[Anonymous]

i recently interviewed as an experienced hire at a large public accounting firm. i interviewed with the HR director and an accounting manager. it went very well and from my opinion would be a good fit. after the interview i was offered to take a tour of the office and meet the other staff and individuals i would be working with.

is a tour of the office after an interview generally a good indicator that they are highly interested in you? i would think that if they weren’t interested in you after the interview, they would not care to show you around the office.

if anyone has some insight i’d greatly appreciate it…i hope i find out very soon because i’m really interested in the position and it would be a great opportunity.

thanks

[Keely]

I've only been on one interview in my life, and I got something similar to the office tour…I got lunch with two staff accts. at Cheesecake Factory! The entire interview went for four hours, and my Dad said when I called him after the interview that if they have no interest, they'll find a way to show you the door quickly. They offered me the job (and I accepted!), so from my experience, yes, it's a good sign. Good luck!

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[Anonymous]

I'd say being offered lunch is definitely a good indicator that you've gotten the job or made it to the semi-finals.

A tour of the office isn't saying much; I'd say it's usual procedure to show a bit of hospitality. I was given a tour on my 2nd round office interview, and then given the boot.

[Anonymous]

thanks, whats different to me about this interview is that its not necessarily “hiring season” and its not a group of new hires they are looking to bring on. my previous position was also with a large public firm but we had a group of candidates interviewing where we all went out to dinner, etc. this particular interview, they just need an experienced hire to come on board at this point in time. i think as far as technical capability and fitting in with the office, that went very well…i was even introduced to a few higher ups, they were very welcoming and we had a brief convo and laughed.

the whole process was straight forward i asked questions and it was acknowledged that i did ask good questions. the software is different, but i was able to point out that i was already aware of the differences since i have heard a bit about what they use. ughh please please i hope to hear back tomorrow lol.

the only hiccup is that my previous position ended with only a few months of experience and i think it has caused potential employers to question my intentions and capabilities (which really is BS…for various undisclosed reasons – nothing i did wrong). oh well we shall seeee 🙂

[Keely]

My interview was with a smaller/mid-size firm and there were no “rounds” of interviews, it was just the one. They called me within 24 hours to offer me the position. I still think if they had no interest in you, they wouldn't have offered the tour, since it came at the end of the interview. They could've just said thanks for coming see ya kind of thing. But again, every firm is different, so I don't know. Guess you'll just have to wait and see!

I am just curious, what did they say to you about leaving your last job early? The only reason I ask is because I don't want to live in the area very long where my upcoming job is and I'm already thinking about how I can get out after a year or so. The problem is, I want to move across the country and have no idea how I'll be able to find a job 1000 miles away without quitting the other one first. I really would hate to do that though. Better to find one while you're employed than jobless.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[Anonymous]

“My interview was with a smaller/mid-size firm and there were no “rounds” of interviews, it was just the one. They called me within 24 hours to offer me the position. I still think if they had no interest in you, they wouldn't have offered the tour, since it came at the end of the interview.” these are my thoughts exactly!

the very first question from director of HR after sitting down in the conference room was “so how was your experience working at X company and why are you no longer there”

i just answered it briefly (i did not fully tell the truth, i haven't figured out a way to explain that the office at my previous job was very unprofessional, yet they are one of the top firms in the nation) and we moved right along. i can understand as a firm that they might be hesitant seeing only a few months with the previous firm, but in my opinion at this point in my career it should not be an issue i would think.

Keelydare1 – waiting until at least a year i think would be fine….but i think where you might get hung up is that most firms will not even look at you as a staff associate if you are not local. if you made at least senior while with the firm, then you would have 100X more the mobility to move about the country.

[Anonymous]

i've called twice this morning, no pick up 🙁 left a message second time

[MeaDebitum]

In my experience, office tour does not indicate a job offer. I think being taken to lunch is a much better sign.

[makinthemagic]

i'd look at the office tour this way…it's good in that if you had a 0% chance of being hired, getting an office tour is pretty unlikely. i've had the office tour and no job offer. it might be part of standard interviewing procedure. it might help give you and the interviewer a chance to see how you fit in with company culture.

Bec 4/11/11 91
Aud 7/11/11 75
Reg 8/31/11 80
Far 5/24/11 86
Ethics - 98
California Licensed CPA
Illinois Registered CPA

[Anonymous]

Neither office tour or lunch are indicators at larger regionals / Big 4 firms. From my experiences interviewing for both internship and full-time positions, as well as acting as associate greeters for such events, both the office tour and lunch are built into the schedule.

[jeff]

Uh-oh … don't call any more. That's a sign of desperation/weirdo-ness to a potential employer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0PUrNwvvBk&feature=related

AUD - 79
BEC - 80
FAR - 76
REG - 92

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71

[Anonymous]

hahaha, i hate that what it seems may not be what it is. because honestly even though they are my first pick, i am keeping two other firms (1 public 1 private) on the backburner in the meantime. buttttt still nothing yet..strangee. either they are trying to approve salary or doing a bit of research on me. this is worse than waiting on my exam score!

[jeff]

My last corporate gig before I starting doing another71 full time … I didn't get a job offer until out of the blue … a month later.

Things move at the speed of HR in big companies.

AUD - 79
BEC - 80
FAR - 76
REG - 92

Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71

[Anonymous]

^

hate to be such a pessist and impose my negative thoughts onto you jeff, but..

i always thought the reason why i got an offer call 3-4 weeks after my 2nd round on-site interview was that i was not their primary (or perhaps even secondary?) choice.

we just had a prospective employee come in for an interview last week and a few days later, the office received an email that a new employee was starting.

makes me feel like an adandoned child ):

of course, in the corporate world, where there is so much ‘red tape', a simply hiring task could take a month..

[jags2899]

For my interviews at Big Four office tours and lunches were the norm. For one of them I was taken out to an expensive steakhouse and received a call back 2 weeks later saying that there weren't enough spots.

AUD--Passed
FAR--Passed
REG--Passed
BEC--Passed

[jelly]

It's a bit of a crapshoot that can be out of anyone's control. One or more clients can lose funding, decrease sales, go out of business, or sign with another professional services firm, in which case there's not really a need to hire additional staff.

Couldn't pass again!

[Author]

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