Finding qualified staff remains the No.1 problem for most firms, and more are turning to colleges.
By Jeff Stimpson
Patience and imagination are the best ways to battle the big nationals for accounting graduates.
“In hiring students fresh out of college, you can help shape their careers. A student generally has no idea what direction they want to go, and if they want to concentrate in a particular area. We offer them the experience, provide a diversity of work, and guide them in the initial stages of their careers. Our success rate in working with colleges and the retention of staff has proven to be our most valuable hiring method,” says Janine Zirrith, firm administrator with East Brunswick, N.J.-based Wilkin & Guttenplan.
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“Firms have to be proactive, and sell their story to the students,” says Ken Sinclair, professor of accounting and chair of the accounting department at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa.
The Connections
Suby Von Haden in Madison, Wis., works with five college campuses within the University of Wisconsin system, according to CEO Jack R. Cotton. “We make it a priority to maintain solid relationships with the career centers at each of these schools,” he says, adding that the centers help the firm participate in career fairs and on-campus interviews. “We also have strong ties with the UW professors and accounting department heads, as well as the accounting fraternities and societies. Our professionals attend a variety of business and social events for the fraternities and societies. We also provide presenters/speakers for some of the meetings held by these different fraternities and societies. Finally, we are involved with the accounting internship programs offered by each of the five schools.”
Lauri Dahlberg, office administrator with the Minneapolis office of Eide Bailly, says that her firm’s college tactics, which are similar to those of other firms, include:
- Targeting specific schools, “usually schools where one of our staff members is an alumni,” she notes.
- Delivering presentations to the accounting club on campus, and participating in on-campus interviewing and career fairs.
- Hosting a “Meet Our Firm” day in the local office.
- Providing a scholarship to the targeted schools.
Dennis Hanno, associate dean for undergraduate programs at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and associate professor in that school’s accounting department, believes smaller firms have to attack college recruiting much like they attack the marketplace. “Carve out your own niche,” he advises, “and let students know the advantage of going with a small firm. I tell students that with a small firm they’ll have the opportunity to see all aspects of the client quicker, and will be making a contribution quicker.”
Overall visibility on campus is key. Says consultant Donald Scholl, “Just a beer-and-pizza bash for the accounting club isn’t enough. Recent graduates of an institution ought to be involved in the interview process during the recruiting season. If you have a relatively fresh grad, they ought to be consulted, and hopefully involved, in reaching out to students that they think would be good candidates for a firm, and it should be part of their responsibility to figure out who the firm should go after.”
