Interview Process and Internship Search for Accounting Concentrators
As a sophomore at Babson College, it is hard to get an internship in the profession of accounting. Most of the accounting firms in the country only hire juniors, but they do have sophomore leadership programs available for sophomores who are interested in pursuing a career in public accounting. These programs are usually 2-3 days long and throughout the program you learn more about the firm, the company culture, and what it is like to work there. These programs are a great opportunity to become familiar with each firm and figure out where you may want to end up after graduation. Most of the interviews for these programs are behavioral, where the interviewer asks questions regarding you as a person and then asks you if you have any questions for them. They are very informal and do not require a lot of prepping.
Aside, from interviewing for these leadership programs I also had several interviews with companies such as JP Morgan, Fidelity Investments, The Hanover Insurance Group, and Cradles for Crayons. I applied to these companies through Babson’s Career Center and got a lot of responses. I had second interviews at most of these companies, but pulled back my applications once I got an offer from the Securities and Exchange Commission in Boston. I figured that this opportunity would be great since it involves accounting, law, and investigations. A professor at Babson College told me about the internship program with the SEC and prompted me to apply. I had an interview at the office and was offered an internship in the Summer Honors Program a week later. My advice for people who are freshman and sophomores at Babson is to apply to every company that you possibly can. Worst-case scenario is that you get rejected! I think it is also important to search the web for start-up companies who are looking to hire employees. At start-ups you get a lot of reasonability plus you get to see a business hopefully grow and develop. There are many start-ups in the Boston area to work at and many of them want interns! Good luck!