aileenli said:
was alice the short, asian one? thats the only one i can think of...
Yep that's her.
aileenli said:
so for this groupie thingo, do i have to take my portfolio along? it juz asked me to bring a passport photo, so do i take it along with me anyways? or wait for them to specify?
That's interesting... for us, they came around with a digicam and took photos of us and then asked us to write our names on the back of our photo.
As for portfolio- I personally carried my portfolio everywhere in case it came in handy; along with additional copies of my resume/certificates so I could give the interviewer a copy. A few people laughed at me for taking this approach but hey, I ended up with a job so I'm happy
aileenli said:
well i juz heard, from a friend of a friend who did auditing in ey that it was v. boring and the people were horrible. she said that it's better to work in a med-tier firm than one of the big 4. is it true?
The thing is, Big4 isn't for everyone. That's something which I think a lot of people might not realise. Big4 is big, as the name suggests- you'll be one in a million (well technically, 140,000 if you work at PwC) so if you don't step up to the plate, someone else will be willing to take your spot. Right from the start you are going to be specialising, and whilst you have your own little teams, you'll be working with different people with each audit job. Don't feel offended if the partners (ie. your bosses) don't even remember your name- there's a lot of you to remember. And whilst you'll get promoted in due course, if you excel, it's less likely to be noticed.
Mid-tiers I think are a great place for a different type of person. They let you gain a better overview of business and accounting by not forcing you to specialise, let you build relationships with both clients and your regular teamworkers, have supervisors/managers/partners who will be able to keep a closer eye on your performance, encourage independence and initiative by being forced to do your own work since noone else will pick up the slack, etc....
That being said, Big4 is a great environment for a different type of person to that. I don't really know what defines a Big4 person, and honestly speaking, I haven't even done any "real work" yet; but Big4 has a lot of perks and I think ultimately, it's the specialisation which is the centre to everything. The firms will provide you with all the resources you need whether it be tech support, computer equipment, printing, knowledge managers, etc... to help you get YOUR job done. Salary-wise, you are rewarded for your dedication.
I wouldn't say that one or the other has longer hours or better job prospects- ultimately it all comes down to you the individual. How long you work, or how well you work- both types of firms will give good employees the chance to do well and neither type of firm will want to carry dead weights.