They never feed you the truth - What I've learned as a college student in Accounting

0:00They've been lying to you. The system, it's been feeding you the same narrative for years. Your professors, your friends and co-workers, companies that are actively trying to recruit you, they're preaching the same message and the same narrative, and it's designed to scare you. What's going on everybody? My name is Troy Hammond and currently I'm a junior studying accounting at the Pennsylvania State University and this upcoming summer I have an accounting internship. Now before I get into this video I want to make something

0:37very clear. I'm not interning at some big four company, some corporate finance bro with a perfect GPA whose advice to you is just going to be work harder. I'm not here to sell you that narrative. I'm a college student all just like you guys. But I've seen the steps and tools you actually need to prepare to excel your accounting and business career. The things that nobody told me, and the

1:05things that I found out the hard way. Let's get into this video. Here's what you've been told. If you don't have a 3.8 GPA, an internship with a big four company by your junior year, you're already behind. No return offer, no job security. Good luck. Professors say it. Recruiters imply it. Hell, even students preach it

1:28like it's gospel. But here's the thing. I've seen what matters. I've seen what works. That GPA is only one line. What matters, what actually separates people is everything else. Nobody preaches this early enough, but projects are experience. If you don't have a flashy internship yet, fine. But do something that shows that you're putting your skills and your experience to real world value and use. Analyze a company's financials. Do a case competition. Build something. Recruiters aren't just looking for a job title. They're looking for proof. They want to see that you can do the work. a strong project you can speak to during an interview that holds

2:16tremendous weight and volume more than a line on your resume could ever speak. I've seen people ace off interviews based off of personal projects. And I've seen people fail interviews because they failed to explain what their internship actually does, what value it added to them, and the value it's going to add to the next company. The work matters. start doing the work. Accounting firms, corporations, recruiters, they're all looking for the same thing. They want to see you getting engaged, involved with your campus events and activities. They want to see that you're doing more than just going through the motions of daily college life. Join a business or accounting

3:00club. Even if you're only joining the club for, let's just say, a semester, you're getting involved. You're meeting people. You're networking. And when it comes time for you to talk and meet with recruiters, interviewers, and potential people that want to hire you, you have more to talk about with them than simply just the coursework you've been taking. You don't have to be the president of every club or organization, but just showing up and being in the room. That is what puts you ahead of 90% of people who didn't even take the first step. Recruiting for accounting internships, especially at bigger firms, begin way earlier and way faster than a

3:40lot of students expect. You don't want to be at the end of your junior year, spring semester, struggling to search and find an internship. The benefit to applying early, companies are seeing your resume and your application as soon as possible, as fast as possible. A resume that's too long, bullet points that are listing job duties instead of showing real impact, inconsistent formatting, no numbers, no results, no outcome, no initiative, nothing that's telling or signaling to the reader what you actually did. Your resume is the first impression. If it looks lazy, they're going to assume you're lazy. A proper resume should be one page, clear formatting, action verbs, quantifying as

4:26much data and information as possible. If you've managed a club budget, put it on there. If you were a small member on a decision-making board, make sure to add that. If you save time on a process, say how much. Treat it like a business document because it is. This is the last one and arguably one of the most important. Your personality is your

4:49biggest asset. And yeah, a lot of it is. But the people who can move up, the people who can advance, they're not just technically strong. They can hold conversations. They can build relations with other people. Connect with people in the roles that you want. Connect with alumni and fellow students and people that are graduated, people that are in the field that you potentially have interest in. The narrative that they feed you, high GPA, big four internship or bust, that's definitely a way to build a future. But it's not the only

5:24way to build a successful career. Projects, clubs, early job search, a sharp resume, and networking. Those are the things that recruiters and companies are really looking and hiring for. I'm going to keep making videos like this. accounting and business advice from a student. Somebody that doesn't have it all figured out, that doesn't have the perfect and ideal life, but somebody that has seen firsthand what works and honestly what people really need to hear. If this video helped you or taught you anything at all, leave a comment down below, subscribe, like the video, let me know your thoughts. If you have any recommendations, tips, or any other

6:07topics that you want me to expand upon or talk about in the next video, and if you know somebody that needs to hear this, send it to them. I'll see you guys in the next one. Peace out.