Good luck to those who are able to attend summer events with the accounting firms of your choice!
Hopefully you are able to make some connections and get a good feel for the culture and environment of the different offices. Here’s a few tips to make the most of the office visits, leadership programs, and social events the firms are putting on.
1) Get business cards or emails, and follow up with them afterwards
Obviously this is a pretty basic thing you would be surprised how many of the candidates don’t bother to send a thank you email. For examples of thank you emails check out the Big 4 Blueprint.
2) Ask good questions
Ask questions such as: What do you like about the job? Do you enjoy working on your teams? Do you get to travel for your clients? What clients do you work on?
Remember that it isn’t really opportunity to show off your technical background in accounting. It really doesn’t set you apart, you’re in the candidate pool because you have good grades, so this is “fit” based and making sure you’re not a weirdo.
3) Have fun and don’t put too much pressure on yourself
These events can be fun, at least I had fun at mine. You should be genuinely enjoying yourself and having good conversations. Being stiff and uptight is not the image you want to give off.
If you didn’t get invited to an event (yet) then reach out to all of your contacts you have made via meet the firms or networking events, and just send them a simple email saying something like:
“Hey ____, I wanted to check in and see if your office was doing any summer office tours or leadership programs. I really enjoyed meeting with you and would love the chance to hear more about your office.”
If for some reason you haven’t yet made any contacts, reach out to your professors or career center and ask them to get you in contact with the firms. It’s really important to build connections as soon as possible and as many as possible.
