Big 4 Guru

August 2011: Big4Guru.com proudly presents a

Working for the Big 4 - The First Year All-Star

 A Battle Plan to Outperform Your Peers

In your First Year with the Big 4 

It has been over three years since the initial release of our Big 4 Hiring Guide.  Thousands of readers and several version updates later, we are thrilled to announce our second book.  Time and time again we are asked the question:

 “I just got hired with PwC (or EY, Deloitte, KPMG) – now what?!” 

Our readers want to know what they can expect in their first year with the Big 4 and how they can maintain their “Big 4 Guru” edge and rise to the top of their class.  Our new book, Working for the Big 4 -The First Year All-Star, answers those questions by teaching you how to be a First Year All-Star. 

<<Excerpt from Working for the Big 4 - The First Year All Star>>

INTRODUCTION: Entering a Whole New World

You will learn more in your first year with the Big 4 than you learned in 4 or 5 years of college.  In fact, you may learn more in your first month.  Take everything you know about accounting, all the debits and credits, all the journal entries, and throw them out the window.  Working for the Big 4 is a whole new world and for the first year associate it is an exhilarating miasma of stress and glory.

The Big 4 Firms are organized in “classes.”  The people who start working with the firm at your level at the time that you do will become your “class” in the firm.  You will spend countless hours with your class, go to trainings with your class, hang out at firm social events with your class and become great friends with (some) of your class.  However, you’ll also be ranked against the other members of your class and compete for projects and promotions with your class.  There will come a day when some members of your class are promoted and some are not.  The impression you make in your first year with the Big 4 and your standing in “the class,” will set the tone for your career with the Big 4.  Want to put yourself on the fast track? Become the All-Star in your class.

What is the All-Star?

 Every class in the Big 4 has at least one All-Star.  It is not something that is talked about openly, but it is understood by everyone.  The All-Star is the person in each class who turns the head of the Seniors and Managers.  The All-Star is one of the few names in the new class that trickle up to the conversations of the partners.  The All-Star is the associate that the Seniors fight over when building their teams.  The All-Star is the person that even the Experienced Associates fear, because they take work away from them.  Most importantly, the All-Star is the one that gets ranked #1 during the annual performance review, gets the biggest raise and is the fastest to be promoted. 

Who is the All-Star?

Everyone wants to be the All-Star and everyone thinks they will be the All-Star.  Most Big 4 employees are used to being the best in their class, used to winning at everything they do.  They assume that since they stood out in college, they will stand out in their career.   Unfortunately, the whole firm is made up of people who were at the top of their class in school.   So who becomes the All-Star?  The All-Star is the person that combines hard-work, insight, social skills and accounting knowledge to become a trusted member of their team.  The All-Star builds a rapport with their Senior and is trusted with advanced work.  The All-Star knows that while the number of hours he works is important, it is what he does in those hours that will set him apart.  The All-Star knows how to utilize often overlooked firm resources to give him a huge, but fair, advantage over the rest of the class.  The All-Star knows how to navigate the many social events of the firm, including team lunches, golf outings and holiday parties. 

What Does it Take to be the All-Star?

Becoming the All-Star requires a fierce determination.  The All-Star cannot be complacent to just “get the job done” or “do what everyone else does.”  The All-Star cannot get his work done in a timely and concise manner and consider himself done.  The All-Star must decide early on that he will be playing a different game than his peers.   He must think 5 moves ahead of them.  When everyone else is worried about their first-year performance appraisal, the All-Star is already thinking like a partner. 

The Pyramid vs. the Ladder

You often hear the phrase “climbing the corporate ladder.  There is no ladder in the Big 4.  Instead, there is a pyramid.  On the top of the pyramid are partners and on the bottom are first year associates.  As you move up the pyramid to experienced associates, then to senior associates, managers, senior managers, and directors, the pyramid shrinks.  Why is that?  Because not everyone can move up in the Big 4.  At the Big 4 you either move “up” the pyramid or walk “out” the door.  It is that simple.  While this may sound harsh, it is a reality of the Big 4 model. Not every first year can become a partner.  This is bad news for some and great news for the All-Star.  Why is that?  Because at the very, very top of the pyramid there is a great party and only All-Stars are invited.

Do you want to be the All-Star? 

If you are interested in being the All-Star of your class, then this book is for you.  The tone of this book is that of a friend talking to a friend.  I will teach you how you can become the All-Star in your class and give you the tools to blaze your own trail and rise to the top.  I hope you’re ready for the ride of your life!

To Read the Entire First Chapter - CLICK HERE

Product Details

Format: Digital Download (PDF) 

Language: English

Return Policy: 60 day, 100% money back (details)

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