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Look, It’s Okay, The Big 4 Doesn’t Want You

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez
Sometimes the world looks perfect, nothing to rearrange. Sometimes you get a feeling like you need some kind of change. If you're not quite standing tall on the wings of your dreams, get in touch and we'll let you crash on our couch while you figure it out.

Hi All,

First let you know I love the page and mostly the articles related to CPA Exam. Second, recently I was reading the article about the intern who don't get an offer and I noticed I'm in the same place. I was an intern in a Big 4 this summer along with 14 interns more. During the internship I was reviewed earning an Exceed Expectations rating, also a Senior Manager sent me an email about how good was my job and all my effort and explaining me that the work I did was job that normally an associate will do. During my second evaluation I was ranked 'Meet Expectations' and the team was really happy with my job. The last day all the interns received and offer, interns that study with me and normally earn lower grades in accounting and to my surprise the firm offer me a next internship that could be fall or summer. I don't know what to do because I made a really good job, I fit with the culture and I don't do anything farther than have a normal conversation with staff of the firm. Please help me I don't know what to do. Specially [sic] I don't know why they offer me a second internship. I know is an opportunity but I earned better evaluations than other interns because they showed to me. Important fact: my career coach leave the firm during my internship.

Thanks ,

The Rejected Intern.

We'll put this as kindly as we can, RI, they don't want you. I'm willing to guess it's because my cat has better English skills and situational awareness than you but that's just a guess.

Meeting or even exceeding expectations isn't necessarily a guarantee you'll get a job. After all, you're an intern, the only expectation is that you'll show up fully dressed, hopefully with brushed teeth and hair but even that they'll let go as long as your stank breath and rat's nest don't disturb your colleagues and clients.

As has been discussed in excess on this website, high grades mean jack when it comes to public accounting. This isn't med school, it's number-crunching. All the 4.0s in the world won't get you far if you're socially awkward, obnoxious or just plain dumb. Clearly you're lacking a bit in the awareness department if you were really this blindsided by the firm's decision to give the slacker interns you worked with offers and pass on you.

It sounds to me like the firm is just trying to be polite and hoping you'll tell them to screw off when it dawns on you how pathetic you'd look waiting around for this second internship when your first intern class is already cranking away at their careers. I've never heard of someone not getting a full-time offer but getting offered a second internship instead, something doesn't smell right.

So you need to hit the pavement and start looking for a new opportunity, perhaps one with a less prestigious firm like McGladrey that won't be obsessed with perfection or at least reasonable sentence structure.

You wrote us asking for help but I'm not exactly sure what it is you want help with. Are we supposed to tell you it's all one big mistake and you should call up your supervising senior immediately to inform them of such? Nope, not a mistake, move on.

Related Posts

Big 4 Recruiting Season: When Are a Good GPA and Internship Experience Not Enough?

Ed. note: Have a question for the career advice brain trust? Email us at [email protected].

Is it just me or has it been a strange, weird week? I mean, look at yesterday’s Accounting News Roundup for what’s been happening:

• Everyone’s favorite shove-chips-down-your-throat airline lost its chief financial guru.
• The curtain continues to be pulled back on the next great technology company bubble.
• Rick Perry
• Capitalism is on life support

And oh yeah, Ohio was momentarily resembled a safari. Christ. Get a re-fillturn up your iPod. Let’s push through this week. On to the questions:

My question is about recruiting. On Campus Recruiting has ended last week and unfortunately I wasn’t invited to any of the Big 4 interviews. I really thought that my high GPA and my experience at a F500 company and a large governmental organization would land me the internship.

After being rejected, I started talking to some friends to see who had Big 4 interviews coming up, and I found out that only campus leaders had interviews. By campus leaders I mean BAP, ALPHA, NABA, and etc board members. I’m currently a senior and I will be applying for full-time positions next year. Since I’m not in any leadership position, and probably won’t be by next year, am I screwed? Also, is it true that 90% of Big 4’s entry level full time positions are filled by interns?

Thanks.

Maybe you’re a sloppy dresser. Maybe you have sweaty palms. Maybe you think brushing your teeth is more of a take-it-or-leave-it option than a societal norm. Possibilities…but unlikely. This sounds more like a case of “Good College in a Small Market Where the Firms Just Don’t Need to Hire Many People.” Unfortunate, but it happens.

Here’s the sitch: the firms love to hire out of universities with a broad range of students. The USCs and U. of Texases (at Austin, yes, yes) and Penn States of the world; even smaller schools like Lehigh and NYU. Why? Because they have national appeal – good programs, brand names, and students from every state. A Longhorn from Austin could be interested in working in Boston or Chicago or New York. Lehigh grads regularly pursue options in Philadelphia, DC, Pittsburgh, and the NYC/Chicago/the west coast hotspots. Alums of these schools can share their stories of the recruiting factory lines – Beta Alpha Psi board execs, members, and club rejects alike find jobs with the Big 4. The Budgeting Gods love these schools and make a concerted effort to build robust programs around these schools and those like them.

Your current situation falls into a different category. You’re either:

a) at a good school in a smaller market and the local firms have limited hiring needs
b) at a small school that the firm is obligated to recruit from because the Office Managing Partner graduated from there in 1963.

Whatever the reason, it’s unfortunate because there are probably a number of qualified applicants like you who are out of luck. The firms have fairly tight budgets on a per-school basis; even if they had a lack of candidates at another school, it would be a one-off case.

All that said, you’re not necessarily “screwed.” The officers will most likely accept fulltime offers they receive at the end of their internships. There is a possibility that the firms will have additional needs for fulltime hires; I recommend keeping your options open (audit, tax, etc.). As far as your projection that 90% of fulltime positions are filled by interns, I don’t know if it’s that high (it was in ‘08/’09), but above 75% on a national average. The goal is “as many as $%*@ing possible.” Good luck.

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