Narrowing the GAAP

The Big 4 hire only the best and the brightest. This is only a partial truth at best. I know this because I have met some really dumb people working for the Big 4. So no, to get hired by a Big 4 you don’t need to have a 4.0 GPA with a double major in Business Administration and I-Couldn’t-Get-Laid-In-College-Because-My-Second-Major-Was-Way-Too-Hard.

In fact, I received offers from all of the Big 4 firms with a slightly-above-average GPA, while some of my friends who were definitely were more intelligent and had a 4.0 GPA could not even land an interview.

What was the secret behind my success? Simple, I was coached.

I had inside information from my friends and family already working at the various Big 4 firms. I talked to them extensively, and found out exactly what the Big 4 want in a candidate. I then used this information to scrupulously morph myself into an ideal candidate.

However, I realize that many students out there may not necessarily have access to this information. Relax. I’ve got you covered. Over the coming two to three weeks, I will lay down a pretty simple path that will maximize your chances of getting hired by the Big 4.

This series will cover the most important areas that a candidate needs to work on to land an offer. These areas are:

1. Networking.
2. Resume Building.
3. Successful Interviewing.

If you can master these three areas, you will definitely have an upper hand over your peers. I know this because in addition to landing offers from all of the Big 4 firms, I was also deeply involved in the recruiting efforts of the firm I joined. As such, I have been to on-campus interviews, and taken candidates to lunches and dinners.

However, before we go about doing any of that, you need to know the hiring process. Each year, every Big 4 office predicts the number of associates it will need in the coming year. This is based on several factors including the economy, retention rate, business prospects, etc. It’s the job of the recruiters to meet this number with as many high-quality candidates as possible. They try to put a massive dent in this number through summer internships. The difference is made up during campus hiring.

Internships are for juniors (3^rd year students) in college, while campus hiring is for seniors (4^th year students). Internship candidates are interviewed during the winter/spring months for summer internships, while full-time candidates are interviewed during the fall of their senior year for full-time positions.

The Big 4 are more selective when it comes to internships than campus hiring as the number of internships offered is typically smaller than the number of full-time positions offered by the firm. That being said, all juniors in college interested in working for the Big 4 should try to get an internship. At the very least, you are networking with the recruiters, something that you can use to your advantage during campus hiring (in case you don’t get the internship). However, if you do land the internship, chances are very high that you will get a full-time offer.

Internships are a great way to spend your summer. First and foremost, you are paid $20-$25 an hour, excluding over time, and that is great pay for a college student. It is assumed that you are a functional retard, and as such, associates will hand-hold you through most tasks of any value. You may end up doing menial work like picking up food or getting coffee, but when you are being paid $25 an hour to get coffee, it won’t seem too bad. A plethora of corporate events will be organized to give you a great experience – these include baseball games, golfing, dinners, etc. If you don’t royally screw up, at the end of the internship you will get an offer for a full-time position after you graduate.

Other than the interviewing window, the selection process is remarkably similar for both of these paths.

Candidates are typically requested to submit their resumes and fill out candidate profiles online. As the deadline date approaches, there will be a large “Meet and Greet” event held, where you will have a chance to meet representatives from all of the firms recruiting at your school. Two to three weeks later, on-campus interviews will be held. These interviews are somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour. If you get through these, you will be invited for an in-office interview two to three weeks later. This will be an all day affair. Approximately a week later, you will get a call from either an interviewer or a recruiter informing you that an offer has been extended to you.

Congratulations!