Recruiting season has started up again, and here at Sweeney Conrad it’s one of our favorite times of the year because we get to share with students what it’s like to be part of one of the best accounting firms to work for in the nation!
Recruiting can be a stressful time for students, and it’s hard to know exactly what a firm is looking for. From our point of view, we never want the students we are interviewing with to be nervous or stressed out. To keep things comfortable, we host “conversational interviews.” Rather than try to stump you with tough questions, we prefer to get to know you, your interests, your experience and your strengths.
To help navigate the confusing interview season, we’ve put together a list of some of the things that we look for in tax and audit candidates.
When looking for audit candidates we look for:
1. Exceptionally strong communication skills. Our first year auditors are immediately out at clients doing work and talking with their accounting staff, controllers, and even CFOs. (Although in the beginning we always send a supervisor with them so they have backup if the client answers with something the new associate doesn’t understand). Because of this, we’re looking for candidates who stand out with their conversation skills and really wow us in their interviews.
2. Personality fit. Our audit department is a close-knit group of 16 people, so we are always looking for a candidate who would fit in with our culture and vibe. Especially with auditors, we are often out in small spaces together at clients for long hours, so it’s important that we all mesh well together.
3. Someone who is excited about Sweeney Conrad! When we hire an associate, we are fully invested in their success and growth. We work closely with our associates in helping them achieve their career goals, and we want candidates who are motivated to build a successful long-term career at Sweeney Conrad.
When looking for tax candidates we look for:
1. Motivated individuals who challenge themselves. There is such a large variety of clients we advise and service, that we are looking for people who enjoy challenging themselves and trying something new that they haven’t done before. Associates who are eager to learn and work diligently through problems until a solution is found, thrive in the tax department.
2. Openness to feedback. When you first start your tax career, you will learn through getting feedback from your supervisors on what needs to be changed on a return, and why. One of the things that supervisors appreciate the most in their associates is being open to receiving this feedback, and knowing that it comes from a place of your supervisors wanting to educate and promote success.
3. Someone who is excited about Sweeney Conrad! This is important for every person we hire, so in case you didn’t read it above under audit candidates, we want to reiterate it again! When we hire an associate, we are fully invested in their success and growth. We work closely with our associates in helping them achieve their career goals, and we want candidates who are motivated to build a successful long-term career at Sweeney Conrad.
Often you may be a successful candidate for BOTH audit and tax, and most of these traits are important for both positions.
One final tip: don’t forget to interview the firm while they are interviewing you! You don’t want to be off-putting, but it’s important to see if a firm is the right fit for your personality, goals and plan for your future! What’s most important is finding the firm where you want to grow your career- we hope that choice for you is Sweeney Conrad!
If you think you may be interested in a career at Sweeney Conrad, check out our current openings!