My PWC Adventure

Let me talk about how I managed to convince PwC to give me a summer internship in the first place. It all started with an fraternity-like organization called Beta Alpha Psi (BAP, more info about them here: http://www.bap.org). It hooks up scholastically overachieving accounting, finance and information systems students with true blue professionals to teach them some of the tricks of the trade. BAP requires a minimum GPA (3.0 last I checked) and participation requirements for membership. But it was at a BAP sponsored semi-annual event called "Meet the Professionals" that I first met G.R., who would eventually be my first round interviewer for the summer internship I was going for.

Networking with G.R. didn't happen with just one meeting. I introduced myself to him in the Fall semester of 2009, just getting a feel for what kind of person he was. When the Spring semester of 2010 rolled around I was ready to engage him semi-intelligently. Thanks to a particularly evil accounting instructor, I had researched some of the current issues that the accounting industry is facing and had a few ideas (not good ideas, just ideas) about what to do with them. I don't know whether or not he was impressed, but we discussed the nuances of the situation until the conclusion of the event and I had inadvertently boxed out all the other students who had wanted to talk with him (sorry, but it's a dog eat dog world out there).

What can I really say about networking with professionals? I don't "work rooms" or have lists of names in my address book, but I've enjoyed some success at creating professional relationships. It requires a certain modicum of social grace that I believe everyone can achieve. The key for me was to act like myself and keep the conversation rolling. My older sister (who is a lawyer) informed me that 80% of her job success stemmed from communication and stated that the same would be true of me as well, no matter which profession I found myself in. I have to agree with her as I have seen firsthand, brilliant people perceived as lackluster because they could not articulate their thoughts properly. It isn't just about expanding vocabulary and learning "big words"... it is about adjusting the communication style and message to who you are trying to reach.

Anyways, back to the story... During the beginning of the Spring semester I submitted my resume for consideration for PwC's summer internship program. My GPA was slightly above a 3.5 but I had a lot of other items to flesh out my resume, the main highlights being a foreign language, military experience and leadership roles. My resume got me past the first hurdle and secured a first-round, on-campus interview with PWC.

As I noted before, G.R. was my first round interviewer. Since I was already acquainted with G.R., I didn't feel nervous about sitting across that desk from him. In a 30 minute interview, we spent 20 minutes talking about his family, house and daily commute. The remaining 10 minutes were softball questions about items I had put down on my resume, specifically, he wanted a couple of "war stories." The HR guru, M.C. knocked on the door and informed us that we had run over time and I thanked G.R. and left.

Two days later M.C. called to tell me that I had impressed PwC enough to be invited to a second round interview at their office.