Big 4 Partner Informational Interview

Hey guys,

I have a phone call coming up in a couple days with a Big 4 partner, and a senior one at that (C-level position at the firm). I obviously want to make a solid impression. Do you guys have any tips and/or good questions to ask? Tried searching but 99% of the threads on WSO about Big 4 partners are about how much they make and most networking threads/question suggestions are more relevant for IB. I'm at a target school for IB/MC, but not really for Big 4, if that's at all relevant.

From the LinkedIn stalking I've done, I can't pinpoint what practice he was involved in; he did accounting in undergrad and has a CPA. Since he's been at the firm since the late 70s, I want to rule out 'newer' practices in stuff like consulting?

Thanks for the help!

 

Are you applying for an audit role?

Either way - it's a "fit/personality" interview, don't do any of that millennial BS of talking about flexibility and work/life, just talk about what a hard worker, willing learner, etc etc. Flexibility is great (and I used it) but with a partner of that level, be a willing worker bee with a positive attitude, have some good questions about the direction of the firm/industry, etc. and you should be fine if you got to this point.

I'm assuming managers/seniors etc already fleshed out whether they want to spend their workday with you.

 

I should clarify that I'm not in any application process at the moment. This is a purely networking type chat, akin to cold emailing someone and grabbing a coffee/having a phone chat with them. This partner just so happens to be from my (small) town that I reached out to on a whim. My 'plan' was to make a great connection with him for future internship opportunities.

 
Best Response

Talking about your hometown will obviously help since it brings commonalities to you both. As others have said ask him about his career, what clients he works on, if he stayed with that firm only or did he come from Arthur Anderson or one of the other big 8 (if he's a senior partner, he probably experienced some merging of firms). Get him talking about himself.

What's your angle? Are you trying to get a job in audit or banking/consulting? Either way, ask for advice rather than asking for a handout, and hopefully he gives solid advice and also provides a lead or introduce you to the right people.

You said future internship opportunities so I assume some sort of position in the firm. I would ask "aside from making great grades, what else can I do to stand out when applying for internships?"

Big 4 Accounting Recruiting Guide Interview Questions and Answers, Networking Guide and more - Complete 50 page guide.
 

Thanks for the tips guys. Just as a followup- it went incredibly awkwardly and all my preparations and questions basically were in vain. Hopefully I can pick it up in the future with a more concrete topic of conversation to guide everything.

 

@Soros and @schuoh - It was a mixture of my own nervousness/awkwardness and him taking my initial question (the standard tell me about your career at Firm, as he's been there all his life) and responding in a way I didn't expect. We sort of delved into talking about stuff like education and learning, and then broad strokes about stuff like learning data analysis. I asked for 'advice' on applying to his firm's various internship programs, to which he responded 'I really don't know how that stuff works anymore.' I'm guessing he either just didn't want to help me (nothing too surprising given the awkward 30 minute convo that preceded it) or thought I was asking about like phrasing my cover letter or something like that.

In hindsight, maybe it was just me failing to make it into a natural conversation. I really regret not preparing myself for this better. We were both from the same small town and both attended the same elementary-middle-high schools; he even held a number of public service posts like a member of the Board of Educ. Conversation topics galore. Really fucked it up with someone that could have been a good mentor and a good person to have pushing your resume. Nothing else I can do but keep on pushing and hopefully getting better at this.

 

For the advice on applying to his firm, his response is actually justified and you'd get that from a number of senior partners at any firm. He seems too senior to even interview candidates anymore, so don't take that as a sign of anything. However, you can and should follow up with an email to thank him for his time. Let him know that you remain interested in pursuing an opportunity to intern at his firm and ask if he can put you in touch with anyone there who might be closer or have more touch in the recruiting process.

When I was in college, I had a CFO connection from an internship and when he left the company I interned for, I asked him to get a cup of coffee to discuss career paths. Before I met with him I planned out all my questions for him and even practiced a scenario where I had to do all the talking about myself, just in case he was an awkward guy, or if he wanted to press me with a lot of questions. Thankfully, he was personable and did most of the talking, and what he had to say was pretty interesting. After our conversation he brought me over to introduce me to the CEO. I didn't choose that career path so nothing really came of it, but it did teach me that preparation and confidence are key in these situations.

To avoid future awkward conversations, take time to understand what you want from these networking conversations. It seems like you're trying to figure out the career you want, so your conversations should be exploratory. Ask them what they wanted to do when they were your age and how they got to where they are today, and actively listen to what they're saying, no matter how boring it is, though hopefully it's somewhat interesting, otherwise you should choose a different path. Also, don't use run-on sentences like I just did in your emails to these guys.

 

That's a good attitude. Don't get too down on yourself. Just keep learning and being more comfortable in these situations. Who knows, you may end up bumping into this same guy again.

 

@"schuoh"- Thanks man. I sure hope I do run into him again, although he still hasn't accepted my LinkedIn request, if that's a sign of anything bad.

@"cvsdjs"- Shucks, I should have thought of that before. I already sent him a thank you note. What you said about him being removed from the recruiting process makes a lot of sense (I'd be surprised if they sent C-suite guys down to interview interns).

To avoid future awkward conversations, take time to understand what you want from these networking conversations. It seems like you're trying to figure out the career you want, so your conversations should be exploratory. Ask them what they wanted to do when they were your age and how they got to where they are today, and actively listen to what they're saying, no matter how boring it is, though hopefully it's somewhat interesting, otherwise you should choose a different path.

Good tips. In hindsight, even if somehow perfectly adhered to what I planned for, it still would've been an awkward conversation with no main underlying 'point' to it. Hopefully practice makes perfect here.

BTW: If I'm trying to get an off cycle internship, would a good strategy be asking: "I'm interested in an off cycle internship during [X-Y months]. Do you have any experience with having interns at Firm during this time? If so, what advice do you have for applying to off term internships?

 

The best way to land an off-cycle internship is to talk directly to the campus recruiters. The partners really have nothing to do with internship candidates, apart from interviewing whoever the campus recruiters bring into the office. The campus recruiters are your key.

I did an internship with PwC from January - March of this year (which is considered off-cycle, most internships happen in the summer). The best way to land one of these internships is through campus recruiting, obviously. However, if your university doesn't have great recruiting (mine didn't), the best way is to search "campus recruiter" on LinkedIn and the name of the city & firm in which you want to be. For example, you could search "PwC Campus Recruiter Washington D.C." The campus recruiters are usually very responsive. Keep in mind it is their job to talk to students, and a lot of them have quotas of how many hours they spent formally speaking with students. Most of them will be more than happy to meet up for lunch or coffee.

I landed a winter internship in Southern California from a small town in Idaho. It all came down to using LinkedIn to my advantage. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

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