We’ve been receiving some questions from new students who are starting DAP this September about CPA Fall Recruit, so I just wanted to take a moment to answer address some of the questions that have been coming up frequently.
If you’ve been following our Facebook page and reviewing myUBCDAP, in particular, the blog, you may have seen a lot of information coming out about different networking events that have been happening over the Summer months and other details related to Fall Recruit and you may be wondering what Fall Recruit is all about and whether or not you should be participating this year.
For an overview of CPA Fall Recruit and how it’s structured, I would encourage you to read the April 22nd blog post “#CPAFallRecruit2014 – What is it? Should I be involved?” As outlined in this post, the employers that are recruiting for positions this Fall are hiring for positions that meet CPA’s work experience requirements through the pre-approved path and in general, these positions will start September 2015. Students who start positions in the pre-approved path are generally expected to commence the CPA Professional Education Program (CPA PEP) at the same time. This means that you must have completed all CPA PEP pre-requisites courses by the end of August 2015. For more information on what the CPA PEP pre-requisites are, please see the July 18th blog post “CPA Pre-Requisites & Electives”.
There is no requirement for students to participate in recruit. The positions that are available through this process only represent one particular category of positions that CPA will accept towards meeting their work experience requirements. It is up to you to decide if and when you choose to participate, keeping in mind that this recruitment cycle for these specific positions only happens once a year and participating firms are hiring for positions that start the following Fall.
Please also keep in mind that employers generally prefer to see completion of at least the introductory financial and managerial accounting courses on applicants’ transcripts. As well, an important part of Fall Recruit is networking, building relationships with firm reps and doing research into the firms for a better understanding of their values and goals. The networking events held over the Summer help to facilitate this, so while you may have a had a limited opportunity to attend the events over this past Summer, you will have a full opportunity to participate in these events as a DAP student next Summer, provided you remain enrolled in courses during one of the terms next Summer Session (Term 1 – May to June or Term 2 – July to August).
If you’ve decided that you would like to participate in the recruit this year, you should be prepared to put your best foot forward and definitely have a plan in place to have all the CPA pre-requisites complete by August 2015, should you be offered a position. Please also review the blog posts under the CPA Fall Recruit category. Some of these blog posts refer to events that were held over the Summer, but some contain important information about Fall Recruit that students participating in recruit this year should be aware of (e.g. deadlines, policies, procedures, etc.)
There are a few upcoming opportunities that you will have the chance to attend:
- Meet the Midsized Firm Event – September 4th
- Meet the National Firm Event – September5th
Please see CPA’s Fall Recruit website for more information on both of these events.
Students who are participating in recruit this year will also have a chance to schedule an in-person coaching appointment with the DAP Career Coach, Russell Garrett, to review your CPA application. Your COOL account will be set-up shortly to allow you to make an appointment with Russell. Please see the August 8th blog post “#CPAFallRecruit2014 – CPA Application Review Coaching Appointments” for the available appointment dates and more information on how to make an appointment.