“I never thought I would have to write this post, but I am freaking out about not having a full time offer lined up. During this semester I attended my large University's career fair and applied at 5 companies(the big 4 and 1 mid-size firms) for a spring(January) 2015 start date audit position.”
I feel like applying for a January Start date in Sept/Oct is a little off-track. Don't they fill most, not all, of these positions during interviews during the previous year. At this point, I'd bet that they have more Fall 2015/Winter 2016 position openings than January 2015. Also, 5 companies is NOT a lot, and you haven't even graduated yet, so don't freak out too much – a lot of people don't get jobs until 3-6 months after graduating.
“Out of the 5, only one of the big 4 firms followed up and offered me an interview.”
This could indicate something bad about your resume and/or networking skills but maybe not. 1/5 odds is not necessarily bad – hundreds of kids apply for interview slots and there are only so much to go around. That's why you should always apply to more than 5 places during recruiting season.
“After the first interview, I was declined the office visit.”
Getting rejected from 1 interview (your first). Makes sense. Most people do. I wouldn't read too much into this – still reflect and try to improve but it doesn't mean you did bad.
“I just couldn't understand why all my applications failed, I am about to graduate with a Master's of Accountancy in December with a very high GPA(3.85) and high passing CPA scores(see below). I also completed a successful internship at a mid-sized firm (I did not enjoy the firm that I did my internship at). I was also in my school's Beta Alpha Psi chapter for 2 years(a huge plus at our school).”
You know, now that I think of it – I sorta agree. I would think you would have gotten more interviews. Although – if you spoke negatively AT ALL about your internship/firm, or left on bad terms, you'd be immediately crossed off the list. Also, if your school is just super competitive (there are a lot of high grade students) and the firms are not hiring that many people in your area (either due to lack of need or having converted just the right amount of interns from the prior year) – that would have had an impact too. Also if you bragged/mentioned that your scores were in the 90's or that the CPA exam wasn't that hard, you'd be crossed off the list. Also……it could have been a lot of things.
“After my failed interview, I reached out to my interviewer and asked him what could have went wrong. He told me that during the interview I appeared nervous(this did not make sense to me). During the interview, I recalled myself being mostly confident and answering the interview questions very intelligently. To be honest, I feel as if the interviewers reason was complete BS and there was another underline reason for me not getting the job(such as the firm needing a diversity hire, the Partner's son getting the job over me or a really attractive girl interviewed for the same job as me).”
Maybe he rejected you because he thought you were snobby or arrogant? You don't have to do ANYTHING wrong to not get picked. He just had to like someone ‘slightly' better. If he is interviewing 15 -20 people, all of whom have great grades and experience, and he is only hiring two, he'll pick who he likes/thinks is the best. He doesn't have to pick you because you did anything wrong – even if everyone kills their interviews it doesn't magically create more spots.
“This angers me because I feel as if I'm one of the most qualified candidates out there. Compared to my peers, I have one of the highest GPAs, I am the only one with passing CPA scores, and I have an outgoing personality. Yet, people with low GPAs with no hope of getting a CPA(that look up to me) have full-time offers and I don't.”
I understand why you are angry, but life is not fair. Auditing is not rocket science – a monkey could do 95% of it. A lot of times (most of the time?) the 4.0 student gets passed over.
“Based on the experience that I described to you guys, can you guys shed some light as to why I cannot seem to get a job?”
Calm down – you haven't even graduated yet and have only applied at 5 companies (all in public at that). If you really wanted a job, you could get one.
“Sorry if I seem critical, but I am extremely furious that all my hard work doesn't seem to be paying off 🙁 “
Once again, premature to be saying this. Just because you do everything “right” doesn't mean it will be easy and everything will work out exactly the way you imagined. It will pay off in the end though. If you really start applying all over, you'll probably be sitting pretty in a new job in 2-5 months.
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