In April I was approached by a Big4 recruiter again. I currently do not work at the consultancy firm, and I was not looking for a new job, but the internal recruiter was so pleasant that I said yes. After 4 interviews in 3 months, I rejected them, and this is my experience.
First (pre-)interview
The first interview was with the recruiter, and it was pleasant. The recruiter was interested in me and my experience and told me about the BIG4 culture and work. It matched my values and what I enjoy doing.
Second interview
The second interview was with a director and a partner. It was one-sided; they were not interested in me, but only in what I bring to the table. I am Russian, and it is custom here to start an interview with introducing yourself and talking about yourself, such as sharing your industry sense, professional goals and passions. Job interviews are not just about hard skills, but also about character and culture match. But not at this Big4 firm located here. They did not care about me as a person. The questions asked did not match the job description, and there was also no time for my questions.
Third interview
The third interview was with a different director and partner. Again, very one-sided and also no personal questions. They gave a different interpretation of the job than the last two interviews and the job description. Again, no time for me to ask them anything. This was a red flag for me!
Forth interview
The fourth interview was with two partners. Who had a different interpretation of the job and they were purely focused on sales. They did not care about me as a person or my skills as a professional. Their first two questions were how much revenue I would generate in my first month and how many clients I will bring with me to the firm. Then they asked if I am willing to introduce them to our biggest clients. Not once I start, but now! I said NO, and they said that is not an acceptable answer and tried to manipulate me. This was a major red flag for me.
I withdrew
After the interview I contacted the recruiter and said I am not interested in working at the firm.
One thing I noticed was that excluding the recruiter, all the other people that interviewed me had been working at the Big4 firm for (almost) all of their professional lives and seemed to live in their own bubble.
PS
I have already worked as Tech Lead in Big4. Most of my mates who went to Big4 quit after hitting the 2-2.5 year mark and went to go work for smaller firm who will respect their CPA and Masters in Accounting credentials (not that it’s super necessary). Then, they were making similar moves or even more in few years with better WLB. Anyone who stays past 4-5year mark are people who trying to make it to partner, but very rare and not sure if it’s worth it.
Looks good on your resume. But we already ate this soup…