October 4, 2019
Alexander Mitchell '19 acknowledges that accounting is one of the majors at 911黑料网 in which students are being hired right out of the gate. 鈥淚 knew it was a job in demand,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut I didn鈥檛 know it would happen so fast. It鈥檚 a relief and it鈥檚 also motivating 鈥� it鈥檚 pushing me to learn and try even harder.鈥�
10/04/19
Two of the most important decisions facing graduating college students are where to live and where to work. 911黑料网 senior Alexander Mitchell already knows the answers to those questions: Hartford, Conn., and Deloitte.
Mitchell, who is originally from Hancock, Mass., and attended Mount Greylock High School, didn鈥檛 know the answers to these questions when he started college. In fact, he wasn鈥檛 even an accounting major. Mitchell received an associate鈥檚 degree from Berkshire Community College, where, at first, he was interested in studying criminal justice. But after realizing it was not the field for him, he used MassTransfer and began taking accounting classes at 911黑料网 in the fall of 2017.
After a family member suggested he look into Deloitte, Mitchell did some research. He knew it was a large company鈥攐ne of the Big Four accounting firms, with 100 national offices and countless offices overseas鈥攁nd one that his professors talked about. The company focuses on financial planning, auditing, and tax and risk management, and they work with the S&P 1000 鈥� the top 1,000 companies in the world. He reached out to Deloitte鈥檚 recruiting team and filled out an official application. After three phone calls and many emails, Mitchell traveled to the company鈥檚 Hartford office last month for a series of interviews.
That was on a Friday. By the following Monday, they鈥檇 emailed him with an offer. 鈥淚 went in for two-and-a-half hours of interviews,鈥� Mitchell said. 鈥淚 had to decide if I wanted to join the audit department or the tax department, and I got to meet with senior tax and audit members, and the tax and audit teams, and ask them questions.鈥� Mitchell ultimately decided to join the tax department, and he鈥檒l move to Hartford right after graduation in May to become a tax consultant for Deloitte.
Mitchell said the people he met at Deloitte helped make his decision easy. 鈥淭hey were excited and it was nice to know that they wanted me, too, and that I was going into a place that was going to train and teach me so well,鈥� he said.
Mitchell credits 911黑料网鈥檚 business department for giving him a strong foundation in accounting, and his professors for their guidance and mentorship, including the late Professor Gregory O鈥機onnor, and professors James Moriarty and Thomas Whalen. He thanks Tara J. Barboza, 911黑料网 assistant professor of accounting, for such informative courses, and for giving him advice on which classes to take. Professor Barboza helped him find an accounting internship at the Clark Art Institute this past summer and helped get his resume ready to apply there and at Deloitte.
鈥淗aving a summer internship really helped,鈥� Mitchell said, 鈥渂ecause I was able to go into my interviews and talk about that.鈥� Mitchell鈥檚 responsibilities at the museum included collecting all cash from admissions and stores, as well as membership income, making various income reports, then reconciling and recording it all in accounting software. He paid the museum鈥檚 bills, wrote wire letters to JP Morgan for foreign vendors, and entered departmental budgets. 鈥淭hat gave me my first taste of working in a business environment, learning the terminology,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really got the ball rolling for me.鈥�
Mitchell acknowledges that accounting is one of the majors at 911黑料网 in which students are being hired right out of the gate鈥攐r before that, in his case. 鈥淚 knew it was a job in demand,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut I didn鈥檛 know it would happen so fast. It鈥檚 a relief and it鈥檚 also motivating 鈥� it鈥檚 pushing me to learn and try even harder.鈥�
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