Hi all, so I am currently working as an auditor for a Big Four firm. I am currently in the second year of the graduate programme. Alongside work, I am also training to become an ACA qualified accountant by studying for my ICAS exams.
In this post, I thought I would share some of the steps I took to get into the position I am in today.
Research
Firstly, it is crucial you perform research on the firm you aim to get into. Therefore, I researched the firms values and working culture. A great way to do this is to attend the different careers events at your university. This will help you meet people from the firm so you can discuss any questions you may have. It will also help you establish connections to people from the firm; so, any questions you may have along the application process, you have contacts who you can speak to and get support from.
It is also important to actually research the role you want to get into. So many people fall into the trap of ‘wanting to get into the Big Four’, but don’t know what role they actually want to do. Big Four firms offer several roles in areas such as audit, tax, consulting, technology and more.
Personally, I knew going into my job application that audit is likely the least competitive to get into, as it normally has the largest intake of graduates. Also, I knew that the audit graduate programme will allow me to pursue the ACA qualification, which would open many doors in the future (as many qualifications do). This was enough to encourage me to apply to audit. However, I do wish I done more research on the actual role itself. For example, what does the job entail on a day-to-day basis? What is the work-life balance like? What can I expect to do across the three years as an auditor? Asking these questions will help you nail down a role that you will actually enjoy, whilst working for a Big Four firm. It is also important you show interest in a specific role, as this will come across in your application, which will increase your chances of securing the role.
Application Preparation
I won’t go into too much detail here, but will state some of things you should at least do. Firstly, make sure your CV is up-to-date. Also, ensure your CV is tailored towards whatever role you aim for at a Big Four. Even if you didn’t study accounting at university, there are plenty of ways to tailor this towards a Big Four role. For example, I studied biomedical sciences at university, and had no work experience related to audit or finance. Does that mean you can’t apply? Of course not. The key factor is to show transferrable skills to the role and firm. Therefore, as a science undergraduate, I performed several oral presentations on different research papers every week. These communication skills can be transferred to an audit setting, where I may be delivering information to a client. As long as you can show you have the appropriate skills and that the values of the firm align with yours, you will be on the right track.
It is also important you start to practice for aptitude tests. The most common tests that come up in graduate job applications are numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, logical reasoning and situational judgement tests (SJTs). Don’t be put off by these, especially if you do poor at the beginning. As long as you keep practicing, you will slowly get into the groove and your scores will start to climb. Personally, I didn’t find the actual aptitude tests that difficult when applying for a Big Four firm. However, this is probably because I practiced numerous times beforehand. If I were to do them now, I would probably fail. Even if you feel like you’re bad at maths, keep practicing and you will be able to pass. Practice is key.
Finally, it is also useful to make the best of the resources around you. For example, I knew my university had several career events going on throughout the year. I attended as many of these as possible, which allowed me to ask the recruitment team or people from the firm any questions I had. I also took advantage of my university career’s team. I started off by sending my CV to the careers team for review. I also scheduled meetings with different advisors, so I could discuss any application tips. Most importantly, it gave me a chance to get interview practice. It is ok practicing on your own, but you can’t beat being in an actual interview setting, where someone sitting across you is asking questions. I also found this useful, as you can get feedback throughout the interview.
People often complain that they’re paying £9k a year for PowerPoint slides. Trust me, there are so many other resources where that money goes to, such as the career’s team or career events. Whilst you are at university, make sure you make the most of them!
Ok, so what if your university does spend all this money on fancy PowerPoint slides and has none of these careers resources? Then at least you still have the internet! There are plenty of YouTube videos that detail the different application stages of the Big Four. My personal favourite when I was looking for graduate jobs (not just Big Four) was a YouTuber called Afzal Hussein. Not only this, but sign-up to different websites where you can stay alert for graduate job openings. Some of the ones I used were TARGETjobs and Bright Network. In fact, Bright Network was the main reason I actually secured my current job at a Big Four.
At the start of final year, I signed up to Bright Network to stay on top of graduate job openings. A few months later they sent me an email regarding a fast-track programme for my current role. All I had to do was complete a video interview, and if you made it through, you were fast-tracked through the Big Four application process to the assessment centre.
So again, make the most of the resources out there! Every person you speak to and every website you sign-up to increases the odds in your favour.
Application stages
Ok, so now you have prepared as much as you can, it’s time to apply. Most graduate roles for Big Four firms will open a year before you start. For example, I applied in September 2018 for a role starting in September 2019. Make sure you sign-up to email notifications for each firm, so you are notified right away when applications open. This will give you best time to prepare for each stage and also the best opportunity to secure the job, as more places will be available.
As I mentioned above, for the role I have now, I actually skipped some of these steps due to a fast-track programme from Bright Network. However, I still applied across all of the Big Four firm; therefore, I have experienced the various stages of the application process.
The application stages across the Big Four firms are largely similar. You will have an initial application stage, where you input your personal details and will upload your CV. You will then progress to aptitude tests. From my experience, these were the SJTs. If you practice for these beforehand and research the company’s values, you should be fine. However, the SJT tests can be really tricky, so don’t be too disheartened if you don’t get through here. I believe this is the stage where most applicants are rejected.
The next stage is typically a job stimulation. From my experience, this was some questions related to the role and company you apply for. At the end of this job stimulation was a mini video interview, where you answer some of the questions orally with your camera turned on. Again, this is another tough stage, so don’t get too upset if you don’t make it past here. However, if you do, congratulations! Most firms after the video interview will invite you to the assessment centre. Assessment centres probably deserve a separate blog post on their own, as there so many different tips and advice I can share with you. However, the important thing is that most assessment centres all of a similar structure. Therefore, there will probably be in-person aptitude tests, group exercises and a face-to-face interview.
The assessment centre I attended entailed an aptitude test, case-study exercise, group exercise and interview with a manager. Again, the important factor is preparation. I knew going into the assessment centre it would be the typical things you see, but also wanted to prepare just in case there is something out of the ordinary. Therefore, I used a forum called forum.wikijob.co.uk to get in touch with other students going through the same applications. As assessment centres are staggered throughout the year, there may be students who have experienced the assessment centre for the same role before you. You can use this to your advantage, and ask them about what to expect from the assessment centre. This really helped me prepare more effectively, as I could tailor my preparation to what I could expect on the day.
Final Interview
A few days after the assessment centre I got an email saying I passed it. Have I got job? Nope, one more stage, the final partner interview. In some cases, the partner interview will be included in the assessment centre, in which case that would be the final stage. However, in my experience, this was 2 weeks after the assessment centre. From what I’ve read, when you get to this stage of the final interview, the job is basically in your hands. As long as you don’t completely mess up the final interview, you should get the role. A few days before the interview, I got emailed about a case study I needed to present to the partner. However, because I had done my research, I already knew about this! Again, make the most of the resources and connections that are out there!
Subsequent to the presentation was standard interview questions. For example, why did you choose this firm, why this role, what are your strengths etc. Interviews are a topic that I can go into more detail in a separate blog post; however, the main tip I would give is to use the STAR technique.
And breathe… that’s it! The final stage of the Big Four application process. A few days later I got a call (which I completely missed as I was in the gym) from the recruitment team. Fortunately, they followed up with an email stating I had secured the role! It was such a relief, as the application process is so challenging and competitive.
Key Tip
Now I understand that what I have written here is very general, and can probably be applied for most graduate jobs. However, the key tip that I picked up from this process is how important research and preparation is. For example, if I didn’t spend the extra time preparing for interview questions with my university careers counsellor, I may not have made it past the video interview stage. If I didn’t invest my time practicing aptitude tests every night, I may not have passed the online tests stage.
Also, the important thing to remember for Big Four graduate jobs (and most graduate jobs) is that they are really competitive. So sometimes, you may do all the research and preparation, but still end up with a rejection. The key thing with graduate jobs is perseverance. Overall, I must have applied to 100s of jobs, so I know first-hand, the pain of being rejected (especially when you’re in the final stage).
But I promise you, as long as you keep going, learning from every failure and experience, you will get that 1 role you’re looking for. And despite the 100s of failures, that 1 successful application will be worth it, as the experiences and mental strength you will gain when applying to graduate jobs will be priceless.
I hope this post has been useful to anyone out there applying to the Big Four or any other graduate job. If anyone needs one-to-one advice, feel free to contact me via email or any of my social media’s below. I hope you all secure the role you’re looking for!
