[maxb]

Hi All, has anyone gone through the experienced hire (for TAX) hiring process with KPMG. I interviewed about 10 days ago and they told the recruiter I’m working with that they won’t have a final decision until mid May, almost a month wait. They said they still need to interview people. I didn’t feel that I rocked the interview, some of the technical questions threw me for a loop.

My questions, has anyone seen this type of wait? Should I chalk this up to no news is good news? If they didn’t like me they would have said no straight away. On the flip side, if they loved me an offer would have came quickly.

Thanks!

[Missy]

I think waits of a month or more are fairly common with big 4. Were you working with an internal or external recruiter? If an external recruiter I'd take anything they tell you with a grain of salt. It's not that external recruiters are “bad” but I'd be shocked to hear of a big 4 actually hiring through one, it's too expensive unless the candidate has some specific skills they're having a hard time finding.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[maxb]

Thanks for the response MLA!

It is an external recruiter and yes I do have a specific skillset within taxation. It's just odd to me that the wait is that long. The thought of them stringing me along for a month, only to say no? I want to think that the wait at least means I'm on the radar. I don't know whether I should be encouraged or not.

[Missy]

I'm guessing they've got a lot of the “decision makers” taking time off now that busy season is over and it's probably a challenge to coordinate them to discuss your candidacy. I'm not in public but involved with hiring in industry and we're hiring for a specific position right now, three candidates who we first interviewed in February. We'd love to make a decision soon but the president is traveling for the next three weeks then I'll be heading to the UK for a week or two so we're at least a month out even though we started this three months ago. Unfortunately hiring often gets pushed to the bottom of the to do list regardless of how great the candidate is.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[maxb]

ok thats encouraging thanks for the feedback!

[MasterOfTaxation]

When I was offered an internship at KPMG it took several weeks. And that was through on campus recruiting. The big four are so selective that they only take one person out of hundreds of people who apply.

Did you only interview with one person? I think once I was done I had interviewed with five different people on two different days. If you only interviewed with one person, I would say that's definitely not a good sign. The whole process was a pain in the rear and took over a month.

[ThomasHallberg]

Totally normal, they tend to take a ton of time.

AUD - 81
BEC - 77
FAR - 76
REG - 75

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[Anonymous]

It took me about a month and a half after my final in office interview to get my offer. Everyday I would wait for a call or an email and it would drive me crazy. I finally just stopped thinking about it and one day out of nowhere the recruiter called with the job offer. Try and not think about it to much. Just go about your daily routine.

[maxb]

Hi All,

Quick update, I went in for a second round office interview about 3 weeks ago and they told me the other day that due to the new tax proposals brought forward by trump and less turnover then expected, that they would need to get special permission to hire me. I apparently got the thumbs up and they didn't say no. They are just moving slowly and don't have an offer yet. They said it could take another week, 2 weeks, or months. Essentially they have no timeline. I had my first office interview in mid April. Any advice? Has anyone experienced this? Should I just move on?

Thanks!

[zchen42]

What is the impact of new tax proposal?

[maxb]

I honestly think its just an excuse.

[rhayder]

Trump can't change the tax code. I haven't heard of any legitimate proposals from the administration.

AUD - 82
BEC - 89
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - 88

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[maxb]

They came out with a one page fact sheet but yes your right, it would have to go through the house then the senate from my understanding before he could sign off on anything. Has anyone seen this type of wait from KPMG? I've had two in office interviews…thanks!

[Pete]

They might make an offer, but I will offer a warning.

When I was in school, they made someone an offer. Later, they rescinded that offer, due to economic conditions; it wasn't a result of anything that student had done (his grades didn't drop, etc.). They just decided they no longer wanted to hire as many people.

I would continue searching for a job. Assume that this position didn't work out. My fingers are crossed for you, but you just never know until you get an offer as the above anecdote shows.

B=84 This exam was such a b**** that I thought I failed-don't know how these things work
A=76 Slacker I am, I'll happily take it
R=81 I LOVE taxes
F=80 I don't wanna get banned for an expletive I'm thinking with "yea" proceeding it

[Sir Ivalis]

maxb – I'm in Big 4 tax and from my experience watching our team interview and hire people, the “getting special permission” thing is not uncommon. Last year, we had actually interviewed a senior around October, but we weren't able to hire her until this Feb because of budget issues. The Trump tax reform excuse is actually somewhat legitimate because it means two things: 1) Clients aren't spending money on non-deadline work because they want to see the way reform shakes out, and 2) less work requires fewer workers. There's simply no good business case to hire anyone right now.

That being said, definitely do not wait for them if you're interviewing elsewhere, but also don't be surprised if you hear from them in a few months to see if you're still interested. The firm is interested, or else you would have just gotten the “thanks, but no thanks” email after interviewing.

REG - 81
FAR - April 13th (73), TBD
AUD - July 6th
BEC - TBD

[maxb]

Thanks for the response sir ivalis! Very helpful! It's a bit disheartening to have to go through this wait but not much I can do at this point. Slow and steady wins the race. Thanks again for the really helpful response!

[Author]

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