Actively recruiting accounting students on campus is still the best way to build a talent pipeline in an increasingly competitive environment. To better connect with the best students and attract them into your internship and entry-level positions, provide actual information and examples to help them assess where they want to work.

Accounting students want to know how working for your organization will benefit their career. They want to know how your organization will help them with career advancement opportunities, work/life balance strategies, professional development support, and compensation/benefits packages. Students also want to learn about your organization’s culture and work environment to assess whether it would be a good “fit” for them.

“Students are often flooded with redundant information in the recruiting process, but most of them really just want to know the details of what sets you apart as a firm,” said Karley Carron-Campbell, a Master of Accountancy student at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. “Every firm says their people/culture is what makes them unique, so getting down to the specifics like benefit plans, training/mentoring schedules for new employees, and office tours give students a clear picture of what their life would look like at your firm.”

Firms tend to be the most active recruiters on campus, but not-for-profit organizations, industry, and government entities may also have a presence. Best recruiting practices can help all of them recruit the top accounting students, though nonfirm recruiters may want to zero in on students attending specific classes, such as management accounting or government accounting classes.

SHARE THE BENEFITS OF WORKING FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION

Connect with students’ benefit desires by preparing and sharing succinct answers. (See the sidebar, “Common Firm Benefit Questions Students Want Answered.”) Because personal success stories are a powerful way to communicate and connect emotionally with students, you may want to share stories about individuals who benefited from what your organization has to offer.

Benefit questions tend to address five topics:

Career advancement opportunities

Tell students the knowledge and skills you desire for internships or entry-level positions. Discuss long-term career opportunities that exist in your organization and what students need to do to progress in their career. Share your own story or the stories of successful individuals who started as entry-level accountants at your organization and then progressed to leadership positions.

Work/life balance

Express how you establish clear boundaries between personal and work life, including time expectations during busy seasons as well as compensated time off during non-busy seasons, if applicable. Share stories about how specific employees handle work/life balance issues. Be aware that students are often skeptical about verbal or written claims related to work/life balance. To win skeptics over, provide real-person examples and, perhaps, testimonials.

Professional development support

Share your organization’s commitment to invest in staff professional development through CPA Exam preparation support, continuing professional education, feedback on their work, and mentoring programs.

Discuss your organization’s expectations for taking and passing the CPA Exam, as well as the resources you provide to help students do it. Let them know the training and feedback your organization provides to help them develop their professional skills. Tell them about mentoring programs your firm provides to support them with valuable skills and knowledge in their career journey. Share stories about employee professional development experiences at your organization.

Competitive compensation and benefits

Students want to know what your organization has to offer, including any unique benefits such as parental leave, wellness, or tuition reimbursement programs.

Culture

Let students know that you want to be sure they are a good fit, because you’ll spend more time with them at work than with your family at home. Tell them you want to be confident they’ll represent the firm well to clients, because they’ll be the front-line representative of the firm.

Astute students will assess whether they believe they’ll like the environment where they’ll be spending most of their days. Anything you can do to help them see and assess your firm culture will be very helpful.

“With how many firms there are to choose from, meeting real people that work for a particular firm and building a relationship with them is a huge influence in where I’ll choose to work,” said Ethan Hill, Beta Alpha Psi Chapter president at Utah Valley University. “I personally think the best way to understand the culture of a workplace is to get to know its employees.”

NETWORK AT CAMPUS EVENTS

Giving presentations to Beta Alpha Psi, accounting clubs, or accounting classes and participating in campus networking events are good opportunities to reach large numbers of accounting students on campuses.

“As a soon-to-be graduate, I have developed a great appreciation for the recruitment process. Interacting with company representatives provides me valuable insight into a firm’s culture, values, and mission,” said Katelyn Esplin Randall, an accounting major at Utah Valley University. “Some of my most impactful discussions about professional opportunities have been with campus recruiters.”

David Hoopes, CPA, an audit partner at Tanner LLC in Salt Lake City, stressed the importance of connecting with students on campus. “We spend significant time and effort on campuses getting to know students by attending recruiting events, showcasing our firm at meet-and-greets, presenting in classes and at events, and interviewing students,” he said. “Our number one and primary source for finding great new professionals is from universities where we have found great talent in the past.”

If you want to speak to accounting students on campus and you do not already have a campus connection, reach out to the accounting department chair for faculty/student organization contact information. Here are five locations on campuses to network:

Beta Alpha Psi or accounting club student organizations

Give a presentation at meetings, which are normally held weekly. It is a terrific opportunity to connect with strong students and share your organization’s benefits.

Spend about two-thirds of your time covering the topic they ask you to talk about and about one-third of your time after the presentation to meet informally with students. Use your presentation to share the benefits your organization offers and answer questions. Be mindful, though, that some student organizations limit the time you can spend on “selling the firm.”

Many employers bring or offer to pay for pizza, drinks, or other food/treats to share with the students, which attracts more students to the meeting.

If you want to speak to these organizations, contact the Beta Alpha Psi faculty or accounting club adviser and express your interest in giving presentations to their organizations. If you do not know who the faculty adviser is, communicate with the accounting department chair to get the contact information.

Accounting classes

Department chairs may have a list of faculty who are willing to have professionals speak with their classes. Depending on the course content, they may want you to cover specific accounting topics being discussed that day. Ask about specific accounting topics the faculty member wants you to cover during class.

With the faculty member’s permission, you can usually give a short plug for your organization and offer to meet with students after the class to discuss opportunities.

Sometimes, faculty members may allow a firm to briefly talk about the benefits their firm offers at the beginning of class even if the presenter is not going to teach part of the class. The presenter can then meet informally with students who are interested in your firm after class.

Networking events

Employers can connect with students through a variety of networking activities, including the following:

• Meet the Firms is a common networking event offered by many university accounting programs. The university usually provides each firm a table, and firms have a tablecloth and pull-up banner with their firm’s name on it. Also, firms often bring some type of swag, such as a pen or novelty item with their firm name on it, to give to students.

  Students go from table to table to discuss career opportunities with each firm. You can get student contact information to reach out to them later. Many firms bring professionals to the event who have been successful in their career as well as entry-level accountants who recently graduated from that university who may still know some of the students, which is helpful for networking.

• Mock interviews are another networking event offered by university accounting programs. In this type of event, accounting professionals sit at a table and students rotate from table to table every 15 to 20 minutes for a mock interview with the accounting professionals. The accounting professional spends about two-thirds of the time interviewing the student, then spends the rest of the time providing feedback to the student on their résumé and interview. If you are impressed with a student, you can get their contact information for further discussions.
• Many students also enjoy meeting with professionals in lower-stakes environments. This reduces the pressure on the students and enables them to connect with a professional more fully and better understand the opportunities available at a firm. These events may be as simple as taking a group of students bowling, holding an open house, or holding a lunch-and-learn event — either on campus or at your firm.
• Depending on the university, other activities or events might include an etiquette dinner, pickleball activity, Topgolf, karaoke night, or numerous others. You should have professionals attend these events, and you may even want to offer to sponsor such an event.

Learning events

Sponsor accounting case competitions or problem-solving challenges on campus. These competitions allow students to engage in real-world accounting issues, and it gives firms a chance to evaluate the students’ skills and creativity.

Also, partner with universities to offer class project opportunities where students can work on real-life problems or scenarios your firm has encountered. This gives students hands-on experience and fosters a connection between the student and the firm before recruitment.

Placement centers

Each university has a placement center, through which student interviews are arranged and conducted. Most placement centers have an individual assigned to specific departments. You will want to get to know the person assigned to work with accounting students and their recruiters. They will help you through the on-campus recruitment process. They will also be able, in most cases, to arrange for the recruiter(s) from your firm to have lunch with some faculty, if you wish.

Also, faculty are often great resources to provide additional information and answer questions about the students being interviewed.

CAMPUS RECRUITING WORKS

Developing relationships with local universities has been critical to the recruiting process at Squire and Company, said Ray Chipman, CPA, a partner at the firm in Orem, Utah. “It has been especially helpful in allowing students to learn more about who we are and the type of culture we work to build at our firm. Being involved significantly enhances our ability to help students find the firm that will provide them with the opportunities they are seeking.”

To strengthen your talent pipeline, consider increasing your firm’s presence on campus. Engaging with students through presentations and networking events allows you to highlight the unique benefits your firm offers. By building these connections and showcasing what sets your firm apart, you will be better positioned to attract top talent and stay ahead in the competition for future accountants.

Common firm benefit questions students want answered

Career advancement opportunities

• What knowledge and skills are needed for internships or entry-level positions at your firm?
• What long-term career opportunities exist within your firm?
• What is needed to progress in a career at your firm?

Work/life balance

• How does your firm promote work/life balance?
• How does your firm establish clear boundaries between personal and work time?
• What are your firm’s time expectations during busy seasons and off-seasons?
• Does your firm offer compensated time off during non-busy seasons? How much is provided, and how is it structured?

Professional development support

• What are your expectations for employees taking and passing the CPA Exam?
• What resources does your firm provide to help employees take and pass the CPA Exam?
• What formal continuing professional education training does your firm provide?
• What feedback do you provide to employees to help them develop their professional skills?
• What mentoring programs do you provide for your employees?

Compensation and benefits

• What does your firm have to offer in terms of competitive compensation?
• What does your firm have to offer in terms of standard and unique benefits?

Culture

• What is the working environment at your firm? What are some tangible examples?
• Do you have firmwide activities? What kind and how often?
• Are there unofficial group activities to improve camaraderie? Do groups get together outside of work to play basketball, pickleball, golf, or other activities?
• Is the culture conducive to newer staff talking to or interacting with partners, senior managers, or other senior personnel?

About the authors

James A. Bailey, Ph.D., is a professor of accounting, director of graduate studies, and former Beta Alpha Psi faculty adviser at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Marty Van Wagoner, CPA, MBA, is managing partner at Mountainside Accounting & Consulting in Eagle Mountain, Utah, and professional in residence and Beta Alpha Psi faculty adviser at Utah Valley University. Joel Helquist, Ph.D., is a professor of accounting and former Beta Alpha Psi faculty adviser at Utah Valley University. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Jeff Drew at Jeff.Drew@aicpa-cima.com.

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