The level of preparedness by students for CPA Application Reviews truly varies. Some students come with the beginnings of their application as a ‘work in progress’, rough draft or just simply documents from a previous application process. There is a much better way to get the most out of your time with a career consultant…..Here are five things you can do ahead of time.

1. Review the application resources in the Sauder Career Success Cycle for resumes, cover letters, and interview preparation. This way your career consultant will not spend your, or their, valuable time going over things you could already know with a little pre-planning and reading. There are samples that will really help applicants to get a grasp on the visual impact and content of application documents.
2. Determine your formatting before you ever come to the appointment. As much as formatting is a topic worth discussing, a consultant’s time is much better utilized helping you with content. Be sure to prepare your documents with the same branding, header, font, margins, headings and spacing. When documents do not look the same or have significant differences in layout, the consultant will need to address this with the applicant. Poor formatting simply distracts from the content and is an example of what the firm representative will be focused on when they see the application. There are samples in Step 4 of the Sauder Career Success Cycle under Preparing Written Documents which you will find through Connect.
3. Create a specific letter(s) for a firm to discuss as an example of a specific introduction paragraph, main body content, relevant information, company connections and firm knowledge as well as an expression of the voice and tone of your communication. This letter should be laid out professionally and include the person or position title you are writing the letter to, as well as a reference line that deals with the position. This allows you to get to the better information in the first lines of your first paragraph. This is where you will compel firm representatives to want to read the rest of your letter and may also entice them to meet you for an interview.
4. Each candidate’s CPA Application resume should be ready for review. With that in mind, applicants should have already modeled their layout, content and expression of experience after the samples available. A proper profile or highlight section is a key to getting attention from a reviewer. As well, having bullets that include results-based information to back up what is showcased in the profile/highlight section has proven very successful in modeling past performance effectively. The Accomplishment Statement Table is provided in the Sauder Career Success Cycle for the purpose of helping applicants frame their experience in a compelling way.
5. Part of the application discussion may also include some dialogue about firm representatives, the strength of these connections and how they will be leveraged and referenced in the application. Rather than generalizing about firm staff, be ready to discuss and reference specific people, what they have said and how they have affected you.

By doing these few things, you will get a much higher level of career coaching during your appointment. Your career coach will then be able to give you a true review and provide valuable information to take your application to another level or simply validate the hard work that you have done.

Good luck! I look forward to meeting you and giving your application a meaningful review!

Russell Garrett is the Owner of Protocol Business Solutions, a Certified Career Consultant and the DAP Career Coach. He will be available to meet DAP students for CPA Application Reviews and Interview Preparation during in-person coaching appointments beginning August 24^th. He will also be delivering a workshop on CPA Recruit Interview Preparation on September 14^th. Appointments are now posted and can be registered for on COOL. Or, if you are a DAP student and have career related questions or wish to book an online coaching appointment, he can also be reached at dapcareersupport@sauder.ubc.ca.