The Culverhouse School of Business held “Meet the Firms,” a career fair exclusive to accounting majors at the Bryant Conference Center, last Wednesday.
Though many of the 48 firms attending this event also attend the general business career fair in the fall and spring, “Meet the Firms” allows them to get to know potential new hires and interns better and begin the long process of selecting future firm employees.
“They’re actually looking at their staffing needs two, maybe three years out,” said Jill Datema, a senior instructor of accounting at the University. “It’s really important for them to go ahead and identify who they should be interested in.”
Datema said the long recruitment and internship process of the accounting world — with many interns securing their opportunities a year ahead of when they’d intern — and the highly specialized needs of these firms necessitate “Meet the Firms” for employers to meet students in a way that the other career fairs don’t allow.
The firms previously had extensive interactions with the accounting honor societies such as Beta Alpha Psi, but according to Datema, the college realized that there were many highly talented accounting students who weren’t part of these groups and were missing out on valuable networking opportunities. “Meet the Firms” was created to fill that gap in networking.
“It can be like drinking out of a fire hose, but it’s important for students to attend, the earlier the better,” said Matthew Fraser, a senior tax manager at Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler and alum of the University. He said that while the event can be overwhelming for students, it’s important for students to make the most of the opportunity.
Valuable skills for aspiring accountants, like professionalism, are proven by interacting with recruiters and maintaining professional courtesies such as follow-ups and showing up to events after reserving a spot, Fraser said.
Just like the other career fairs, Travis said it just isn’t enough to attend “Meet the Firms” to make a meaningful connection with a potential employer.
“Meet the Firms is really the first event of a recruiting cycle, so it’s huge to go to every event you can,” said Jeff Travis, a partner at Ernst & Young in Birmingham and another UA alum. “We don’t make hires off a 30-minute interview — rather, we’re truly making hires off of spending hours with students over time.”
Travis emphasized that it is crucial for students to go to career fairs and smaller events, as students that commit the time to build meaningful relationships with recruiters will leave a great impression on potential employers.
