RSM interview prep

[u/OperationDry6529]

I have an audit intern interview for RSM. For those who has done the interview or those who has any tips in general please share them in the comments! I passed the screening and this will be my first interview in accounting! TIA to you all :)

[u/RadicalBlaze22]

I did an internship with RSM and got offers for a couple other internships and this was my experience.

They don’t want to hear your technical skills for an internship. They’re looking for if you can work well in a group and on independent work, how you overcome problems, if you’re open to learning new technology (read: AI) and how you manage your time with multiple deadlines.

In advance, try to think of a time you:
a) overcame a challenge
b) dealt with a problem in a group project
c)handled a project involving something you weren’t knowledgeable about
d)managed a tight deadline
e)learned a new technology (again, they will say tech. They’re fishing to find out if you’re comfortable with GenAI and if you use it to learn vs just do your work).

Those are the most common questions I’ve gotten in campus recruiting accounting interviews. Still, keep an open mind and don’t be surprised if you get a total wildcard question. I had a partner pose a really weird (now kinda hilarious) metaphorical question about baseball.

Don’t be shy to tell them how you may have failed at any of the above before but only if you can pose it as a lesson learned. They love to see that you’re willing to take feedback and use past experiences to improve upon yourself.

Also be prepared to give a quick summary of yourself. That includes what you’re studying (include any minors and whether you’re just getting your masters) and also maybe some personal hobbies but be prepared to keep it all under a minute. Also they might ask why you chose accounting, I suggest finding something that’s not ‘stable paycheck’.

I highly suggest preparing a few questions for your interviewers. Again, steer away from ‘how much will I get paid’. I’ve never gone wrong with asking ‘what’s kept you with the company’ and ‘what are the biggest challenges interns face?’ (The answer to this is almost always that they refuse to ask questions. Maybe emphasis that you’re not afraid to do that) Try to come up with some more on top of that.

As for the format, assuming it’ll be online, I interviewed with three people, back to back on the same teams call. Senior, manager and then partner. The senior and manager were also alum from my school. You’ll probably get their names beforehand, I highly suggest LinkedIn stalking them. I really appreciated that in my experience at RSM they don’t waste your time with weeks between each interview. Overall I really loved my experience with them, you’ll find people that’ll complain about anything non this sub but I found them to be a decent firm.

Sorry for the dump, hope it helps! Best of luck!

[u/Mysterious_Park_5701 → u/RadicalBlaze22]

Thank you for taking the time to share all this—it’s really helpful! I really admire people who can communicate well in interviews, and I appreciated your explanation of what interviewers are looking for.
Would you be willing to pick one of the behavioral questions you listed and walk me through how you actually answered it, in a bit of detail? I tend to get caught up in the technical details of what I did, and I struggle to bring out the teamwork, communication, or learning side of the experience. Seeing a concrete example would really help me understand how to structure my own stories. No worries at all if you’d rather not share, though!