CADETSHIPS 2012 Discussion Thread (6 Viewers)

[undergrad]

what are my chances of getting a cadetship? i only just applied with EY a couple of days ago.

currently working full time in business services for a mid tier firm (been here for around 18 months) and doing 3 subjects at uni.. in my penultimate year of uni. gpa around 5.

main reason i want to get into EY is because i want a audit/assurance job because my long term goal is to work in business transactions and/or corporate finance.

will i only be considered for second round offers?

getting a bit sick of bus. services...

 

[seremify007]

what are my chances of getting a cadetship? i only just applied with EY a couple of days ago.

currently working full time in business services for a mid tier firm (been here for around 18 months) and doing 3 subjects at uni.. in my penultimate year of uni. gpa around 5.

main reason i want to get into EY is because i want a audit/assurance job because my long term goal is to work in business transactions and/or corporate finance.

will i only be considered for second round offers?

getting a bit sick of bus. services...

Shouldn't you be applying for internship/summer vacation programs? Might be a bit late since I think the recruitment season for those has come and gone, but there may be 2nd round offers for that now which I think is what you're referring to?

 

[Azure]

I could be wrong but with 18 months of business services experience, wouldn't you be eligible for an experienced role (ie intermediate accountant) rather than a cadetship?

 

[undergrad]

But internships/summer vacation programs would mean that I start back from scratch and there is also no guarantee that they will offer me a grad position for 2013.

Yes I could apply for experience positions in tax and business services however I dont think there is much correlation between business services experience and audit.

Another plan is that I could possibly apply for experience positions at a big 4 in tax and then try and cross over into audit or corp finance?

 

[seremify007]

But internships/summer vacation programs would mean that I start back from scratch and there is also no guarantee that they will offer me a grad position for 2013.

Yes I could apply for experience positions in tax and business services however I dont think there is much correlation between business services experience and audit.

Another plan is that I could possibly apply for experience positions at a big 4 in tax and then try and cross over into audit or corp finance?

If you're trying to change paths altogether, I'd keep your cadetship (as a backup) but then on the side apply for vacation positions or grad roles. These shouldn't conflict with your current cadetship timing (other than to attend interviews) and at least this way you'll have a normal intake/batch/induction/etc. Better yet, you can draw on your experience to help give you an advantage over other candidates. At your level (i.e. 18 months experience), I wouldn't recommend trying to go for the tax and then transfer to audit route since it sounds like a long winded path which will only take up time rather than helping you develop and progress.

 

[mickeydee01]

hey,

im in the process of applying online for a cadetship and it gives the choice of business solutions or assurance and advisory as the divisions to apply for....can anyone shed some light on what they would pick? and also a bit of background on each one like what they deal with?

thanks

 

[seremify007]

hey,

im in the process of applying online for a cadetship and it gives the choice of business solutions or assurance and advisory as the divisions to apply for....can anyone shed some light on what they would pick? and also a bit of background on each one like what they deal with?

thanks

Three very different fields. In short,

1. Business Solutions- offering a wide range of services to businesses, typically tax returns and general consultancy advice. Typically targeted to small-medium clients and offered by mid-tier firms. Big firms are starting to have growing presence in this field.
2. Assurance- providing assurance/attestation services, typically statutory audits. Firm size will make a big difference to the client base and the type/challenge of this work.
3. Advisory- providing consultancy services. This is very broad and will vary significantly from firm to firm depending on specialisations so it's best to do research as to what fields the firm you are applying for specialise in.

Without knowing your own interests and which firm, it's a bit difficult to give advice. If it were me, and I was going for a boutique or mid-tier firm, I'd probably go assurance (and maybe business solutions) as you'll learn a lot which can be applied elsewhere and will help you later on. Assurance on small jobs will teach you a lot about small business and put you in a far better position to both move later on, and also to go into consultancy. Same applies to business solutions depending on firm and what they specialise in- you don't want to be stuck doing tax returns all day unless that's what you're into but if it offers a wide range of compliance and other services, again you can learn alot. Consultancy at trainee level is usually very bland/boring as you don't have much skills or experience to offer.

 

[mickeydee01]

thanks for the explanation and advice seremify...i didnt end up getting accepted to that particular cadetship...it was an interstate one and they said others matched their selection criteria more closely (which may mean they gave preference to people living in that area...who knows)...

it looks like most of the application dates for the melbourne cadetships are over however im still gonna try sending emails to firms or maybe even look at some smaller firms...worse comes to worse ill apply next yr as a first yr uni student...thanks for all the help

 

[tom-spin]

So when do you apply for a cadetship? In year 12? (I'm in yr 11)
Whats the application process...

 

[seremify007]

So when do you apply for a cadetship? In year 12? (I'm in yr 11)
Whats the application process...

Yes. Applications open around May-ish but keep an eye out on the ICAA website. Application process will vary from firm to firm but remember you are applying for a job at each firm- there is no central authority over like university places or scholarships.

 

[oyuck]

EY cadets----why is there an event on a few weeks BEFORE THE HSC???????



I am disappointed.

 

[seremify007]

I'd imagine if you have been offered a cadetship, they have faith in your ability to manage your various commitments. That, and 3 weeks is quite a significant amount of time.

 

[LOLcadet]

hey to all you guys who are doing cadetships!
what degrees are you doing?where are you doing at?what firms did you get into?what's the pay at like at your place?
do you get any extra benefits e.g. free laptop,mobiles etc.? (email me if you dont wanna say in public)
because i'm very curious (i got selected at a mid-tier firm btw

 

[seremify007]

hey to all you guys who are doing cadetships!
what degrees are you doing?where are you doing at?what firms did you get into?what's the pay at like at your place?
do you get any extra benefits e.g. free laptop,mobiles etc.? (email me if you dont wanna say in public)
because i'm very curious (i got selected at a mid-tier firm btw

Can't believe you joined just to post that but I may as well respond:
1. B Commerce, UNSW (back when I did it)
2. Big4 firm
3. Pay is good especially considering it's only 4 days a week during semester.
4. I wouldn't call it a 'free laptop' but rather you are provided with a laptop to enable you to do your work, and any additional uses you have for it such as studying or watching movies are permitted as long as they don't violate any of the rules (e.g. no pirated software, no installing your own applications, etc).
5. Our firm offers subsidised phone plans for all grades depending on whether you use the phone for work. If you do, and you're a trainee, you can join an Optus plan for $60/mth including a new phone (e.g. Samsung galaxy s II, iPhone 4 [s not out yet as hasn't been tested with our IT], Blackberry Bold 9900, etc) and the firm will reimburse you upto $40/mth. Plan includes unlimited phone calls/sms/voicemail in Australia and 3gb data.

 

[LOLcadet]

Can't believe you joined just to post that but I may as well respond:
1. B Commerce, UNSW (back when I did it)
2. Big4 firm
3. Pay is good especially considering it's only 4 days a week during semester.
4. I wouldn't call it a 'free laptop' but rather you are provided with a laptop to enable you to do your work, and any additional uses you have for it such as studying or watching movies are permitted as long as they don't violate any of the rules (e.g. no pirated software, no installing your own applications, etc).
5. Our firm offers subsidised phone plans for all grades depending on whether you use the phone for work. If you do, and you're a trainee, you can join an Optus plan for $60/mth including a new phone (e.g. Samsung galaxy s II, iPhone 4 [s not out yet as hasn't been tested with our IT], Blackberry Bold 9900, etc) and the firm will reimburse you upto $40/mth. Plan includes unlimited phone calls/sms/voicemail in Australia and 3gb data.

so do you know if mid-tier firms offer the same deal?
are you in audit?how hard is a cadetship? because one of my friends who did said it was very hard and dropped out after a year! so do most people do bcomm-unsw? do you know whether they do it part time? coz my firm is like 8:30-5:30 5 days a week
and pay is only like ~30k

 

[seremify007]

so do you know if mid-tier firms offer the same deal?
are you in audit?how hard is a cadetship? because one of my friends who did said it was very hard and dropped out after a year! so do most people do bcomm-unsw? do you know whether they do it part time? coz my firm is like 8:30-5:30 5 days a week
and pay is only like ~30k

I only know from experience in my own firm. That being said from what I've heard, I don't think mid-tiers offer the same benefits but I would expect you to be provided with the tools required to do your job. You shouldn't be so concerned with the freebies or perks because if that's all you're interested in, you're going to hate your cadetship.

Back when I did my cadetship in 2006, I had full time work load with 4 hours of leave to attend university at night (i.e. evening classes). Most firms as far as I know offer something similar to this. Pay was also only $27k but noone does a cadetship for the money- you do it for the experience. Again if this is your focus you will probably end up regretting doing the cadetship because you won't get rich off this.

To answer your questions, I'd say about 40% of people do it at UNSW, 40% at UTS and the other 20% is made up of UWS, Macquarie, and any other university which enables flexible part time study loads.

On another note, the hours increase over time But then if you're lucky, so does flexibility (and pay). With this in mind, I also overloaded in uni during full time work (i.e. 3 subjects per sem) with only 4 hours of leave and still managed fine- and yes I am in audit.

 

[LOLcadet]

nah, im not really concerned about the pay but the experience that i will acquire.
at UNSW what days would you usally do it? are there classes on weekends?
what times were you working? did you find it difficult to manage? was your job in the city?
as you were an audit? were you on the go most of the time? what position are you in now? is there any flexibility in audit?
when you are going on audits-do you go with someone else? if you do,how do you travel by?
as you started from cadet, how long before you move up in rankings? do all cadets move up at same time? how quickly did your pay increase?
by how much does your pay increase after a year of working there?

 

[seremify007]

holy smokes you ask a lot of questions- you realise that's why they had the info sessions, congratulatory evenings, HR information nights, etc... right??! I hope everything works out for you because based on the questions you're asking, I wouldn't offer you a traineeship purely on your lack of understanding of what you are signing up for.

nah, im not really concerned about the pay but the experience that i will acquire.
at UNSW what days would you usally do it? are there classes on weekends?
what times were you working? did you find it difficult to manage? was your job in the city?
as you were an audit? were you on the go most of the time? what position are you in now? is there any flexibility in audit?
when you are going on audits-do you go with someone else? if you do,how do you travel by?
as you started from cadet, how long before you move up in rankings? do all cadets move up at same time? how quickly did your pay increase?
by how much does your pay increase after a year of working there?

In short, back when I did it I was doing night classes which were dependent on subject. Nowadays they still offer evening classes (only on weekdays) with lectures from 6-8pm but a lot of employers are flexible and will let you move time around or take leave/skip lunch breaks/etc so that you can attend your lectures and tutorial (another hour on top of the lecture). If you have the choice, make sure you enrol and select classes/timetable asap at respective university so you can balance your workload. Work hours depend on firm/division- some people do 8:30-5:30 their whole life, whilst others can do 9-9, or 9-12 (yes that's midnight).

I originally joined audit and worked on clients all over the place which was a bit of a hassle since I was never in the city which made getting to uni a bit harder- being able to drive was very helpful. I later transferred to Financial Services so I was always based in the city which made uni a lot easier. Depending on client/engagement, you can go with your team, sometimes the senior will drive, sometimes you all catch a taxi (or whatever is most practical/efficient). Balancing work commitments and deadlines with university is always a challenge but the tip is to ensure that everyone is aware of your commitments as early as possible- i.e. don't just tell your senior on the day before an exam that you need to go for an exam, tell them a week in advance so they know to expect you won't be able to stay back/etc.

Moving up in terms of promotions is based on performance, and the performance criteria includes a time-based/experience-based criteria (e.g. 2 years). Usually each year you will get some kind of pay rise for both inflation and general expectation that you have become more competent/independent in your work without requiring as much hand-holding. Don't expect too much- maybe a couple of $k. That being said, my friends in mid-tier firms at the time were being paid about $38k p/a compared to my $33k p/a in my 2nd year.

 

[LOLcadet]

holy smokes you ask a lot of questions- you realise that's why they had the info sessions, congratulatory evenings, HR information nights, etc... right??! I hope everything works out for you because based on the questions you're asking, I wouldn't offer you a traineeship purely on your lack of understanding of what you are signing up for.



In short, back when I did it I was doing night classes which were dependent on subject. Nowadays they still offer evening classes (only on weekdays) with lectures from 6-8pm but a lot of employers are flexible and will let you move time around or take leave/skip lunch breaks/etc so that you can attend your lectures and tutorial (another hour on top of the lecture). If you have the choice, make sure you enrol and select classes/timetable asap at respective university so you can balance your workload. Work hours depend on firm/division- some people do 8:30-5:30 their whole life, whilst others can do 9-9, or 9-12 (yes that's midnight).

I originally joined audit and worked on clients all over the place which was a bit of a hassle since I was never in the city which made getting to uni a bit harder- being able to drive was very helpful. I later transferred to Financial Services so I was always based in the city which made uni a lot easier. Depending on client/engagement, you can go with your team, sometimes the senior will drive, sometimes you all catch a taxi (or whatever is most practical/efficient). Balancing work commitments and deadlines with university is always a challenge but the tip is to ensure that everyone is aware of your commitments as early as possible- i.e. don't just tell your senior on the day before an exam that you need to go for an exam, tell them a week in advance so they know to expect you won't be able to stay back/etc.

Moving up in terms of promotions is based on performance, and the performance criteria includes a time-based/experience-based criteria (e.g. 2 years). Usually each year you will get some kind of pay rise for both inflation and general expectation that you have become more competent/independent in your work without requiring as much hand-holding. Don't expect too much- maybe a couple of $k. That being said, my friends in mid-tier firms at the time were being paid about $38k p/a compared to my $33k p/a in my 2nd year.

lol,i went to info nights but they didn't really answer my questions. as a matter of curiousity,do you go to PwC??
while on an audit, is it fun? as i can't drive will i have to take a taxi everywhere and is that supervised? while on the job do you get any food? do audits get any extra benefits? lets say you've finished your commerce degree in 2013 start..are you going to be in the same position as those graduates whom are starting or will you be a level higher as you've got experience as well? do cadets get respected alot by fellow staff? so would you say BCommerce-UNSW is the best option? my other options are BBusinnes-UTS and BCommerce-Maq...are most cadets from selective schools? how come if you go overtime you don't get extra pay? do you receive the money at the end of each week? as we have probation first 6 months,does that mean we don't get any money during that time? most auditors are which ethnicity?white?asian?indian? and thank you once again

 

[Azure]

Wow man, why would you expect to get food? It's not really a charity. The work is fun if you enjoy what you're doing, it's as simple as that.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I kind of get the impression you're trolling.