8:30 AM during summer break and nearly one hundred accounting students from Beedie began flooding into Saywell Hall. After conversing with my peers I have been with throughout my academics, I quickly realized our time at Beedie was coming to an end. Beneath the shell of friendly conversations lay anxious thoughts towards the uncertain future, which will be solely determined by the outcome of the next four months. For accounting students at Beedie, the 2015 CPA Recruit is in full swing.
The CPA Recruit is a very compelling pre-professional route where local and national CPA firms hire accounting students and graduates for full-time, summer, or co-op positions. As students, one of the reasons we attend university is to obtain a job, and therefore the accumulation of years of hard work is on the line. In order to prepare students for the upcoming CPA Recruit, The Career Management Centre (CMC) held an all-in-one full day series of workshops on May 6, 2015.
Networking was the topic of the first workshop, and with no delay my “limp fish” (weak handshake) and inability to answer “Why CPA?” did not impress my fellow peers. Moving on from first impressions, I also realized I had a lot to improve on in terms of my conversational ability. The most important lesson taken from this workshop was to never talk about a firm representative’s workday. As Susanna from CMC put it, think about how your audience feels and talk about something they would be interested in. The next time you see Susanna remember to ask how Kyron’s T-ball game went!
Following the workshop was lunch, and students who found success through last year’s CPA Recruit were brought in. This allowed me to practice what I learned in a safe environment, and to really get that firm handshake down.
As a highlight Tim Ellison, certified chef du-cuisine and sommelier, educated us on dining etiquette. Through hilarious rants ranging from utensils to conversation manners, Tim’s endless charisma was a definite treat.
After another workshop, a panel of SFU alumni who have participated in the CPA Recruit greeted us. To end the day, Jean Jen, Manager, at Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation shared a secret with us: “Recruiters are just as nervous as you are,” she explained.
As an accounting student, I understand the apprehension towards the CPA Recruit, as there is a lot of uncertainty. However, when I look back on my time from Grade 12, I took a completely different route from my original plans; therefore I have realized being anxious about an uncertain future provides little benefit. If you are in high school, my advice is to utilize university as a platform to grow as an individual. Try new things, be involved in the community, and create long lasting relationships. Ultimately, enjoying university as an experience will develop your intangibles, and these intangibles will matter as much as your achievements and experiences during the CPA recruit.
Kelvin Chan is a passionate accounting student, he has completed a co-op term at a midsize public accounting firm, and serves as both the Director of Communications and CPA ambassador for Simon Fraser University’s Accounting Student Association. Connect with Kelvin on LinkedIn.