Internships: How to Prepare and What to Expect

Be willing to learn. At the beginning of any internship, there will be a lot of information thrown at you. Don’t get weighed down when you can’t even remember all of it. That doesn’t mean shouldn’t try, but rather try your best to get as much information as you can. The more you learn in those first few days of training, the easier it will be later in your internship. And like any experience you will ever have, don’t be afraid to ask questions and have fun!

Try to absorb as much information as possible and to be open to all opportunities. The internship goes by so fast, so make sure you do everything that’s asked of you and put your best foot forward.

Come into it knowing that you’re probably not going to know anything (unless you have experience) and that’s okay. You’ll learn on the job and will make mistakes, but eventually, things will click. Take everything one day at a time and try to learn as much as you can. Don’t be afraid to ask questions on things you don’t know! Sure, it’s better to ask before you turn something in than to get review comments afterward, but you can also use that as a learning experience for the next job. And take lots of notes so you don’t have to ask the same question twice.

Attend the on-campus recruiting events (Meet the Accountants Night, etc.), be prepared and be outgoing. Once you find a firm you’re interested in, make a point to reach out and make connections with the employees. You’ll make some great connections and it definitely helps to know some people if you go out to visit or when you come to work the first day.

Ask as many questions as you and be prepared to learn a lot in a matter of a few days.

Don’t get frustrated. A lot of things do not make sense at first or are not meant to be understood by you, but you start to see and hear things over and over again and it starts to click.

It was the people. I was looking for a place where you can learn a lot and have some fun while doing that. So if the people are creating an atmosphere that promotes both those things, it seemed like it would be a good fit.

During the recruiting/interviewing process, it was made clear to me that the people here are passionate about what they do. I followed BMF on social media and seen all the events they participate in and the employees seemed to be part of that fun.

The size of BMF seemed perfect to me. I had no interest in going to a large national firm, and many of the smaller firms don’t have as much structure in place. I wanted a regional firm that was big enough to provide a lot of opportunities, but not so big that it made you feel like a small part in a huge machine. I felt like BMF fit that ideal. And BMF plans so many events throughout the year – that’s a huge plus, too!

I chose BMF because I connected to the people very quickly and I loved the atmosphere in and out of the office. The things they do outside of work like the events and community service/fundraising also played a part in my decision.

My older brother worked here and he told me it was his favorite place. He said it’s all a big family.

It was the interest shown in me by the recruiting staff. BMF wasn’t event even on my radar, but when their team presented at our Beta Alpha Psi meeting, they remembered more things about me and my plans for the future than I ever remember telling them.

Learning the procedures. Learning what they expect from you and how you can complete those expectations. But I will say BMF does a great job of teaching and explaining the tools to complete those expectations.

My biggest challenge has been not knowing what certain things are. It can be hard to comprehend data when you don’t even know what it is in the first place. Goes to show that there is still a lot to learn, but everyone has been extremely helpful to explain and clear things up. It makes it a lot easier.

Learning when to ask questions. Sometimes when you run into a problem you can’t figure out, see if you can try to resolve on your own first. But when you come across something you’ve never seen and can’t figure out on your own, it might be better to ask for help instead of spending too much time trying to figure out what to do. Learning to distinguish between the two was a challenge at first, as I tend to figure things out on my own.

My biggest challenge has been the tax returns themselves. I haven’t taken many accounting classes, nor do I have any prior experience in accounting, so it’s been challenging to pick up so much information so fast. Maybe my advice should be to take an accounting class or two before interning at a CPA firm!

My biggest challenge so far is moving from one return to another and remembering the difference of each.

Traveling. I am a very routine-based person, so traveling to different locations daily and having my schedule fluctuate, it made me very uneasy at first. But I’m getting used to the idea that traveling to clients is just the same as traveling to work, only I have to take more things with me.

The people. There are a lot of things BMF has going on, but by far, the people who work at BMF make it a great place. Everyone is friendly, knowledgeable and patient. They don’t want you to just get the tax returns completed, but rather they want you to learn about the different insides and outs of the software they implement, different tax rules , etc. Other internships may have you doing mindless work or making coffee runs. That doesn’t exist here. You are working like you are a part of the team and that makes going to work every day a lot easier. And you only need to get your own coffee from the Keurig.

The culture. Everyone is extremely helpful and willing to show me the way. I also really enjoyed going snow tubing and meeting people that I don’t see or work with every day.

I like how things are structured. The returns are placed in a job pool and ranked by difficulty, which make it easy to know what’s in your ability to complete. Tax season can be overwhelming and you will ultimately work on things that you do not understand, but BMF does a great job of aligning jobs that complement your skill level. I also like that they have assigned people scheduled to answer questions each day, so you always know who to go to with questions. Also, the e3 Committee plans a lot of events throughout the tax season which gives you things to look forward too beyond work.

The outside events where people across the different departments from both offices come together. We’re pretty busy at work and don’t get a lot of time to socialize or talk to people who aren’t directly around you or in your department so it’s nice to have that outside time where you can get to know everyone and partake in fun events.

What I like most about BMF are the people and how it’s a very friendly environment.

I feel like enjoying your day is encouraged. I always thought an office job was come in, do your work, then leave. But at BMF, it is nice to be able to have a little fun and enjoy your day while also working.