[jlondon]

Why do you want to work in Public Accounting.. more specifically why our firm? Why not the others?

I have an interview soon, and would like to receive any answers for any guidance and really looking forward to getting a job with a big 4.

Thanks in advance.

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[KNVB]

I want to work in public accounting because I don't know what I want to do in my life. I want to work at your firm because I want a job and don't want to work at other firms because they are not your firm.

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[Anonymous]

The reason they ask this question is because they want to know what *your* response is to it, so it's not really something anyone else can answer for you. Though I have to say, I don't understand why they ask “Why our firm” – I've never worked for the Big 4, never tried to, and have no interest in it. However, I've also never had a future employer ask why I wanted to work for them specifically or why them over their competitors – it seems like a rather haughty question to assume I'm blindly devoted to them and none other, when in actuality most recent grads are seeking a job anywhere they can find one and the firms should know that. However, that's a side rant – to the point, determine why you want this job and answer fairly. Why would you pick PwC over KPMG? Why KPMG over PwC? etc. – answer those questions and you'll have the answers for your interview. (Say you're interviewing with KPMG – you don't have to lie and say you prefer them over PwC and say the opposite interviewing with PwC the next day, you can just name the things that you consider an advantage at KPMG when interviewing with them and PwC when interviewing with them, and same with the others.)

[mla1169]

The reason they ask “why our firm” is the same reason it is asked in industry. They want to know you did your homework on them. You need to study their website, find out who some of their clients are, talked to people who work there about the culture. ( or at least googled it!)

If it comes down to two candidates with similar credentials, the one who proves they've invested significant time preparing for this particular interview and not just giving boilerplate answers wins.

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[cool_kid]

One of most common answers for “why our firm” is the people. I've asked this question to interviewers and associates and that's pretty much what they usually say.

[Anonymous]

I've never had that question in industry, which is why I thought it was odd with the big firms. Sounds like I've just been lucky with my industry interviews. 🙂 I research a company quite extensively, often even before submitting an application, but my main reason most of the time is still that it's the only job open in accounting, which is not the answer they want.

[Author]

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