Tips for college students seeking an accounting internship

Each year, members of our team at Wouch Maloney CPAs and Business Advisors attend college career fairs during the fall and spring semesters at colleges and universities throughout the Philadelphia region. Our main focus at each fair is to speak with accounting majors seeking an accounting internship. We hire interns for tax season (January – April), summer (June – August) and fall (September – November).

Connecting with Wouch Maloney CPAs

The best way to connect with our firm is to meet us at a college career fair. Some colleges and universities hold career fairs just for accounting majors, also known as Meet the Firms, and other schools have career fairs for all majors at one time. Whichever type of college fair your school hosts, we hope to meet you on campus. If you want to know what schools we recruit from in person, please visit our intern page. If our team does not recruit at your campus, you may always apply for one of our open positions by visiting our online career portal.

Career Fair Tips

To make the most of your time at the fair, a few of our interns, who became full-time employees after a successful internship, compiled the below tips to help you navigate a career fair and find an accounting internship:

• Review the list of accounting firms attending the fair as well as the location of the internship. Is the internship based at a geographically desirable location for you to commute via car/train/bus while living on campus or at home?
• Ensure consistency between your printed resume, LinkedIn profile, and Handshake profile. If you have a job listed on LinkedIn but not on your printed resume, be prepared to explain why.
• Bring printed copies of your resume as internet access may be limited.
• Dress appropriately in business attire. If not, are you returning from a part-time job or practice and did not have time to change? Be prepared to explain.
• Prepare a brief introduction or pitch such as: “I’m a junior seeking my first accounting internship for the summer/fall or tax season. I never had an internship but do enjoy tax classes.” OR “I’m a senior accounting major and had an internal accounting internship at XYZ company last summer. I really want to experience an internship at a public accounting firm to decide if I like public or private accounting.”

While speaking with a representative of a company or accounting firm, do not hesitate to ask questions to learn more about internship opportunities and company culture. The employer representatives are there to answer questions that will help you understand what an internship will be like at the firm. This information will help you decide what type of firm will be the best fit. And keep in mind, you may be an accounting major yet you prefer private accounting over public accounting. Experiencing an internship in both arenas will help you make the best decision for your future career.

Internship Offer

Many accounting internship offers are for the following semester and sometimes, the following year. While no student knows what their schedule will be months or years in advance, if you are hired as an intern at Wouch Maloney, once you know your college class schedule, our team will work with you to create a work schedule around your classes.

Just remember, this is your career and your future. Choose wisely and we look forward to meeting you at a career fair or online!

DISCLAIMER: All communications by Wouch, Maloney & Co., LLP intend to provide general information, as of the date of the communication, and may reference information from reputable sources. Although our firm has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information provided is accurate, we make no warranties, expressed or implied, of the information provided. Please be aware that this is not a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter covered and it is not intended to provide specific recommendations to you or your business with respect to the matters addressed.