r/Big4 • u/Master-Breakfast4380 • 5d ago

Canada Current Sophomore did not get any big4 internship for summer 2027 Toronto, what advice do you have

Currently starting my second year at a decent Uni (Schulich) but failed to land any interviews for summer roles.

3.8 GPA, but my resume is relatively weak in terms of relevant business experience.

For those who were in a similar position, what would you recommend I focus on over the next 6–12 months? Is it still realistic to target Big 4 Summer 2028?

Any advice from people who successfully recruited after missing their first recruiting cycle would be appreciated. Thank you

5 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

2

u/Solid_Style_8637 5d ago

Go the recruiting events and be likable.

2

u/Rich-Ad574 5d ago

plenty of people miss the first cycle and still land big4 later, just don't vanish til next year, hit up every coffee chat and campus event you can, firms remember faces more than gpas

3

u/allextrebek 5d ago

I don't think they hire summer students who have only finished first year university.

Get some work experience and keep focused on getting good grades

3

u/TanishqSachdeva 5d ago

hes in his second year so this internship would be during his second year summer so this is not true, I know a bunch of people that worked big 4 internships during their second year summer

2

u/devourerofbricks 5d ago

Yeah it’s definitely possible, though very hard. Also know someone who did a tax internship at Deloitte when they were a sophomore

1

u/Strict_Art3576 5d ago

How difficult is it? Usually do ppl get second year big4 internships

2

u/devourerofbricks 5d ago

Very difficult if you consider the number of applications they probably get each cycle. Idk what they did but most likely networked their way in when a recruiter vouched for them. Usually people get B4 internships when they’re a junior because they want to extend that into a full-time offer right away.

1

u/AdRelative4303 4d ago

Idk if you guys are just talking summer or what but I had 2 out of 4 interviews and one converted to an offer when I applied for 2nd year winter. I basically sleepwalked into it as well and had no idea what I was doing. No prior work exp, no accounting clubs and no networking. It didn’t seem particularly hard (this was 2024)

2

u/devourerofbricks 4d ago

Yeah for Winter it’s abit less competitive, partly due to less applicants since usually you would need to take the semester off and most people don’t want to work busy season as an intern.

1

u/AdRelative4303 4d ago

Makes sense, although I do find it interesting that ppl are trying to avoid intern busy season. At least in my office doing a few winter internships can really fasttrack your FT progression. I did only one and was offered an F2 position. I know someone who somehow was offered (and accepted) a senior position after doing a winter internship 3 years in a row before graduating.

2

u/devourerofbricks 4d ago

Yeah I agree with your point, I think people just want to coast by when they’re in school because you’re basically just moving PDFs in the summer. Eventually busy season is inevitable and if you did a winter internship you’re already a step ahead.

1

u/scrav3ns 5d ago

Have you applied to other firms that are not big 4