This article was originally published 6 March 2019. Olga is now an Assistant Manager, Audit, with BDO in Australia.
During the second year of my Bachelor of Business (majoring in Accounting and Finance) at University of Technology Sydney, I saw an advertisement for a cadetship in Audit at BDO Sydney. I did some research into the firm, and loved the sound of the culture and how the cadetship worked, so I decided to apply.
I thought the recruitment process would be stressful, but I actually enjoyed it. BDO always kept me in the loop, and they responded at each stage very quickly. The process itself consisted of an online application that asked the standard recruitment questions you'd expect, followed by a video interview. After that there was an assessment centre where we got to meet other cadets and graduates who were applying. Finally, there was a one-on-one interview with one of the Audit managers.
Getting a feel for the culture at BDO through the recruitment process
The assessment centre was my favourite part of the recruitment process. The first half of the day involved answering some really interesting questions. This included what we wanted to achieve in our first 100 days at BDO, what we expected from the role and what we planned for the future. These were written questions which really helped me to imagine what it would be like working at BDO.
For the second part, we worked in groups with other applicants to prepare a presentation about BDO, using what we already knew about the firm. I loved this because it gave me the opportunity to talk to people I'd never met before. This included meeting current BDO staff, which gave me a good understanding of what the team culture and working environment is like.
Just be yourself!
The main part of the recruitment process I'd do differently would be the video interview. I had never done one before, and I found it quite a daunting process. Essentially, the computer would show questions on the screen, and then film me giving my responses. In hindsight, I would have practiced in front of a camera before, just to make myself a little more comfortable with the process!
If anyone is thinking about applying for a role at BDO, I'd say the main thing they should do is just be themselves! Try not to stress or overthink anything, just answer the questions as best you can and be confident - remember there's a reason that you’ve made it this far in the recruitment process!
If you'd like to know more about applying for a role with BDO, please visit our careers site.