Face Time with Ernst & Young Recruiter Nancy Hudson

By Irene Kang

When I was asked to interview Nancy Hudson, the Campus Recruiting Manager as well as Assurance Manager at Ernst & Young’s Vancouver office, I realized that this would be a great opportunity for me to learn and share information with other students about the firm and the overall recruitment process.

Many readers will agree that it can be difficult for students to strike up conversations with firm representatives at networking events. Students may be nervous or they may not be used to the idea of speaking with professionals. If only they knew more about these representatives, so that they would have a better idea of what to talk about!

Nancy understands where students are coming from, and this is why she agreed to an interview with Career Insider Business to help students learn more about her as well as the firm, and answer questions all accounting students would want to know about the upcoming recruitment process.

On July 20^th just a little before 3:00 PM, I made my way to EY’s office, which is located in the heart of downtown Vancouver. Upon entering the office, getting greeted by the receptionist and sitting down in the waiting area, I noticed the office’s inviting atmosphere. The office had a very clean and modern interior, decorated with First Nations artworks that hung on the wall. The waiting area was complete with couches as well as coffee tables that had Ernst & Young’s publications and newspapers placed neatly on top for visitors and clients to read.

As I waited for Nancy, I was getting slightly nervous, as I did not know what to expect. After all, before being the interviewer for this article, I was a student who was about to meet a recruiter from a major accounting firm. However, Nancy was very down-to-earth, and even told me upfront that she’s not good at interviews (although her answers were great)! She made me feel comfortable, and I found myself acting naturally as I interviewed her.

How does the selection process work?
We have the CACEE review process which is going through CACEE forms and selecting students based on a myriad of factors such as academic background, extra-curricular activities, and work experiences. Once students are selected for interviews, interviews will be held one-on-one, usually with a manager and then a partner. If students are successful during the interview process, they are extended a formal written offer, and once we get confirmations back from the students that they have accepted our offers, we welcome them aboard.

What are the key qualities that your firm looks for in students?

We look for integrity, respect, and people who can work well in teams. We look for evidence that they can listen, learn, share, develop, and work in a team together. We look for people that have energy and enthusiasm, and for people that are passionate and excited about the opportunities at Ernst & Young. We also look for people that thrive on challenge, show flexibility, and are adaptable to different situations.

How do those qualities transfer to the workplace?
At the firm, it’s all about the people – people around the world working together to achieve a common goal. We do so with a shared set of values. At Ernst & Young, you’re part of a culture where respect, integrity, and teamwork form the way we do business.

What is the one thing that makes a candidate stand out?

There’s no one thing that a student can do to stand out. We look at a lot of different things, such as grades. Grades are an important part, but grades also need to be complemented with extra-curricular activities that demonstrate leadership, responsibility, and judgment. We definitely encourage students to take part in volunteer activities as well.

What are some common mistakes that all candidates should avoid making?

We recommend students to be proactive. They should prepare questions and do their research. This is because at the same time in networking events and interviews, students should also be determining whether Ernst& Young is a place they would like to be part of.

What are some networking tips you would like to share with students?

I enjoy having good conversations with students. During a networking event, students have the opportunity to be genuine and authentic, and I think that comes through when people are talking about things they are genuinely interested in rather than asking questions that they think would impress. If I can have a good conversation with students, it’s a good indication that I can work well with them and that I would enjoy working with them on a team.

What should students keep in mind during interviews?

Students definitely need to be prepared. They need to be able to express their background, career goals, strengths, work experiences, and everything they can apply to succeed in the organization.

What do you like most about your job?
I like meeting new people, and with my job, I meet new people every day. Every day is completely unique. I also work as manager in the Assurance group. Today, I was at a client’s site, doing a tour and meeting with the client’s staff. This afternoon, I’m doing an interview. Tomorrow, I will be on campus playing California Kickball and having a barbeque. Every day is completely different. I could be presenting to a large group of students, doing a social event, or even doing cooking lessons.

What are some things you have done outside of work this summer?

I have a little boy named Vinnie, who is 20 months old. We go to the beach and the park, and it’s really fun to watch him explore new things. I also have a Weiner dog named Frank. He was in the Weiner races at Hastings Park’s horse track. His photo was featured in the Vancouver Sun for the race. They had caught a great picture of him mid-flight!

You mentioned in your profile with us that you have great interest in soccer. What are some soccer-related activities that you take part in?

I play soccer competitively, which rounds up in June. I also have season tickets to the Whitecaps. They had a game against Manchester City on Monday night. The team from England came over to play, which was awesome. The Women’s World Cup was just on as well, and I’ve watched those games, which were really good. Watching them made me want to play every day! The Outgames are happening next week at UBC, and I have a lot of friends that are playing in that, so I hope to go out and catch a couple of the games.

I understand that fall is one of the busiest times of the year for accounting firm recruiters. How does your schedule look?

Pretty full. We have a lot of networking events for recruiting that we host for students, and there are also a lot of events that schools and student clubs put on that we attend as well. It is a pretty full schedule, but it is a lot of fun. Being on campus and meeting new students is something that energizes me.

Ernst & Young offers students leadership programs and competitions throughout the year such as the Emerging Leaders Program and Your World, Your Vision. What do these programs mean to you and the firm? What are your favourite aspects of these programs?

The firm tends to spend our community and charity dollars in three areas: education, entrepreneurship, and environment. We try to focus our efforts into those areas to make a greater impact. In Your World, Your Vision program, students working in teams will come up with plans focusing in those areas. Each team will make a proposal to the firm, and we will have people from our firm helping the teams through the process. Our office will select one team, help the team finalize the proposal, and submit it to the America’s recruiting team. The recruiting team will review all proposals from across the Americas and decide which one Ernst & Young will provide funds to support. I like the program because it gives students a way to give back to the community.

The Emerging Leaders Program is closer to my heart, because it is a program that I have done for the last few years. It’s a really fun way for students to come in and learn about the firm. When students come in to the office, they think we are going to be talking about Accounting and that it will be like having Accounting classes for two days, but it’s not like that at all. We had a lot of fun this year. The students got to do skits, which took them out of their comfort zones. We also got to do some cooking lessons. We made them build towers out of spaghetti and marshmallows. It’s a lot of fun as we do a lot of team-building activities, and we talk about communication, leadership, and achieving their goals and potentials.

What are some on-campus events students should look out for this fall?

There are information sessions that happen in the fall. They help students gain more knowledge about Ernst & Young and network with different representatives from the firm from all staff levels. We have a lot of events leading up to the fall, such as our intern and co-op programs. I definitely encourage students to try to get involved early with the firm. We also have the Emerging Leaders Program, which we take applications for around March. We select students in April and May, and we hold the two-day program in July. It’s a great way to meet new people and learn more about the firm, themselves, and each other.

Irene Kang is a student at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business.

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