Take 2: Doing an internship with KPMG

As I already gave some information about my internship with Bosch, I thought that now I can also give the first information about the internship with KPMG :-) First of all I was really surprised that they considered me at all...because the things I've heard about the Big Four is that they only take the best. Best grades, best curriculum, best whatsoever..and although I am satisfied with my grades, I must admit that I certainly do not count to the Best regarding the grades...but hey! I wanted to see some other areas to see what its like to do something completely different from what I've done before. And as I had to prolong my studies, I wanted to fill the year between bachelor and master with something good and interesting that would also look good on my CV. I also wanted to stay in my hometown and there is not really a great range of offers for internships here, that are paid. So I saw the vacancy on their website and I thought: Lets try! I filled in the online application, added my CV, cover letter, letters of recommendation etc and saved it. They responded very quickly, that they are very interested and that my application seems very promising! Wohoooo!! I was happy of course...so I waited for some more days and then I got a mail from the responsible HR department in Berlin, offering me a time and date for an interview, which I gladly accepted! They told me that I would have two male interviewers and that all travel expenses would be paid by the company! I was positively surprised because that was not the case with Bosch!

I came back from Switzerland and the following week I had the interview. I was pretty excited and tried to prepare myself with reading some publications of KPMG. The interview itself was pretty tough! I expected them to ask me also personal stuff, but actually they did not ask me a thing about me or my life! Instead, they asked me many, many things about auditing, balance sheets, what would I expect to be the tasks of an accountant, why did I choose KPMG etc...wow....was not easy! But I answered the question as good as I could and then they told me, how the work will look like. I thought I would work in the office a lot but it seems that after a short week of introduction (including one day in Berlin), we will directly start to visit the clients in Saxony! Sounds really different! But in a good way! They told me, that I will need a car, but that they pay me 0,50€ for every kilometer for gasoline and also will pay the costs for renting a car!!! WOOOOW!! How great is that! Of course they also told me, that the work would be tough and overtime gets another meaning here. But I already knew that, so it did not surprise me! At the end of my interview, they said in a day or two they will contact me and in case that they choose me, send me the contract within two weeks.
Two days later I got the call from one of my interview partners, who will also be my mentor during this internship, and he told me that they would be very happy to have me as their new intern! YEAH!!! I was really happy and also more surprised as he asked me about the exam that I have to retake (I had to tell them in the interview) and asked which topic it is and if they could help in some way! Really nice! He told me that I will start in november and end in april. One week later I received the contract, which I had to sign, add some other documents (certificate of matriculation...) and return it. I will receive 1000 € (gross) a month and travel expenses (hotels, km, car rental) will be paid by the company. :-)

Now I have to month to do university stuff, visit friends and so on! And I am looking forward to november!