice, I would have placed this in the legal section. If I wanted smart ass answers, I would have placed it in a joke section.
:D

Shellwall

I think that some of the bigger firms put a question on criminal convictions onto their new starter forms and assume that there would be some follow up in the event that someone puts a yes on there.

ari101

Shellwall wrote: »

I think that some of the bigger firms put a question on criminal convictions onto their new starter forms and assume that there would be some follow up in the event that someone puts a yes on there.

There is definitely a disclosure form in Deloitte new trainees fill and sign on their first day, asking them to list anything like this (with some random exceptions like for penalty points I think). I would expect an intern to have to fill the same forms, but can't say for certain. If you have a date for appeal before you would be due to start, and are confident it will get quashed, I don't think they do a criminal check other than this personal disclosure (although again I can't say for certain), so maybe it would be worth the application as by that time you would be due to start it might be all sorted...?

jim.con666

Thanks for the replies! The appeal date is not until the autumn so the background check would probably come before.:(
I think I will just give it a skip. I'm pretty sure my application would just be binned if I tick yes and ticking no would be worse. The dishonesty part would be just as bad if not worse than the conviction! Hopefully it will be sorted by the time they are interviewing graduates next year.:D

ari101

jim.con666 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies! The appeal date is not until the autumn so the background check would probably come before.:(
I think I will just give it a skip. I'm pretty sure my application would just be binned if I tick yes and ticking no would be worse. The dishonesty part would be just as bad if not worse than the conviction! Hopefully it will be sorted by the time they are interviewing graduates next year.:D

Best of luck in any case, keep with the positive honest professional attitude and someone has to give you a break :-)

bigmc23

jim.con666 wrote: »

Hey all,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma at the moment. I am considering applying for a summer internship position at one of the big 4. I have had a 1.1 average throughout university. My accounting results have always been in the 90's. I play rugby and G.A.A with local clubs. I am on 2 committees in my university. My problem arises from an incident last year when I received a 100 fine for a public order offence. I was out with friends and we were acting the clowns. We were asked to move on by local guards. Unfortunately after a bit of banter, two of us were arrested and charged with a public order offence. I am in the process of appealing the severity of the conviction as my solicitor feels that the probation act was more appropriate. I don't want to get into the rights and wrongs of the situation. What I would like to know is whether this will have an effect on an application to one of these firms? What level of checks do they do for summer internship positions? I think I will skip these applications if this will show up.

Apply!! Tick the box on the application form that asks if you have any convictions and then go on to explain it (in the best possible way of course). Don't lie. I'm 99% sure your app wouldn't get binned for something as minor as this. Everyone makes mistake. Fair enough, It may be different if you were guilty of assault or something.