How would you answer this

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  • #188862
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Hi Guys/Girls

    Can anyone on this board help me with these interview questions. !) why would you want to work for us instead of the big 4?

    2)Why are you interested in this position audit /tax? 3) What is your greatest weakness? and finally,4) How do you defined failure and how has your education prepared you for your career? If you guys could think of any other questions please share with me. Also, what questions should i ask during the interview? Guys i need your help!!! Thank you so much.

Viewing 8 replies - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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  • #610048

    Honestly, I don't understand why people come to an online forum to ask how to answer these questions. They're personal to you. Why do YOU want to work for that firm? What is YOUR greatest weakness?

    I'm not trying to be rude or put you down at all, but really think about these questions and how they pertain to you, not to others on this forum. You're trying to find out if you fit at that firm just as much as they are trying to find out the same. Don't go in as an imposter. Be your best self, and answer truthfully (within an interview context).

    Does your school offer mock interviews? That is a great way to practice your answers and get great feedback.

    As far as questions you should be asking, that's a little more generic. Ask about work/life balance. Ask about CPA exam support (if it is relevant to you). What's the day to day going to be like? What's the typical path to success? Finally, I always like to end the interview asking, politely, if there is anything on my resume or that we have discussed that they would like more clarification on, or if there is anything that could make me a better candidate. That gives them the chance to either a) talk me up to themselves one last time (“Actually, you're a great candidate and your skills fit”) or b) gives me a chance to settle any mis-givings they may have (Them – “Well, we were hoping for someone with a little more direct supervisory experience.” Me – “Of course. I may not have aptly described my leadership role doing X-Y-Z, but {here is some more info…}”)

    Good luck!

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    #610049
    leglock
    Participant

    i understand where cpaexamstress is coming from. You are being asked some ridiculous meaningless question, like what is my greatest weakness. I don't think the interviewer would be interested to know that around 9:00 pm every night I get hungry and can't stop myself from eating things like pizza and ice cream. It is a terrible weakness. It leads to high choloresterol and obesity. Also, if I list a littany of things that rank up there as one of my potential greatest weaknesses, I am not really doing myself a service. So in essence, it's just a time wasting question that is begging for a bs answer…my greatest weakness is I am a perfectionist blah blah blah

    #610050
    JamesBJames
    Participant

    @umkcfuturecpa‘s post is very good. I would also second the suggestion to do at least one mock interview (or more, if you want to feel more comfortable with interviewing in general).

    Some of these are questions you really do have to evaluate on your own. Why DO you want to work for a non-Big4 firm? I felt like I came up with some pretty solid answers when I was asked this in my interview, but I would suggest that you focus on the positive aspects of the company you're applying to and not on the negatives you would avoid otherwise. I also used this as an opportunity to ask the partner interviewing me the same question – she had worked for a Big4 for many many years and then switched (looked her up on LinkedIn prior to the interview), and we got to talking about some of the opportunities and values she appreciated at the non-Big4 firm.

    Going down the list… well, why ARE you interested in either audit or tax? What do you like about each respective field? How do your skills, experience, extracurriculars, etc. relate to the skill set required for the job? Do you have any takeaways from your college classes?

    I don't like the “greatest weakness” question. The technically correct response is to say something that is a legitimate weakness while also relaying that you're working on improving it in some way. For how often I see this question come up on the Internet, I've never actually had it in any mock interview or actual interview. I guess I would just recommend not being too narcissistic about it. Everyone has weaknesses.

    I feel like the last question is two pretty distinct questions. The education part is really straightforward. For the failure bit, I'd probably throw in something about what I learn from failure and how I try to improve in the future to prevent it.

    You should have a couple of questions to ask at the end of the interview regardless, and… well, what do you want to learn about the firm that you haven't learned yet? You've got to be curious about something. I'm sure you can look up a list of questions if you absolutely needed to, but use the time at the end as a chance to clarify stuff. I've also been told that you should avoid the topic of compensation until you get an offer, so don't ask about that.

    (EDIT: added some things)

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    #610051
    TNCPA16
    Participant

    I assume this is for a regional or local firm? It’s hard to answer these questions for someone else. I agree with the posters above…you need to think about answers for YOU. There are plenty of articles out there that give examples for all of these questions, but you don’t want to come off as generic or rehearsed, so you need to think about how these questions relate to you. Anyway, here’s my $0.02 about these questions:

    1) why would you want to work for us instead of the big 4?

    I think you’d be more likely to get “why do you want to work for our firm?” Do your research about the firm – find out what kind of clients they deal with (any industries that you are interested in?) and their reputation in the area (have they won any awards?) Are they a young and growing firm? Or are they an established and stable firm? You need to know details about the firm to know why you want to work there. You should be genuinely excited about working some place, so if you are just applying to get a job (any job), well, that usually doesn’t turn out well.

    2)Why are you interested in this position audit /tax?

    Have you had experience with either position? If so, speak to that…”I spent time doing tax/audit work at XYZ job/internship and enjoyed it because ABC reasons.” If not, tie it in to some of your classes….”I took XYZ tax/auditing class(es) in school and enjoyed them for ABC reasons.” Do some research about each position…what appeals to you about the job? Think about your strengths and how they apply to each job. Again, you should have some genuine interest in whatever job for which you are applying.

    3)What is your greatest weakness?

    This is something you will need to come up with on your own. There are plenty of articles out there that give examples of how to answer this question, so I’d look those up if I was you to get an idea of how to answer. Don’t give a fluff answer. Give a real answer of a weakness, but then explain how you are working to overcome it. In my experience, these types of questions are become a little less of the norm. A lot of companies are moving to behavioral type questions (“tell me about a time you failed at something”, “tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult coworker and how you handled”, etc.)

    4)How do you defined failure?

    Again, this is something you need to think about. If I were answering this, I’d probably say something about how we all will fail at some task, but it’s how you respond that really determines if it’s a failure. If I can’t learn or improve from a situation, then that is a failure to me. I’d probably also talk about a time where this happened to me. Like, for example, maybe the first time I failed a CPA exam, I didn’t consider that a failure since it motivated me even more to pass. Had I given up completely, then that would have been a failure.

    5) how has your education prepared you for your career?

    There’s the obvious – “I have an accounting degree, which required taking XYZ auditing/tax classes.” But I would think beyond that – has your school brought in professionals to talk about different careers? Have you done an internship? Has your school required you to do any projects for real companies? My school required us to do a strategic analysis project for a real company and present our findings to the company’s executive team – if I was asked this question, I would talk about this project and how it exposed me to not only day to day operations of a real business, but also gave me experience taking in front of an executive team. I would think about any situations where my education exposed me to real-world situations beyond a text book.

    There are lots of really good articles out there about interviewing…it is a well-covered topic. You should definitely ask questions during the interview (but NOT about salary or benefits…save those for later). The interview is just as much about you getting to know them as them getting to know you. Topics I would ask about: company culture, the company’s greatest challenges, qualities they consider most important in a candidate, day to day responsibilities, if they have a mentorship program, what is the interviewer’s favorite/least favorite part about working there, etc.

    Good luck!

    #610052
    mla1169
    Participant

    I think Jilly's answer above is perfect but I would add one thing. When its time for YOU to ask the questions make sure to include at least 2 specific questions that come directly from their own website. They need to know that you prepared for this interview which includes researching the company before you walk in there. Nothing screams “I only want a job so I only have 3 stock questions which would apply anywhere I go”.

    For example you might ask “I saw on your website that one of your core values to provide exceptional customer service , can you tell me what the most exceptional service you can recall an employee providing was?” or “I saw on your website that you started with 2 staff and now have over 30, do you expect the growth rate to continue at the same pace.”

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    #610053
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    1) Why would you want to work for us instead of the big 4?

    Example: Because I want (insert your biggest hopes and dreams here) and I feel a small firm is the best place to achieve that goal.

    Note: Make sure that you answer in the affirmative. Say “I want” for your reasons to work there, and avoid “I don't” reasons.

    2)Why are you interested in this position audit /tax?

    Example: I feel I bring (insert your stellar qualities here) to the table which will allow me to showcase my talents as well as provide a meaningful service to your clients.

    Note: Once again, always answer in the affirmative. Stay away from the word “Not”. Tell them why they should hire you, not why you want the job.

    3) What is your greatest weakness?

    Example: I have a very low tolerance for stupid a$$ interview questions that have absolutely no merit or the ability to demonstrate my strengths or weaknesses.

    Note: Seriously, you are totally on your own here.

    4) How do you define failure and how has your education prepared you for your career?

    Example: I define failure as the ability to quit before achieving a particular goal (or insert your own brilliant definition of the word failure). I believe education is the (insert meaningful BS designed to impress and dazzle the interviewer).

    Note: These two questions are somewhat relevant in the real world, but are really designed to put you on the spot. They are a way of determining if you prepared for the interview. You could go in there and tell them that your education means nothing compared to real world experience and it wouldn't matter as long as you were articulate.

    #610054
    Kimboroni
    Member

    lol Kricket!

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    #610055
    Peterman25
    Participant

    Ugh….

    People that ask the weakness interview question don't know how to interview. That question should not be on any interviewer's list. Get in the now already…

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