Timing of the Office Visit: A Factor in Public Accounting Job Selection.

The article focuses on factors in public accounting job selection. Many accounting graduates go through a two-phase job search for employment in public accounting: an interview held on the campus and; if invited, a subsequent office interview at the CPA firm. Many factors influence the decision, which results in a student accepting the job offer from one firm and rejecting offers from others. This study was, undertaken to identify some factors, which may be critical to final a job choice. One factor, which is the subject of the paper, is the timing of the office visit. For example, a potential employer may be competitively disadvantaged if that firm is visited last, because the student may be fatigued by several earlier visit. On the other hand, a firm may be disadvantaged if it is visited first, because by the time the later office visits occur, the earlier-visited firm is no longer as current in the students mind. A survey was conducted of newly hired employees of all "Big-8" firms who were located in three major metropolitan areas. When students visit two or three Big-8 firms, there is a statistically significant tendency to not accept a job with the first firm visited. When students visit more than three Big-8 firms, there is a significant tendency to not work for firms visited toward the mid-point of the in-office visitation schedule.