By Mark Perlberg

        March 11-15th was Forensic Accounting week at Baruch College.  For the Hot Topics panel, host Charles Hwang asked questions to several experts working in various positions within the Forensic Accounting department of several firms.  Guest presenters included AnnMarie Broughton and James Guberman of ParenteBeard, Jeffrey Baliban of Alvarez & Marsal, Justin Offen of PwC, Jay Dawdy from Gryphon Strategies, and Bob Glasser of Dempsey Partners.  Graduate students learned about the different challenges, skillsets, and opportunities associated with this exciting field of work.

        The group of accountants was asked about the daily life of a forensic accountant.  There is no typical day for a forensic accountant, as he or she faces new surprises and assignments everyday.   The panel discussed a wide variety of tasks for which they had been responsible in various locations.  Mr. Offen explained how he may find himself driving to Connecticut one day, and then flying to London the next day.  The work may include anything from reviewing old financial statements and e-mails to categorizing vaults of videotapes.  Sometimes investigations are cancelled before a forensic accounting practice can complete its research and reach any conclusion. 

        Forensic accountants take on the typical responsibilities associated with running a business such as building and maintaining relationships, selling services, and managing employees.  Forensic accountants collect money from clients, cold-call prospective clients, and market services.  Mr. Glasser emphasized the importance of making the clients happy while catering to their needs. 

        The panel of accountants also advised the audience on how to develop and improve upon the hard and soft skills associated with the forensic accounting career field.  Mr. Dawdy recommended taking a course in interviewing to improve one’s skills in connecting with and understanding the person being questioned.  He also advised accountants to be critical of their own work: “Self-evaluation is important.  I always see spots where I could have asked more questions.”  Forensic accountants also must keep up to date in mathematics and computer skills, and learn as they work.  Mr. Offen recounted that 90 percent of his education in forensic accounting was attained on the job.  Identifying fraud requires tremendous experience and expertise, because most fraud is committed by skilled professionals who are well aware of the risks they take on and how to conceal evidence. 

        The guest presenters ended the panel with advice on how to enter the forensic accounting field, and what firms look for in candidates.  To be successful in this field, one must demonstrate the right education, skillset, and mindset.  Candidates being interviewed typically have adequate knowledge and training for the job, and are interviewed to see if their personalities and attitudes are fit for the position.  Mr. Glasser looks for enthusiasm in candidates, and evaluates how comfortable they are in their own skin; he also judges people by looking into their eyes.   Firms value candidates who are committed to excellence in their field and have taken the time to educate themselves about forensic accounting and firms in the field.  In additional to technical expertise, firms value how one applies himself/herself on the job.   Mr. Glasser evaluates employees on their efficiency and reliability: “[There are] three rules… get the job, get the job done right, and get the job done on time.” 

By Cheng Lu

        On Wednesday February 28th, the Zicklin Graduate Accounting Society (ZGAS), the Zicklin Graduate Tax Society (ZGTS), and Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) invited current graduate students to a candid round-table discussion about recruiting. The event consisted of both current Zicklin graduate students who have accepted internship and full-time offers from top accounting, and other students who are still in the job search. The former acted as mentors to provide career advice for the latter mentees, who were interested in learning more about the recruiting process.

        After signing in on Thursday as a mentee, I was assigned to table four with mentor Joanna Sze and a second mentee. Joanna Sze is a second- semester MBA in Accountancy candidate at Zicklin. We started with brief introductions. Joanna informed us that she was currently working as a product controller at RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), and that she had accepted an offer from Grant Thornton for a summer internship during 2013. The first question we asked was where and how Joanna had applied to GT. She said that she applied to many job postings on Zicklin Career Link and through on-campus recruiting.  She believed it was best not to limit oneself to these services, but to go on an expanded job search and apply to positions through the employers’ company websites as well. When asked to whom she reached out for advice and how useful was the networking activities at Baruch, Joanna believed she made the mistake of not attending enough recruiting events during her first semester. She recommended that all students attend the recruiting events on campus because many of her classmates found them to be a great way to meet professionals.  By making oneself known to the recruiters, a student will be able to develop a professional network more effectively.

        The next question we asked Joanna was about her interview at Grant Thornton. She went through two rounds of interviews at the firm: the first was on campus with a manager, and the second one took place at the firm. Joanna was surprised that the first interview was solely a conversation between the interviewer and herself. In the interview, the GT manager asked Joanna about her personal interests, experience in school, and current job. Joanna believes that students should prepare for the first-round interview by “knowing” themselves. In this way, she urged job candidates to review areas such as resume, reasons for leaving a previous job, going back to school, and specific interests in the firm and position applied for. The second interview took place at Grant Thornton, and her interviewers were a senior manager and a Human Resources specialist. Most of the questions asked were behavioral questions regarding her personality and work ethic. Here, again, she pointed out that the key is to know yourself and be yourself; interviewers are trying to get to know the job candidate; therefore, it’s important to be prepared with examples of prior performance that exhibit positive characteristics, such as stories from previous employment and academic experience.

        After the completion of the mentoring session with Joanna, I joined in on an ongoing session between Ariana Huang and her mentee Hao Li. Ariana is an MS in Taxation student who has received a full-time offer from Ernst & Young, and is expecting to graduate this summer. Similar to Joanna’s experience with GT, Ariana also had two rounds of interviews with E & Y. During her first interview on campus, Ariana emphasized that she was interested in E & Y because of the firm’s culture, teamwork and career development opportunities. Ariana noted that during the second interview, every single item on her resume was open for scrutiny. She suggested that everyone take the time to schedule a resume review with an advisor at the Graduate Career Management Center (GCMC).

        Finally, Ariana closed with things she did the day before each round of interviews. As Joanna emphasized, Ariana advised a job candidate to know your resume like “the back of your hand”, know your strengths and weaknesses, have a good night’s sleep the night before an interview, and always remember to breathe. You’d be surprised how effective that last one can be.

By Josh Ludwig

        On Wednesday February 20th, the Zicklin Graduate Accounting Society (ZGAS) hosted representatives of Grant Thornton at Baruch College in a presentation primarily about resume writing and interview preparation.  Representatives included University Recruiter Carly Reiner and advisory professionals Kristina Vienni, Ketan Zaveri, and Jahrein Brown; ZGAS Co-VP of Event Plannings Shamisa Zvoma moderated the event.  All four GT representatives emphasized the importance of writing a good resume, since the document is the interviewer’s first impression of the candidate.  Ms. Reiner advised job candidates to reach out to multiple people for help in editing and polishing their resumes.

        Ms. Reiner discussed interviewing in extensive detail as well.  According to her, an interview is about selling your talents and answering questions honestly.  A candidate should identify challenges that he/she has faced. In the process of behavioral interviewing, there is also a focus on demonstrating traits of the interview candidate.  Ms. Reiner discussed the importance of body language during the interview, including walking slowly to and from the interview chair, sitting up straight, and maintaining appropriate eye contact with the interviewer.

        Ms. Reiner advised that, at the end of the interview, the candidate shouldn’t say that he/she has no questions for the interviewer.  An example of a good question she gave was, “Why did you choose this job?”; an example of a bad question to ask the interviewer was simply, “Do you like working here?”.  Mr. Zaveri suggested that the candidate ask questions that cannot be answered by consulting the firm’s website.  Ms. Reiner, Ms. Vienni, and Mr. Zaveri also stressed the importance of writing a thank you note to each interviewer after an interview.  The thank you notes should touch upon some specific things that refer to the previous conversation(s) between the candidate and the interviewers; they should look sincere.

        During the question and answer session, students submitted various inquiries about the interview process and the advisory business.  In response to a question about how to justify wanting to leave a current job in an interview with Grant Thornton, Mr. Zaveri advised that the student explain how the position at GT would be different from his current one.  Another student asked a general question about what skills GT is looking for.  Mr. Zaveri said that he tries to determine how a candidate will approach the job.  In the context of the firm’s advisory business, he emphasized the importance of communication; a candidate’s behavior in an interview may indicate how the candidate will behave when facing clients.  Finally, Mr. Zaveri noted the 3.0 GPA requirement for GT’s entry-level advisory positions.  Ms. Vienni added that the advisory business focuses on projects, and interviewers for advisory positions prefer candidates who work well with teams.

        Mr. Brown answered other questions about the responsibilities of an associate, how to stand out in an interview, and how to understand the greater advisory business.  Mr. Brown explained that an audit associate learns from a senior associate (or “senior”) how to be a professional and perform an audit, contact clients, gather pertinent documentation, and run tests.  On the other hand, associates in advisory usually provide services more depending upon the professionals’ background and interests.  Regarding how to stand out in an interview, he advised candidates to search the firm website and find subtle, intellectual points about GT or its business lines that others might not find or pick up.  When discussing advisory in general as a business, he stressed its difference from consulting. While advisory has a consulting component, it focuses more on compliance issues and has a wide variety of applications.

Contributing Writer: Yufei Yang

By Josh Ludwig

            On November 15th, four financial services professionals visited Baruch to participate in a panel to address the growing practice of advisory services.  The subject was approached from both advisory and risk management perspectives, as the panelists came from different areas of several Big-4 accounting firms and a multinational banking institution.  Our panelists included: Daniela Boateng, Director in Risk Assurance at PwC; Molly Kohrs, Senior Associate in Regulatory Compliance at KPMG; Sakyi Oduro, Senior Consultant in Business Risk, Internal Audit Transformation (IAT) at Deloitte; Kim Persaud, Senior Vice President in Risk Architecture at Citigroup.  The panel discussion was moderated by ZGAS Executive Board member and Vice President of Marketing Kat Sobotka. 

             The four panelists discussed the nature of job responsibilities for advisory professionals in both an accounting firm and a bank.  Ms. Boateng emphasized that, as an advisory professional in a Process Assurance unit, she can only recommend solutions for the client and may not necessarily fix their problems.  Mr. Oduro expressed the idea that advisory professionals need to learn to think out-of-the-box in addition to having a purely rules or regulation-based perspective when approaching client issues; his goal at Deloitte is to identify key risk issues, and how they affect a business and the accounts involved.  As a Citigroup risk professional, Ms. Persaud agreed with Mr. Oduro that this notion also holds true in the banking industry; she also said that it is necessary to always “think about [a given] economic transaction and where the risk lies.”  In banking, advisory services often revolve around thinking about how to view credit.  The aim is to “know how to anticipate where the problem will be.  Often, there are a range of solutions.”

            Another primary topic discussed at the panel was how firm advisory services deal directly with the issue of risk.  Ms. Boateng underscored the difference between financial and audit risk classification at PwC; Ms. Persaud pointed out that she must always  consider a wide range of risk including that related to credit, the market, operations, politics, national sovereignty, reputation, and the franchise.  Ms. Persaud briefly touched upon stress testing as a measure that Citigroup (and other banks) have taken to control for risk. When conducting an assessment, Ms. Persaud emphasized that “You must [always] ask another question.”  At PwC, Ms. Boateng revealed that she and other advisory professionals also must take into account which regulator they are working under as well:  “Some regulators are more aggressive than others” in their enforcement and supervision.

            The four panelists also commented on how to be successful and get ahead in advisory services.  Mr. Oduro pointed out that communication skills are important.  Ms. Kohrs emphasized the “soft skills” valued by her firm; she said that advisory professionals are “open to doing new and different things.”  Ms. Boateng pointed out that one’s “background will not determine where you” end up in advisory services.  She said that, unlike in the role of auditing that involves working with specific rules and templates, “you learn as you go in advisory…the desire to be a subject-matter expert” is necessary.  Similarly, when asked about the potential for external auditors to move into advisory services, Ms. Kohrs advised that such individuals “know their industry” before attempting the switch.  When asked to distill her role as an advisory professional at Citigroup, Ms. Persaud also spoke of her experience as “becoming a subject-matter expert.”

            At the end of the panel discussion, the four professionals weighed in on the future of advisory services at their respective firms and industries.  Ms. Kohrs acknowledged that KPMG had spun off its advisory services under pressure from the SEC after the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, but was now “ramping up” these services again.  She highlighted the synergies between information technology advisory and audit services at KPMG with regard to the positive outlook for advisory services in general.  Ms. Persaud discussed how the regulatory uncertainty facing Citigroup provides an opportunity for advisory services.  Mr. Oduro identified the ongoing “huge growth” experienced by Deloitte’s advisory services, but acknowledged that increased regulatory scrutiny coupled with economic uncertainty creates both enormous opportunity as well as a “huge question mark.”  Ms. Boateng was also confident that PwC’s advisory practice would continue to grow in the years ahead.  She contrasted her firm’s advisory practice with top consulting firms like McKinsey and Oliver & Wyman, and demonstrated that these latter firms don’t “fill” the same “niche”: “clients need” PwC advisory services in order to “to understand and think like a regulator.”

On November 8, 2012, Zicklin Graduate Accounting Society hosted the Mixer Event for the general Graduate Baruch Students.  This was a fantastic event that allowed graduate students of Baruch College to meet with ZGAS board and officers. 

The highlight of the event was the bingo sheet that pushed individuals to network.  People had to associate each category and find which themes matched the person they spoke with.  I have to confess that I used the same individuals on my card for multiple categories, more than allowed.  In my defense, my sheet was nearly impossible to complete.

The event was very successful and had more attendants than expected.  Many of the ZGAS board and officers were able to meet new people, including myself.  Hopefully, we may all follow up and maintain these new relationships with the people we have met. 

 If you want to be a part of something truly great, I can think of no other organization better than the Zicklin Graduate Accounting Society.  The organization truly allow individuals to be exposed to unlimited amount of opportunities to meet great people.

I would like to end by thanking everyone who attended and helped the event.

-By Andrew Yee

By Stephanie Zilberman

On October 23, 2012 ZGAS co-hosted the Deloitte Information Session, which was a great learning experience for everyone in attendance. There were several employees representing the tax, audit, and advisory groups, as well as the head recruiter Julie Abramson, who spoke and gave insight on their experiences.

The highlight of the session was Baruch alum Patrick Henry who is an audit partner and has worked for Deloitte for over twenty years. Mr. Henry quickly eased the fears of many students in the room, who are eagerly looking for a job, by explaining how Baruch is a great training ground for the auditing profession. As commuter students, we constantly are on the move from work to school to home, which is an invaluable practice for a busy schedule when we will travel to client sites as an auditor. He also charismatically spoke about his seven years abroad while he worked for Deloitte in Hong Kong and how to cope with the daily stress and joys of an accounting career.

Both Mr. Henry and the other associates relayed that Deloitte University in Texas is truly valuable in training for soft and technical skills to get you started at your career at Deloitte. In fact, all Deloitte employees receive yearly training to keep them updated and at the top of their field with training that corresponds to their current position. Mr. Henry’s last piece of advice was to always stay humble and have integrity, which is clearly necessary, in accounting where you will be crosschecking other people’s work.

If you are interested in working at Deloitte or in the accounting field, I highly recommend attending Deloitte’s next information session or any other of the ZGAS hosted events. These are key events that will keep you well informed about the various companies you may have interviews with and, are great networking opportunities with both fellow students and accounting professionals. 

By: Supreet Kesar

On September 27, 2012, Zicklin’s Graduate Accounting Society planned to hold a mid-size accounting firm panel.  However, at the last minute, ZGAS decided to morph the panel into a mini-career fair.  The representatives and recruiters were as pleased as the students by this turn of events.  Students had the opportunity to ask questions one on one, and to personally connect with employees of the various firms.  In attendance were Grassi & Co., J.H. Cohn, EisnerAmper, Friedman, WeiserMazars, O’Connor Davies, Margolin Winer & Evens, and Crowe Horwath.  Each firm had its own focuses and strengths, however, they all had several factors in common: representatives from each firm described their professional experiences as highly personal, with major flexibility, and shorter hours during busy seasons.  Many expressed that this was in contrast to employment at the Big 4, and this was precisely why they chose to work for mid-size firms.

The first room I stopped into held Grassi & Co.  This firm brought many current employees to speak with students, as well as recruiter Diane Messemer.  Ms. Messemer and her team explained the opportunities available through Grassi.  The firm prefers to hire students as interns prior to fulltime employment, and currently have this internship position posted on Zicklin’s CareerLink.  Employees described a very positive working environment where they were comfortable asking questions.  Their primary clients include construction projects, financial services, and non-profits.  Offices are located in Manhattan, as well as Long Island. 

Next, I spoke with Paul Jhung, a manager at J.H. Cohn.  Mr. Jhung emphasized, once again, that there is a lot of experience to be gained from mid-size firms.  For example, at J.H. Cohn, auditors can also take on advisory clients if their schedules permit.  This would allow the auditor to gain different types of experience within a CPA firm, which is very valuable.  In addition, J.H. Cohn is a firm that encourages employees to approach management whenever they have questions or comments on issues; they take pride in their firm’s open culture.  Mr. Jhung also mentioned that a winter internship is available with J.H. Cohn, and that this is a great way to get started with the firm.

WeiserMazars is a mid-size firm with a real estate focus, although they do work in various other industries as well.  Representative Andrew Atkins explained that the firm has four local offices, and are hiring for positions that start in fall of 2013.   They currently have three positions posted on Zicklin’s CareerLink, including one internship opportunity.  WeiserMazars stresses the importance of teamwork, and strives to create a positive learning environment while providing the best possible service to clients.

In the next room, Margolin Winer & Evens had two available representatives.  Melissa Ben Yehuda explained that MWE is headquartered in Long Island with an office in Manhattan as well.  Positions with MWE begin in December 2013; the firm’s goal is to give graduates the opportunity to pursue their CPA certification immediately after graduation, and prior to the start of the position.  This can be preferable because it alleviates pressure on the candidate, making it so that the new hire doesn’t have to balance CPA courses with long hours at work.  Recruiter Jo-Ann Rey also spoke about the fact that MWE is one of the few firms that gives new auditors the opportunity to work in tax as well.  When an auditor has down time, they are often given tax work, which really helps to expand horizons for employees.

Friedman LLP shared a room with MWE, and they are hiring for three of their New Jersey locations, as well as one in Manhattan, and one on Long Island.  This entry level position has a start date of November 2013, again, giving students ample opportunity to get a head start on their CPA exams. Recruiter Jacqueline Tomczak, a current graduate student at Baruch College, highlighted the fact that a career at Friedman offers a great work/life balance.

Next, I took the opportunity to speak with recruiter Brett Settles at O’Connor Davies.  He was glad to share the various reasons he enjoys working with his firm, which has a focus on the non-profit industry.  Mr. Settles mentioned that O’Connor Davies has a strong community feel, and everyone is the firm has a chance to be heard.  The firm has an ‘open door policy’, where questions and conversation are always welcomed by higher-ups, and all employees are encouraged to take advantage of this.  Mr. Settles also made an interesting point about O’Connor Davies: he explained that they are careful about mergers and acquisitions, because although they are interested in growing and moving forward, they never want to compromise their corporate culture as it is.

Crowe Horwath is one of the larger mid-size firms, with offices in thirteen states and an international presence. The firm’s representative, Leslie Tseng, highlighted that the firm has visibility “all the way from the bottom, up.”  This is another type of strength that seems to be prevalent in mid-size firms, and something that any employee can appreciate.  Crowe Horwath currently has several job opportunities posted on Baruch’s CareerLink.

Finally, I was able to speak with CPA Frank Hsu at EisnerAmper.  Mr. Hsu discussed his transition from being a student at Baruch to an entry level employee.  He described it as very smooth, because the firm was laid-back, social, and willing to teach.  EisnerAmper also places a focus on their charity work, involving employees in services for children, animals, and the elderly.  In addition, Mr. Hsu a mentioned that EisnerAmper recently made an acquisition in California, clearly illustrating that the firm is constantly growing and evolving.  Despite these changes, they are able to maintain the professional atmosphere that employees have come to appreciate.  Lastly, Mr. Hsu elaborated on the fact that EisnerAmper offers a high level of flexibility, and new hires are able to tailor their professional experience to their needs.

The mini-career fair was an excellent opportunity to learn more about firms that were previously only described on websites.  Across the board, representatives were very pleased with their experiences at these mid-sized firms, and each one had a slightly different reason as to why.  Students were able to take full advantage of making connections, and building personal rapports with reps.  I look forward to future events organized by ZGAS, and highly recommend attendance for all graduate students.

For accounting majors, recruiting season is a relentless stream of career fairs, panels, and information sessions. Somewhere between the PowerPoint presentations, the mad dashes to corner recruiters, and the follow-up e-mails, it is easy to lose sight of the essence of the job hunt and, ultimately, the interview. Last Friday, the Zicklin Graduate Accounting Society's Mentor-Mentee event reminded participants that the recruiting process is as much about finding people you will enjoy working with as it is about finding a firm that will hire you.

First-year graduate students and professionals from a host of firms, including KPGM, Deloitte, E&Y, McGladrey, Grant Thornton, EisnerAmper, and ParenteBeard, had an opportunity to mingle in a relaxed atmosphere over dinner. Candid discussions and informal conversations provided a refreshing change from the rushed Q&As with associates, managers, and partners we have all experienced at typical recruiting events.

After dinner, students and professionals met one-on-one for twenty-five-minute mentoring sessions. The pairs discussed everything from resumes, interviews, and job-search strategy to "what's it really like to work at ______?"

However, conversations were still going when the twenty-five minutes were up. Many continued well into the night over drinks at local watering holes.

If you weren't able to attend Friday's event, don't despair! Informational interviews are a great way to build mentoring relationships with professionals who have the jobs you want! Reach out via e-mail, LinkedIn, or a friend of a friend.

Also, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for information about the ZGAS Mock Interview event, a great opportunity to meet one-on-one with professionals again in the Spring semester.

Thank you to all the mentors and mentees who participated and good luck this recruiting season!

By Harlow Loch Ramirez
Photo by Angela Li

The Deloitte Information Session on Baruch College’s campus was held on September 11, 2012 for graduate and undergraduate students.  The session placed heavy emphasis on the Advisory practice.  The speakers explained the difference between advisory in business, technology, and valuation.  There was also mention of the amount of travel required for these positions.  Although many of these positions involve extensive travel, Deloitte has also implemented a “Global Development Program”, which allows employees to work globally using the internet.  This gives newer employees more exposure at an earlier point in their career, while removing the burden of travel and lodging.

There is overlap between the Audit and Advisory, and Deloitte offers a lot of flexibility between departments within the firm.  No one ever ends up being locked into a role, and can always request changes as they see fit.  However, the Deloitte recruiter recommended that students should have a specific idea of which one they would prefer at the time of their interview.  One of the auditors also explained more of the differences between audit and advisory, such as with audit, he is taking on new tasks every quarter and always feels like he is going into a new job.  In addition, audit involves more reviewing of reports, and less working with people, as compared to advisory.


After the session, students were given the opportunity to speak with each individual from Deloitte.  All of the speakers were Baruch graduates, and specifically mentioned that their education at Baruch provided them with a solid foundation for their positions.  Deloitte appears to be a great company to work for in terms of their flexibility, innovations, and willingness to teach.

By Supreet Kesar

BIG 4 PANEL

Baruch College often hosts large accounting firms on campus so that students can gain insight into the mind of campus recruiters, and learn how to best prepare for the on-campus recruitment season.  On September 12, 2012, Baruch proudly hosted a panel of Big 4 speakers. The Big 4 Panel was an extremely helpful session where leading recruiters/partners from the firms offered up advice to candidates.

The session began with Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ campus recruiter, Ms. Jessica Smith, explaining how best to brand yourself.  She emphasized the importance of being ready with a strong elevator pitch in order to set you apart from others, and especially to connect with people via LinkedIn.  Ms. Smith also went over the “7-11 Rule”, which suggests that within the first 7 seconds of meeting a person, they form 11 impressions about you.  The significance of this is obvious; it means that we all must be very aware of how we are presenting ourselves both physically and intellectually to anyone and everyone.  Another bit of advice Ms. Smith provided was to make sure you know how you are perceived by others; oftentimes, we may think we are presenting ourselves one way, whereas outsiders see a completely different façade.

Next, Mr. Glen Benson, an audit partner at KPMG, focused on interviewing techniques.  He highlighted the three stages of interviewing: “Preparation”, “Game Day”, and “Post Interview”.  Mr. Benson suggests approximately 8-10 hours of practice and effort to properly prepare for interviews.  This includes knowing your resume, honing your soft skills, and being ready to tell stories about your past.  Interviewers often ask about experiences where you’ve faced adversity, worked in a team, or managed a group.  Preparation builds confidence, and this is obvious to someone who is interviewing you.  Mr. Benson also stressed that it is important not to sound too rehearsed; it takes time to find the right tone.  As for “Game Day”, the key is to be relaxed, and speak to the recruiter about who you really are.  Another tip is to ask a unique question at the end of the interview; for example, a question relating to broad topics such as the global role accountants play.  Finally, the central aspect of “Post Interview” is to self-assess.  Always be aware of how you have presented yourself, and how you can continue to improve for future interviews.

Third, Ernst & Young’s Joe Maturando discussed the transition from being a student to working fulltime in a busy firm.  The most essential point he made was that in an entry level position, you “will be making a lot of first impressions.”  When students start out at these firms, they are introduced to a new lifestyle, and new kinds of people.  This should be handled with care; always be aware of who you are speaking to, and to Ms. Smith’s earlier point, how you want to be perceived.  Mr. Maturando also suggests that new employees find a mentor within the firm.  Although one is often assigned to the new hire, it is important to have a mentor that can connect with you on a personal level.

Last but not least, we heard from a Deloitte audit partner, Roger Arrieux.  Mr. Arrieux gave details on the topic of “path to partner”.  He began by rehashing the key points that the previous speakers had made, and used that as a base for his piece.  One point that was heavily underlined was to always be a hard worker, because it will be noticed.  He advised that throughout a career, one should always look to make their superiors’ lives easier.  This is how you can illustrate that you are ready to move up the ladder, and fully capable.  Mr. Arrieux feels that quality is the most important part of success.  It is important to take control of your career and be the best that you can be in all tasks, big and small. 

Finally, the panel explained the importance of schools like Baruch College in their hiring process.  Baruch’s reputation for hardworking and intelligent hires continues to bring recruiters back to our campus year after year.  The Big 4 panelists were generous with their praise, and reminded us of how much we, as students, have accomplished.  The panel closed with questions.  One question that stood out in particular was “What would you do different if you were starting your career over?”  The panelists took a moment to think about this, and eventually came up with some valuable nuggets of wisdom, such as:

• Look left and right, not just up.  Your peers and colleagues can be just as helpful in furthering your career as the people above you.

• Ask questions all along the way; never be afraid to speak up.
• Be flexible in the path you want to follow, or you risk closing doors.
• And of course… network network network!

Article and Photo by Supreet Kesar and Michael Wander