Resume and Cover Letter Preparation
for Professional Service Firms
September 6, 2011
Purpose of Today’s Discussion:
 This session is an attempt to give you the information
necessary to make your resumes and cover letters attractive
to professional service firms and to get you started on
upcoming Info Sessions.
Assumptions:
 I assume you have been to the Career Services Center and
know the basics about creating a resume and cover letter.
This session is about tailoring, not starting from scratch!
 I don’t think format makes much difference, content, polish
makes it best!
Your Resume Should:
 Summarize your education, work experience and extracurricular
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activities- must be all on ONE page, no more, no exceptions
Be clear and to the point, not ramble on…
Show your Leadership and Teamwork activities!
Show what you did each summer since freshman year, be
specific, concise and do not embellish duties
Show your GPA, no matter what it is…
Your Resume Should NOT:
 Contain high school accomplishments, few exceptions…
 Contain spelling or grammatical mistakes! It must be
perfect…
 Contain embellishments, exaggerated duties or pompous
comments. Be able to back up any claim made.
 Be late! Timeliness is important!
Your Cover Letter Should:
 Be addressed to someone, always, every time… when in
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doubt, use recruiter’s name
State position you are applying for
Summarize why you are qualified for the position offered
Focus on Leadership and Teamwork!
Resume/Cover letter should illustrate who you are as a
person… show something you are passionate about!
Your Cover Letter Should:
 Answer why you chose accounting as career
 Why a professional service firm?
 Why EY? (or PwC, KPMG, Big 4 vs Regional vs Small
firm… etc
 State what you can bring to the firm
 Be tailored to each employer or use… don’t think it is “good
enough”…
 Be grammatically correct… proper spelling, read well, good
flow
Your Cover Letter Should NOT:
 Simply regurgitate your resume… tie together, make a point,
tell who you are, not repeat
Info Sessions
 Be visible! Introduce yourself! Re-introduce yourself!
 Talk, ask questions, do not monopolize!
 Friendly, outgoing, ask appropriate questions for the person
you are talking to.
 No questions about salary, benefits, billing rates, specific
clients, etc
 Engage… don’t watch from sideline!
Info Sessions
 Read website info ahead of time for each company! You
should not ask question about content that is available on
website (makes them think you did not do your homework)
ask follow on questions (makes them think you did your
homework, then thought about it)
 Know their service lines! What is assurance? What is
advisory?
Info Sessions
 Know what your qualifications are relative to what position
you are applying for… don’t apply for assurance if you are
not 150 hour eligible. Better have a good reason why you are
applying for advisory if you are 150 hour eligible!
 It is OK to still be gathering info… don’t act clueless
General Info
 The interview starts when you lay eyes on the recruiter…
you are always being interviewed/evaluated, by everyone at
every level you meet!
 They want to see the right blend of academics,
extracurriculars, Leadership/Teamwork… and personal
communication skill sets to make good hires.
General Info
 Have your resume and 150 hour plan (if applicable) with you
at all times. They will NOT accept it directly from you at
these gathering, but you can refer to it, ask questions about it
and generally use it as a talk sheet.
 Do not miss drop deadlines!
 Follow all instructions! Don’t ask questions that are readily
available from the instructions!
 Be on time, dress appropriately for the situation