An Alumni's story

By Gaby Senderowicz, Bachelors in Accounting from Hofstra University, Masters in Taxation at Hofstra University. Gaby graduated in December 2017.

I started my journey with PwC when I was a sophomore at Hofstra. A previous PwC intern dragged me to the career center to meet the PwC recruiter and I was so scared. Yes, of a human. Although I was too young to apply to any of the client service internships, the recruiter said I would be considered for the Start Internship. Being Latina, I was eligible to apply to the Start, which gives students who come from a diverse background an opportunity to learn more about the firm through a summer internship in Internal Firm Services. I didn't think I would be good enough for a Big Four accounting firm, but I had so many people pushing me to at least apply. Two recruiting events, one career fair, and four interviews later, I had finally gotten the internship. One piece of advice that was given to me was this: just be yourself, it is just a conversation, you have nothing to be scared of. These interviewers want to hire people that they can picture themselves working with - you will be working long hours, and if you cannot get along, you will not make it far in the job. And even if you do not think you are qualified, or smart enough for the job, apply anyway. You never know who will take a chance on you.

Even though the Start Internship was unrelated to accounting (I was on the Ethics & Compliance team), it helped me start a foundation for myself as a business professional. It was a necessity to come to work happy, eager to learn, and with a positive attitude ready to soak up information. My favorite part about the internship was the weekly networking events which I had never experienced before. They are exhausting, but there is always a chance for you to make a strong connection with people you would never consider interacting with. It really made me realize how important diversity in the workplace is and having different perspectives brought to the table. Overall, that first internship was a fun time getting to know the firm, and at the end, they offered me a second internship because I was still so young in terms of my CPA eligibility/graduation date.

They said I could either do the same internship, or I could try out tax. I was terrified because I would not have taken a tax class until after the internship, but I took a leap of faith. I was afraid of failure but I figured maybe I could learn a lot before I started my classes. I never thought I would be interested in tax because I was going for my M.S. in Accounting, and everyone always told me I would be a great auditor based on my work experience. Boy were they wrong. My tax internship was truly amazing. I had never been so happy in a job before. I loved preparing returns, learning about the unique problems of state and local taxes, and calling different jurisdictions to fight for an issue the client had. Most of all, I loved the people. The people I worked with were intelligent, humble, super friendly, hilarious, and just overall great people. I went into the internship thinking I would be working with stereotypical boring accountants (picture Barney Varmn from Parks and Recreation) but these people live life to the fullest. They work so hard during busy season yet they always find a way to balance their hobbies and their social lives in the crazy public accounting world - I knew that this is what I wanted.

Even though I loved that internship, a part of me wanted to try out audit to see if what people said about me was true. So when they offered the last and final internship, I told them I was picking audit for the following summer. I started working in Products and Services and I did not enjoy it. Being at the client site all day cooped up in a small room killed me. I am a social butterfly so I missed being able to walk around the office and have conversations with my friends (while also being productive). I also did not enjoy the day to day work; I just felt that looking through spreadsheets all day and tying back numbers was tedious and I did not feel as rewarded compared to when I would finish a tax return the previous summer. However, having direct contact with the client was an amazing experience that you do not get in tax, and finally seeing the financial statements issued was indescribable. Seeing all of your hard work being out there for the public to rely on to make decisions was amazing. Yet, I realized audit is not for me. I really thought about if I could see myself doing this every day, and especially during busy season, and that is how I made my choice once they offered me the full time job. I do not regret my decision to pick audit over tax for my last summer, because pushing myself out of my comfort zone made me a better accountant and a stronger person. One thing that PwC emphasizes is that you are never done growing as a professional and that you should always challenge yourself.

Even though I was very lucky to have a job right out of school, I know that many people are not so lucky. The job search is difficult and very long for some people, and all I can say is that you need patience, stay positive, and always go out of your comfort zone. Best case scenario, you get a job by being persistent. Worst case scenario, you get rejected but you get back up again and you find something better. Maybe your first job will not be your dream job, but everyone has to start somewhere. Any experience is good experience!

Best of luck and never hesitate to reach out if you ever need any support!

Gaby Senderowicz