The second round interviews for the summer internship were held at the nearest PwC office, which was 120 miles away from my school. Part of the invitation that was extended to me included a per diem for gas/food and a stay at The Fairmont. My interview was scheduled for a Friday with a Thursday night mixer/dinner. I arrived at the hotel as early as possible on Thursday (and found out that PwC also sprung for valet parking) so that I could get ready for that evening. I had a feeling that the events of Thursday night would be just as important as the interviews on Friday.
THURSDAY
THURSDAY
PwC has co-opted a banquet room in a restaurant that was within walking distance of my hotel. I arrived early so that I could introduce myself to everyone get my hands on. I was afraid that I might be under/overdressed in slacks, knit shirt and blazer but I soon saw that the range of clothing spanned loosened-tie business casual to evening wear. I noticed that some of the other intern candidates wore full business suits and they looked out of place and uncomfortable.
A buffet style dinner had been scheduled for 6:00 but wasn't actually served until 6:30, giving the intern candidates a chance to meet the PwC employees. I met for the first time H.H. that evening, who is a tax partner. There were many others that I met that night but I mention H.H. in particular because he ended up being my partner-interviewer the next day.
Seating was arranged at several tables with 3 intern candidates and 3 PwC employees at each. During dinner the employees would all get up and move to a different table at 20 minute intervals. I met some amazing people that night from all levels of PwC and had a great time sharing jokes and stories. It was a very low-stress environment and the PwCers were all very outgoing and approachable.
FRIDAY
Friday was divided into three periods. Two periods would consist of interviews and the remaining period would be allocated to an office tour by our interview "buddy." My buddy was M.B., who was a second year associate at PwC. He was tasked with showing me around the office and making sure that I made it to my interviews on time. I was scheduled to have the office tour first and then my two interviews.
M.B. took me around the office, introducing me to his friends in the different departments. Each of them took a few minutes to informally (very informally) tell me about their work. I must say that it was a bit intimidating to see a young Asian woman dual screening spreadsheets and tax forms in both English and Japanese. M.B. assured me that I would be fine and that if I really wanted the internship that he would make sure I got it.
(Random note: I noticed that a great majority of the employees at that PwC office were female.)
My first interview was with a managing director who greeted me with a smile in her office. I noticed that she had a picture of her and a golden retriever on her desk and I immediately got a good vibe from her. IMHO, dog lovers are usually very nice people. We got to know each other and talked about her dog as well as her duties at the office. Her work was actually a specific interest of mine and I was able to glean a lot of good information about the industry and the associated tax nuances.
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