Don't Apply For A Job A Job At Pkf! (1 Viewer)

[sanchoybow]

I'd have to say that I had the worst graduate job hunting experience with accounting firm PKF! A couple of weeks ago, someone from PKF's HR department told me that I'd received a job offer from the company and that the contract would be sent to me via express post on that day.

Then the next day the same person called me up and told me that they'd decided to put me on another team and that I had to meet up with the manager and partner of that team for a "chat" that would allow them to get to know me. She also told me that the contract hadn't been sent to me yet and that they would try and put it in the mail on that day. She also said that if they were too busy put it in the mail on that day, the manager I was going to meet would give it to me.

Ok, so I rocked up to the company for the "chat", expecting it to only last for 10 minutes, and what does the manager tell me? He tells me that it's another interview!!!!! Another 1 hour interview!!!! And that he doesn't have the contract with him!!!!!! And that the contract would be emailed to me in a couple of days.

It's been over 2 weeks since the interview and I haven't heard back, and this company usually takes only one week to reply to applicants. No reply, no contract. What happened to the job offer I received several weeks ago?

I'm so pissed off. If they weren't sure if they were gonna hire me, they shouldn't have told me that I had gotten a job offer and they shouldn't have said they were going to send me a contract. If they wanted me to attend another interview they should have told me that it was an interview, not a "chat". I would have been more prepared if I knew it was going to be an interview. They wasted so much of my time!!! Fukkkking hell!!!! They may be the 10th largest accounting firm in the world but when it comes to reliability, they are shit!!!! Die PKF! Die!

Thanks for reading .

 

[seremify007]

Ouch. I suggest you call the PKF HR people asap and maybe they can explain?

I can see your painful situation though. Hope you had other contingency plans but that being said, if I had been offered a job which I was intending to accept, then I probably wouldn't be following through with any contingency plans.

Good luck!

 

[Vagabond]

In my soul personal opinion I'll also agree... I had the worst recruitment experience with PKF when I went for it.

They screwed up from the very first phonecall:

"I would like to book you in for an interview on Monday the ...."

"Wow thats great, but are there any other days available per chance? I'm not sure If I'd be able to make the Monday"

"Look I still have dozens of people to ring rar ra ra ra ra"

^ So unprofessional.

When I got to PKF I was sat down to wait etc. and my interview was 15 mins late to start. Wooo.

During my interview she seemed bent on drawing the worst out of me. She asked about academics and I mentioned that I topped the grade in the eng adv midsems and only recently dropped a rank or two, and she wrote down "Dropped to standard"... I noticed her do this and I corrected her. I'll add that she made me feel extremely uncomfortable during my interview - something I didn't experience at any other firm.

The funniest thing though was the way PKF, like the mid-tiers in general, try to market that they'll treat like 'more than just a number' and how they're all close-knit and very people oriented...

I asked her if she wanted me to specify a preference as to a division I wanted to work in and her reply, literally, "No, we'll put you where we need you."

Compound this with the fact that even people who got declined after their interviews were invited to the offer celebration...

They've got some serious issues.

I'd say its a good thing that you didn't get a job with them.

 

[leoyh]

lol this is weird man. pkf seems reputable and their operations seem largely mid-tier and professional. wouldn't expect something like this from a well established firm

 

[Vagabond]

Problem is with recruitment a handful of people represent the entire firm...

 

[sanchoybow]

Re: Don't Apply For A Job At Pkf!

In my soul personal opinion I'll also agree... I had the worst recruitment experience with PKF when I went for it.

They screwed up from the very first phonecall:

"I would like to book you in for an interview on Monday the ...."

"Wow thats great, but are there any other days available per chance? I'm not sure If I'd be able to make the Monday"

"Look I still have dozens of people to ring rar ra ra ra ra"

^ So unprofessional.

When I got to PKF I was sat down to wait etc. and my interview was 15 mins late to start. Wooo.

During my interview she seemed bent on drawing the worst out of me. She asked about academics and I mentioned that I topped the grade in the eng adv midsems and only recently dropped a rank or two, and she wrote down "Dropped to standard"... I noticed her do this and I corrected her. I'll add that she made me feel extremely uncomfortable during my interview - something I didn't experience at any other firm.

The funniest thing though was the way PKF, like the mid-tiers in general, try to market that they'll treat like 'more than just a number' and how they're all close-knit and very people oriented...

I asked her if she wanted me to specify a preference as to a division I wanted to work in and her reply, literally, "No, we'll put you where we need you."

Compound this with the fact that even people who got declined after their interviews were invited to the offer celebration...

They've got some serious issues.

I'd say its a good thing that you didn't get a job with them.

OMGOSH, yes, talk about being late. I have had three interviews with them and all the interviewers were 10-15 minutes late. NEVER ON TIME!

And they didn't allow me to specify a preference too. They just shoved me into auditing.

I was also very uncomfortable during my first interview with PKF because the interviewer seemed quite tense and stressed. And when I said "It was a pleasure to meet you" at the end of the interview, she sniggered and said "Pffftt nooooooo" HOW RUDE!

 

[thismodernlove]

Woah, PKF was something I was deadset on applying for. LOL. (himichaelll)

 

[seremify007]

If it's any consolation, my experience wasn't that positive. I remember in 05 they were running a bit behind with reviewing applications so instead of only inviting people in for the info session who were being given interviews (as we all had thought), they invited those who hadn't yet been rejected- i.e. those who were offered an interview, and those they had yet to review. It kinda sucked cos I went to alot of trouble to get to the city and attend the PKF info session only to find out the next day I wasn't being offered an interview. What a jip lol. At least I got a free pocket radio out of it :S

 

[sanchoybow]

Ouch. I suggest you call the PKF HR people asap and maybe they can explain?

I can see your painful situation though. Hope you had other contingency plans but that being said, if I had been offered a job which I was intending to accept, then I probably wouldn't be following through with any contingency plans.

Good luck!

Yeh, I am gonna call them up after my exams.

I have progressed to the final stages of the recruitment processes of several companies. Just waiting for them to reply. Hopefully, I will receive another job offer.

 

[Suvat]

PKF was the mid tier I thought I had the best shot at, I absolutely nailed the interview and still got dinged.

I still don't know what kind of people mid tiers are looking for...

 

[RIZAL]

I once spent the night in the PKF Sydney office after a massive night on the turps. Their sick bed area was quite comfy.

To the OP: This sort of stuff will always happen in sub top tier firms.

 

[Omium]

I'd have to say that I had the worst graduate job hunting experience with accounting firm PKF! A couple of weeks ago, someone from PKF's HR department told me that I'd received a job offer from the company and that the contract would be sent to me via express post on that day.

Then the next day the same person called me up and told me that they'd decided to put me on another team and that I had to meet up with the manager and partner of that team for a "chat" that would allow them to get to know me. She also told me that the contract hadn't been sent to me yet and that they would try and put it in the mail on that day. She also said that if they were too busy put it in the mail on that day, the manager I was going to meet would give it to me.

Ok, so I rocked up to the company for the "chat", expecting it to only last for 10 minutes, and what does the manager tell me? He tells me that it's another interview!!!!! Another 1 hour interview!!!! And that he doesn't have the contract with him!!!!!! And that the contract would be emailed to me in a couple of days.

It's been over 2 weeks since the interview and I haven't heard back, and this company usually takes only one week to reply to applicants. No reply, no contract. What happened to the job offer I received several weeks ago?

I'm so pissed off. If they weren't sure if they were gonna hire me, they shouldn't have told me that I had gotten a job offer and they shouldn't have said they were going to send me a contract. If they wanted me to attend another interview they should have told me that it was an interview, not a "chat". I would have been more prepared if I knew it was going to be an interview. They wasted so much of my time!!! Fukkkking hell!!!! They may be the 10th largest accounting firm in the world but when it comes to reliability, they are shit!!!! Die PKF! Die!

Thanks for reading .

Interesting......

 

[sanchoybow]

PKF was the mid tier I thought I had the best shot at, I absolutely nailed the interview and still got dinged.

I still don't know what kind of people mid tiers are looking for...

Just out of curiosity, did you apply for a grad job there or a cadetship? And how many interviews did you get?

 

[velox]

Similar stuff has happened to me. One company I applied to, sent emails to people saying congrats you've survived the first cull, and now send an email to confirm which day you can come to the assessment centre. I replied, and they said, sorry all full.....

I dont understand why you would send out more emails than spots. It was more of a 'whoever replies first gets in.' I tried to explain how silly this was to the HR person, and they didnt understand me, so I assume its normal in that firm.

 

[Suvat]

Just out of curiosity, did you apply for a grad job there or a cadetship? And how many interviews did you get?

Grad job

Got many interviews, let's just say my success rate with the mid tiers was substantially lower than with the big 4. I think the "cultural fit" factor is the most important with mid tiers.

 

[Vagabond]

In my experience Mid tiers won't offer you a job if they think you're going to be successful at the big4.

The moment they know or suspect that you've got a big4 offer or are going to get a big 4 offer they'll stand you aside.

The reason is because they can't afford to make offers to people that won't accept them.

It wasn't uncommon for mid-tier firms to interrogate you e.g. "What other firms have you applied to?" or to put you on the spot "If we offered you a job now, would you accept it?"

 

[sanchoybow]

In my experience Mid tiers won't offer you a job if they think you're going to be successful at the big4.

The moment they know or suspect that you've got a big4 offer or are going to get a big 4 offer they'll stand you aside.

The reason is because they can't afford to make offers to people that won't accept them.

It wasn't uncommon for mid-tier firms to interrogate you e.g. "What other firms have you applied to?" or to put you on the spot "If we offered you a job now, would you accept it?"

Yeh, they did ask me those sorts of questions. "What are some of the other firms you've applied to?" "Is PKF at the top of the list?" "Do you have several offers on the table?"

 

[Suvat]

Yeh, they did ask me those sorts of questions. "What are some of the other firms you've applied to?" "Is PKF at the top of the list?" "Do you have several offers on the table?"

PKF didn't ask me that, although they did ask "what are you looking for in a firm".

Another mid tier did grill me on my other applications. In hindsight I think the best course of action was to not comment. It's almost an automatic ding if you let slip that you're interviewing with big 4, yet I doubt they'll believe you (unless you're super convincing) if you say you only applied to mid tiers.

 

[bukwow]

I once spent the night in the PKF Sydney office after a massive night on the turps. Their sick bed area was quite comfy.

To the OP: This sort of stuff will always happen in sub top tier firms.

lol no one ever uses that sick bed... except people who needs to crash at a place at the last resort in the city lol.

Yes i do agree that usually mid tier firms mainly aim for people who can try to fit into the culture of the group. They usually wouldn't tend to hire people who would usually be accepted into the big4 mainly because they know that they're likely gona get rejected offers.

Also much ambitious people would usually tend to aim high and there will always be competition and usually ambitious people would tend to leave the firm if they do not get better offers when it comes to promotion in the long run. im sure most firms would hate it when their employees leave after spending a significant amount of money training them up.

To the OP, really sad to hear what happened to you there, good luck with your other applications though, mistakes do happen and its sad to hear that it had to happen to you.

 

[RIZAL]

lol no one ever uses that sick bed... except people who needs to crash at a place at the last resort in the city lol.

Haha, brilliant! If I ever get evicted I may have to hit up hotel PKF again.