Confidence, Knowledge, and a Strong Resume- Akshay's journey to KPMG!
My journey to KPMG landed me as an Associate 1. The entire placement process with KPMG was very well organized. KPMG is a world leader in excellence and performance. Nothing short of excellence is what I felt while appearing for the Interview.
The whole process included two rounds.
Round 1: Online test: Which included questions on aptitude, logical reasoning, accounting and auditing, and email writing. These are all skills that one acquires and sharpens by being attentive and diligent with everything they do.
Round 2: Was an HR round where they first asked us questions based on resume and then some questions related to various branches of accounting. The world wide web has numerous resources. Here one can find a plethora of questions. These not only tell you what to expect, but also helps you pre-frame your answers.
Frankly speaking, I was at home when I got the email for the campus drive. This left me with little time to prepare. Since I am good at aptitude, the first round was easy to crack. This being my life’s first interview ever, I was a bit nervous before the HR round. But I knew that I should be confident during this round while answering the questions and that's exactly what I did. 50% of the answers given by me were wrong but I didn't change my answer even when the HR said that it is wrong.
One important advice would be to make your resume strong. It should include various skills e.g. I had participated in various events and was a part of the organizing team for a few. This added a lot to my resume. Along with the research paper published in a renowned Journal. So, I would suggest you include all the things which you think are unique and can be a value add. Every single certification matters, no matter how small.
I did not feel to negotiate on the compensation front. It was my first and last interview, but overall, it was good. I learnt that we should have confidence in ourselves and that's what gives you a major boost to perform the best that you could and the best that you should.