Networking Boot Camp - The Do's and Don'ts

It is that time of year again…what time of year is it you might ask? If you answered back to school time, then you are already not prepared. The thing that is worse than going back to school is the nerve wrecking recruiting season. Recruiting should be the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word ‘September’. For those of you who do not know, September is what I like to call the ‘busy’ season for recruiting – both for students and representatives from accounting firms. It is during this month when the big accounting firms – BDO, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, KPMG, and PwC – look to find talented undergraduate students to join their companies. If you do not know already, this year, the Big 4 accounting firms will be holding the Joint School Information Session in September and APAA will be hosting Grant Thornton Networking Event.

My First ‘Networking’ Experience

A lot of students do not understand the importance of attending these networking events (such as the Joint School Information Session) and networking with representatives from each of the big firms. The fact is, you will not be able to land a job with these big firms if you do not network. That being said, I always run into students who have never networked before and do not know how to network. I know how that felt. When I was in my first year, I was lucky enough to attend the ICAO CA$H Competition in 2012. This is where I had my first experience with networking and it was the biggest FAIL! After the competition, I was lucky enough to meet recruiters from the big 4 accounting firms. Yet, I did not know what to ask, what to do, or how to properly introduce and excuse myself from a ‘networking circle’. I ended up only talking to Michael Shelsen (EY Recruiter) for most of the night. Michael Shelsen is a hilarious guy and you will hear the most outrageous TRUE stories from that man. If you ever get a few minutes, I always recommend speaking to him.

So you might ask how was this a fail? Do not get me wrong, I met Michael Shelsen that day and I still to this day enjoy speaking to him. Yet, looking back to that event, I did not ask any questions because I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO ASK.  Also, I only spoke to one representative during that event. The point of networking is to talk to as many people as possible from all of the firms. Your goal is to learn as much as possible about each firm’s core values, culture, and even try to get an idea of how a typical work day at the firm looks like. You want to see which firm you can picture yourself working for in the future.

For this reason, I decided to write this blog to show the do’s and don’ts of networking in hopes that you will gain some insight into the world of networking and how to leave a lasting impression on anyone you meet.

Do’s

1. Dress – How you are dressed speaks volumes to the recruiter.
• Men – You have to wear a suit – Black, Grey, or Navy – with a tie and a pocket square (preferred)
• Women – Suit Blazer and dress which is not too revealing.
2. Buy Business Cards – You are in the business world now. You should have your own business card. Make sure they have your contact information. My first business card had a world globe on one side and professional type email, program name, school, and phone number.
3. Image – You should always smile and have a straight posture. You want to portray yourself as a confident individual.
4. Entering a Circle – If you happen to notice that there is a circle around someone, try to kindly ask one of the students to make some space so you can fit in.
5. Too busy? – I recently spoke to a PwC Recruiter who said that if you happen to notice that one representative is busy with too many people, go speak to the other representative. You should talk to as many people as possible instead of just the ‘main’ recruiter. At the end of the event, the ‘main’ recruiter will ask all the other representatives which students they liked. If you were one of 5 people who spoke to the new associate, chances are, that associate will put in a good word for you instead of trying to make a good impression with the main recruiter who spoke to over 200 students.
6. Introduction - When entering into a circle, be sure to make your presence known. If you enter into a circle, you have to use your judgment to know when it is the right time to introduce yourself. If a recruiter is in the middle of a story or answering a question, wait until they pause in order to introduce yourself. Once they finish answering, Say something like “I just wanted to introduce myself…My name is (Insert Name) and I am a (number) year student from (School name) University.”
7. Handshake – At the introduction point, you reach out for a handshake. Handshake is extremely important. You should give them a firm handshake. This might sound ridiculous but even getting a friend and practicing how to give a handshake can be beneficial. The ‘web’ between the thumb and index finger of your hand should touch the web between the thumb and index finger of the other person.
8. Asking a question – The hardest part about being in a circle is finding the right time to ask a question. When the recruiter ‘pauses’ for a slight second, that is when you should ask a question. A lot of times, students are so eager to ask a question that they rudely interrupt the recruiter. The key is to identify the right time to ask a question. This skill is only gained through practice. You should always ask questions that you are genuinely interested in. Try to ask question about the firm’s values, culture etc... and how these key elements are demonstrated within the firm.
9. Exiting/Excusing yourself from a circle – This sometimes is hard to do. Recruiters love to see someone who can properly excuse themselves from the circle. Be completely honest with them. When they pause for a break, tell them “It was great meeting/seeing you. You clarified a lot of my questions/concerns. I am going to go speak to other representatives. Do you mind exchanging information?” At this point you will exchange business cards. You will then say thank you, and give them another handshake and leave.
10. Following up with recruiters – When the event is over, be sure to follow up with the recruiters in the next couple of days. Grab all the business cards you collected and send an email to all the representatives expressing your thanks. Just say “Hi, it is (name)  from (School Name) University. It was really nice to meet/see you at (Event name) .” Also say something so that they remember who you are. For example, if you talked to them about soccer, mention that you enjoyed the conversation you had about soccer. You can also take this opportunity to ask any question you might have. It is a great way to get a reply from the recruiter and keep the email exchanges going between you and that recruiter. If the recruiter is on twitter, instead of sending an email, you can also send them a thank you tweet.
    

Dont’s

1. Dress – Do not wear jeans or clothing that is too revealing. KEEP IT PROFESSIONAL. You do not want to look like you are going to a club. You will leave a bad impression on representatives and if I was you, I would prefer to stay home than to purposely go to a networking event wearing jeans or other casual clothes.
2. Business Cards – I would refrain from putting a picture of yourself and year of study. If you really want to put a picture of yourself, please get a professional picture taken by a photographer. I would not include year of study because you would have to replace your card every year to update the year of study.
3. Image –You do not want to slouch or look like you have been having a bad day.
4. Entering a Circle – Do not try to shove your way into a circle especially when they are too full. Go to another representative and come back when the person is less busy.
5. Introduction – Do not interrupt the recruiter to introduce yourself. Also do not tell them your whole life story as part of your introduction. Keep it short and sweet.
6. Handshake –You do not want to break the persons hand by giving a strong hand shake but at the same time, you do not want to give them a flimsy handshake.
7. Language - I will admit that I love to use slang when I am with my friends. But when you are in a networking event, please keep in mind that you should use proper grammar and most importantly, do not swear. You want to demonstrate that you are well mannered. Do not be surprised if you encounter some recruiters who like to swear.
8. Asking a question – DO NOT ASK ACCOUNTING QUESTIONS. I cannot emphasize this more. Any recruiter will tell you that they HATE when students ask technical accounting questions. Do not go ask about the firm’s financial reports etc… This is probably one of the BIGGEST mistakes students make because they want to show firms that they are smart and knowledgeable about the technical accounting. Furthermore, avoid asking questions too personal about the recruiter. It is fine to ask about their experiences or where they graduated. If you have spoke to them multiple times then yes, you can ask them questions that might be a bit more personal but still use discretion. 
9. Exiting/Excusing yourself from a circle – Do not leave the circle without excusing yourself. It is extremely rude. You should thank the recruiter for taking their time to answer your questions.
10. Following up with recruiters – Do not send the exact same email to multiple representatives especially from the same firm. You can use the same layout but always try to personalize the email to each representative. It shows that you really put an effort and you care. It also allows them to remember who you are since you personalized it to include what you guys possible spoke about. Furthermore, you would always run the risk of them finding out that you just sent them all a generic email or you accidentally forgot to change certain words of the generic email. I have read about situations in which a person would forget to change a critical detail in the generic email that they sent. For example, they would send an email to ‘Bob’ although the email says “Dear Joe"

Well that is it, you now have the tools to make a lasting impression on anyone you meet. I wish you all the best in the upcoming recruiting season. In the mean time, be sure to read Shadib Newaz blog post about How to prepare for September Recruitment

Kind Regards,

Michael Martins
President
Atkinson Professional Accounting Association

Coffee with Mr. Big Shot

As I sat in the subway on a busy Monday morning, I was shocked with the following events to come. My hands were shaking from feeling anxious. The heat of rush hour commute did not help soothe my nerves away. Glen Gilbert, Managing Partner of Southern Ontario for Grant Thornton (GT), had agreed to a one-on-one coffee session with me. In short, this is a big deal.

Asking professionals, whom I have made a connection with during networking events, for a coffee session has become a norm to me. Although it was uncomfortable at first, I realized that staying idle would be a tremendous loss for me. Sure, I have gotten “no’s” to my coffee session invitations but I celebrate and make the most out of any “yes” that comes my way. We also need to remember that a “no” is not a “no forever”. In short, coffee sessions are a great way to establish and further enhance your relationship with professionals. More importantly, it is a great opportunity to learn from each other by sharing experiences.

It was nerve-wrecking to talk to Glen Gilbert at a networking event. You can imagine my joy when he agreed to my invitation. Somehow, I had a preconceived notion that it would be similar to meeting a real life Miranda Priestly from the Devil Wears Prada. However, I was completely mistaken. Instead, he is one of the nicest individual I’ve met throughout APAA.

As I walked into the GT downtown office, you can sense the feeling of “family” within the organization. I informed the receptionist about my appointment. She went above and beyond to ensure Glen Gilbert knew that his 10:00 appointment has arrived even though I was only a student.

Helen, the receptionist, calls everyone by their first name. It wasn’t “Mr. Glen Gilbert” or “Mr. Gilbert”. It was just Glen. From that point on, it was clear to me that titles did not play a role on how they treat each other. Instead, there is a sense of family and togetherness within the firm which helped me calm my nerves down.

Glen had invited me into his office. As soon as we sat down, I informed him the purpose of our session were to give me the opportunity to learn from his experiences, gain a new perspective and acquire a preview of GT’s Culture. How often will I get a chance to sit in a one-on-one session with someone who I aspire to be one day? I took this opportunity and used it to my advantage. I was determined to pick his brain in order to learn from his experiences.

Now, I would like to share my key takeaways from our conversation to you:

What sets you apart? Glen: Personality. Glen and I had an interesting conversation about the recruiting process. It seems he viewed it as a pyramid shown below:

First of all, everyone needs to start out with demonstrating intelligence. The ICAO requires a minimum overall GPA of 70% in order to be a CA. Additionally, the rationale for the rigorous testing from the ICAO is to ensure that every CA/CPA has the ability by interpreting the standards to articulate intelligent solutions for complex accounting problems.

Secondly, the firm has to believe that you are able to bring value to the firm and their clients. Let’s think about this logically. Why would they hire anyone who they believe will tarnish the quality associated with their brand? In my experience, I believe the best way to demonstrate your value to firms is through your cover letter. How? Research their firm values, connect these values to your own experiences and demonstrate these values in your cover letter.

After you have shown your intelligence and ways as to how you can add value to the firm, ask yourself “what would set you apart?” Personality. Public accounting is a service oriented business. An audit ranges from 1 week- several months. Well, this may mean sharing an office with 2-10 co-workers. More importantly, auditors deal with client interactions on a daily basis. With your personality, you can either provide a great or bad experience to clients

This is the main reason why we have networking events. If personality doesn’t matter, the firms would just hire the brightest candidates in each school. The best way to demonstrate your personality is by staying true to yourself. We are able to achieve this by being confident and comfortable with others. If we see recruiters by their titles and position, our nerves will get the best of us. At the end of the day, recruiters are humans too. Remember, you can’t change who you are. You have to work with what you got!

Confidence is grounded with experience. Recruiters can always tell if you are not confident. You need to be able to demonstrate your confidence. If you don’t believe in your own abilities, why would anyone else do? Glen had an interesting advice to build one’s confidence. How? Through building our experiences. As we gain more experiences, we will start believing in ourselves and our abilities.

Let’s look at this the other way. Confidence supported with no experience demonstrates a person thinking highly of themselves based on nothing. This goes back on demonstrating your values. If you don’t have confidence, how are you able to persuade others about your ability to add value? You don’t even believe it yourself. You have to start saying “I can” rather than “I can’t”. Once you change your mentality, the second step is to demonstrate your capabilities by clearly exhibiting your achievements from previous experiences throughout your resume.

You will never stop making mistakes. Let’s face it. We are all human. Thus, we will inevitably make mistakes. According to Glen, the key is learning from them. Mistakes make us a better person. This is not my first time going through recruiting season. However, the mistakes I learned throughout the process had made me more confident and a stronger person.

Well, this is my summary of my coffee session with Mr. Big Shot. Did you catch my mistake there? It isn’t Mr. Big Shot. If I kept this mentality, it would’ve prevented me from showing my true self. The key is to show who you are. By being my true self, I was able to talk to him about his family’s vacation in Newfoundland and exchanged many more interesting life stories. When I left the GT office, it isn’t Mr. Big Shot anymore. It is just Glen.

- Angelet Lim

How to prepare for September Recruitment 2013

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and making the most out of it considering how we all will be craving for it in about 15 weeks.

We are also approaching 2013 fall recruitment and this blog hopes to help you prepare for it. But even if things may not happen as you would have hoped for, I will also go over what you can do over fall 2013 & winter 2014 in order to get back on track in another blog at a later date.

It is a nerve-wrecking time of the year but believe me that many like you are on the same boat. So first thing first, throw out all the preconceived notions, paranoia and fear that you may have and approach the recruitment season with confidence and the desire to do your absolute best in order to secure your dream job! Once you really believe that the comfort zone that you currently dwell in doesn’t really exist and that there is more to life, then things will really start to work to your favour.
So with that, here are the key aspects to focus over the next month:

1.    Brush up your Cover Letter: A cover letter is your one page mean to really tell the recruiters why you instead of the other applicants. This may be really daunting but start on it right away. Let your personality shine through your work, volunteer experience and more. Tell them how all of your experiences have given you the highly sought after softs skills such as leadership, communication, interpersonal, organizational, team-building skills and more. Make sure you follow the proper standard and salutation when putting it together along with correct date, address of the person you are writing to etc. Some may want you to direct the CL to a particular recruiter while others may require a generic approach. Make sure you do you research and know their respective requirements.

Also try to incorporate why you would be a great fit for the firm you are applying to. Do not choose the generic route but rather genuinely convey what you enjoyed about them and how you can further add value to their organization.

Finally after you have a draft, do plenty of proof-reading with friends, career centre or professionals you may know until you are confident with the CL. A simple spelling mistake or grammatical error can really sabotage your chances.

2.    Perfecting your Resume: Another key component for your fall application. Make sure to keep it to a page and a maximum of 2 pages. Go for the latter only if you have solid information that requires more than a page. As with cover letter, make sure it has no grammatical error or spelling mistake. Also do not just list your experience. Try to clearly but briefly explain how they are related to the job you are applying for. Make sure you clearly mention your GPA (even though a more extensive version would be present under your transcripts) and expected date of graduation should be clearly mentioned.

3.     Social Media presence: By now you should be a master when it comes to social media. However if you are not, here are a few tips to really improve your online presence:

• Facebook: Some of the things we share over here can easily cross into the territory of being, “too much.” It can be obscene, offensive, lack professional attitude….you get the gist. So brush up your Facebook by privatizing contents that can do more harm than good. Also keep away from complaining.
• Twitter: As much as many just love to hate this platform, one simply cannot underestimate its power. All of the Big 5 firms have majority of their recruiters now using twitter in the hopes to connect with students like you and also represent their firm. Do not take it personally if you do not get a follow back, what matter is that you get such an amazing platform to communicate and also show who you are. If you are the complaining type on social media then maybe twitter is not for you. Remember that social media is representing you to a much larger audience than you could imagine. Being a little careful would not harm anyone.
• LinkedIn: This is your professional networking site that you should really look after. Put up a professional picture, explain what you have done so far in your university life (Because anything before that may seem a bit outdated) and then go onto connect with professionals you have met during networking events.

4.    Reconnect: with Professionals that you have met in the past. Start with a simple email asking about their summer. This time of the year is less stressful, so ask them if they could possibly meet for a coffee. If they cannot find time, do understand that they have hectic schedule regardless of the time of the year. If they are able to meet then really do your research about the person, the firm they are working at and ask questions you do not have answers for.

5.    Final Preparation Tips:

• Connect with friends who are also in Accounting. It’s always nice to go out to events together considering how you will have someone you know be present with you. However if I were you, I would rather go out to the events alone and make new friends. It will really help you to get out of your comfort zone.
• Dress/Suit Up like you are already a professional. Being well-put together will build your confidence and exude the same sentiment with your peer and professionals at the networking events.
• Make sure you are aware about all the necessary deadlines for fall applications for each of the Big 5 firms and other Chartered Accountancy Training Offices. You do not want to miss out on any of them.
• Create your own luck by doing the best you can. Do not leave out anything on chance. Especially if it is something you can directly control. I wish you all the very best and know that everything happens for a reason and a mere setback is not worth putting yourself down. It’s rather an opportunity to put up a fight and making yourself that much stronger!

Connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter if you have any queries or email me at shadib.newaz@yuapaa.com.

Shadib Bin Newaz
Senior Board of Ambassador
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (ICAO)
On how to Become a CA
Become a University Ambassador Now!
Join APAA Today!

The Biggest Night of Them All – CA Night

After weeks of planning, organizing and a lot of stressing, it finally was time for what can easily be described as the biggest student and recruiter networking event organized by a student run organization at York University, Atkinson Professional Accounting Association’s CA Night.

The 4^th Annual CA night heated up Thursday with this year's array of ambitious students, hungry to gain valuable knowledge not printed in any textbook. Thursday was their lucky night, as they were greeted with the presence of representative belonging to firms of notable names and gigantic presence in the Assurance, Auditing and Tax industry, Deloitte & Touché, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Ernst and Young, KPMG and Grant Thornton.

As the night proceeded under the watchful eye of Shervin Mohabbati (President of Apaa 2012-13), Ammar Faizy (VP Operation 2012-13), Leo Wang (VP Marketing 2012 -13), Nina Abramova (VP Finance 2012-13) and other Executive members, students were treated with the presence of many notable personalities from these firms who have tons of experience and knowledge to enlighten the young and fresh minds of York students seeking similar opportunities. Not only did the night promise senior members from 5 most notable firms in the industry, but also current and ex students of York University, who are currently employed by one of these firms to provide invaluable advice regarding courses, professors, networking and share their own experience of going through the recruiting season. This list included:

Paul Da Costa – Tax Analyst at Deloitte & Touché | ex-President - APAA

Jehangir Pocha – Senior Manager at Deloitte & Touché | York Alumni.

Simone Novik – Forensic Accountant at Deloitte & Touché | ex-Operations Director

Saad Shaik – Senior (Audit) at Deloitte & Touché | York Alumni

Lana Kroupnikov – Senior Tax Analyst at Deloitte & Touché | York Alumni

Teresa Nguyen - Senior (Audit) at Deloitte & Touché | York Alumni

Rukie Liyanage – Staff Accountant II at Deloitte & Touché | York Alumni

Ricky Singh – Staff Accountant at Deloitte & Touché | York Alumni (ex TA at York University)

David Petricca – Staff Accountant at PwC | ex-VP Marketing – APAA

Nina Abramova – Staff Accountant at PwC | VP Finance - APAA

Arash Razaghi – Senior Associate at PwC | ex-President of APAA

Janelle Yu – Staff Accountant at Grant Thornton | ex-VP Operations - APAA

As the end of the event creped closer and everyone anticipated the night to be almost over, they were introduced to the showstopper of the night, the pride of the APAA Communications Team, the absolutely amazing APAA 2012-2013 Promotional Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMgHC9m4pJM&feature=youtu.be.

With over 300 students and 5 of the biggest firms all underneath one roof, the APAA managed to pull off all in all a successful event, which provided great opportunities for students to learn, network and hopefully develop a career. I don’t know about you, but I cant wait to see what APAA brainstorms for next year. I guess we can only wait and watch.

- Haider Imam -