Nearing Another "Last" (part ii)

To better understand the contributing factors and events surrounding this post, please read the preceding post below.

My tentative course set, I went through the interview process last fall, during my final semester of study at UA. During the course of two-plus years of recruiting events and making contacts at various local and national accounting firms, I had really hit it off with one in particular, and felt I had made a good impression at a few others. When interview season came around, the first step was applying for an interview slot with the various firms. The teachers and internship coordinators on campus recommended applying for seven to ten slots, in the assumption that several would extend an interview offer and the rest would decline your request. I was not interested in doing numerous interviews, nor had I the necessary rapport with that number of firms, so I applied for just four. Three declined me, but the firm that accepted my application to interview was the one I wanted all along anyway.
A week or so later, I was walking briskly across campus, looking sharp with a days-old haircut, a new suit (the first I had ever owned), and a new tie. The interview went smoothly and the conversation was animated, and I walked out fairly confident--although not completely sure--that I would be offered an internship for the following spring. Two weeks later, "call day" had arrived, and firms were allowed to begin calling their interviewees with offers starting at noon. I was in Latinamerican Civilization at that hour on a Friday afternoon, but I informed my teacher I would be expecting a call, probably at some point during the hour of her class. Sure enough, only minutes after twelve o'clock, my phone buzzed in my pocket, and I ducked out to take the call. It was the partner from the firm, and he offered me the internship, which I accepted on the spot.
Now, many months later, that internship I accepted on that warm autumn day is almost over, culminating on what will likely be a pleasant spring day in Birmingham, Alabama. My mindset toward public accounting has been greatly altered by my experience. At the onset of my time, I was very excited to have been extended the opportunity to work for one of the "Big 4" accounting firms, but I was unsure of the profession's fit for me, and as a relatively newly married young man, my wife and future family at large. I knew coming in that, as a tax professional, the weeks and months leading up to the April 15 deadline would demand a great deal of time and dedication and require a lot of work in a very detail-oriented environment. I relished the challenge in work that it offered, but was also chary of the challenge of work-life balance it posed as well. That topic is a popular one among businesses today, each eager to advertise the work-life balance their office promotes, or the perks they extend to their employees regarding the constant juggle of priorities.
In my time, I have been able to see this work-life balance come into play, both in my own family life, and in the lives of the professionals around me in the office. Although "just" an intern, and expected to work at least 40 hours per week, typically Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm, which allowed for a one-hour lunch break, I was able to flex that time to meet the outside pulls for my time. Having an hour commute to and from work, making it into the office right at eight o'clock did not happen very often, especially as my internship progressed and I began working later. Three weeks ago I was in an accident where I was rear-ended on the interstate, a mere three miles from my exit into Birmingham. A little shaken up and sore, and just needing some time to deal with the aftermath, as minor as it was, I was able to stop in at the office, pick up a stack of items to work on, and turn right around and go home for the day, where I was able to deal with some logistical things and work from home for a time as well.
The group at this Birmingham office I was working with was relatively small--about 25 or so individuals, compared with 150 or so in, say, the regional hub in Atlanta--but as such, I was able to work with every person there in some capacity or another, which allowed me to collaborate and build rapport with the team as a whole. Another advantage of the size was the variety of work available to take part in; since there weren't enough people to create specialty groups, everyone did a little bit of everything, and I was no exception. I learned an incredible amount in three months of work through immersion in numerous projects, which catered to my learning-by-doing style. As the internship period wore on, I began to find that I enjoyed the work far more than I was expecting to at the onset, which is better than arriving gung ho and fired up and leaving disappointed and disillusioned. I was a gradual but steady convert to the occupation of public accountancy.

[to be continued]