Earnst & Young Research Paper

Spring 2011 with Ernst & Young

As students come closer and closer to graduation it becomes more and more competitive. Students begin looking for that upper hand that will help kick start a career upon graduation. Internships, academic awards, and networking are the most common things students strive for in the hopes that it will lead to future employment. With the increasing demand for employment these things become that much more valuable. This spring I was given the opportunity to intern with one of accounting’s most sought after firms, Ernst & Young. Till then I had never given any thought to a spring internship, or for that matter knew there was such program. Firms like E&Y are beginning to offer their intern programs during the spring with the intentions of giving students a better taste of the accounting world. Employers struggle to keep interns busy during the summer months because there is much less to do in the “off season.” Accountants find themselves overwhelmingly busy during the months of January, February, and March. This of course is because most companies have a December 31st closing. In order to give students the best prospective of the accounting world, it only makes sense to enlist their help during the busy season.

Landing the internship was similar to searching for full time employment. I went through the process of submitting a resume which lead to an interview here on campus. My first interview went well so I was asked to come to a follow-up interview at the Charleston office. At the second interview I met with the managing member, John Gianola, and the senior manager, Susan Wheeler. After interviewing with the office’s leadership, fellow prospects and I were taken out to lunch where we got to meet some of the newer employees. This gave us a chance to get a feeling of what it’s like to be an E&Y employee, but more importantly for our prospective employer to see how we handle ourselves in a social setting. The second interview was a success, and I received a call from John Gianola a week later with an offer. I had also interviewed and received offers from Deloitte and Dixon Hughes for summer internships. At that point in time I had already considered my options and opted to do the spring internship. The nontraditional aspect of taking a semester off is what drew me to E&Y. I say this for two reasons; interning during the busy season would teach me the most and taking off a semester for an internship is a great topic for future interviews. Many of my peers will do summer internships but many will not take a semester off. These are little details that I hope will separate myself from other students when competing for a job.

As the fall semester ended I began to count down the days till my first day of work. I wish I could say I knew what to expect but that would be a lie. The only thing I was sure of was that I would be working in public