I applied for the position through my school's website and was contacted for an interview the next week. The day before the interview, the firm held a social at their offices. A staff member was tasked with showing the attendees around and when we left the lobby and kitchen areas to see the "production room floor", she told us that this was where the "grunts" worked. Having studied Political Science for my undergraduate degree, I am admittedly very sensitive about being exploited as a worker, so when she called the associates "grunts" I mentally recoiled. After touring the grunt office, we ended up back in the lobby for snacks. That's when the partner-in-charge stepped off the elevator. He was greeted like a rock star. Everyone gathered around him to hear about how he'd broken his ankle playing soccer, how the culture of the firm was the greatest in the land, how accounting was about helping people and how the partner was looking forward to an evening of drinking with the female associates down at his favorite sports bar. When he asked the candidates if we had any questions, one guy who I'd had a few classes with asked, "Everyone here just seems so happy, it's amazing. What's the secret to that?" The answer, of course, was that Rothstein Kass was a wonderful place to work. Then I asked the partner, "What is it that continues to make accounting interesting for you?" How this stumped him, I don't know, but he complained about how he didn't know he'd be the one getting interviewed. My fate was sealed. The head recruiter didn't seem like the type to rock the boat by hiring a potential trouble-maker. When I had my formal interview the next day, the firm was half an hour late to start, no difficult questions were asked and I could tell it was just a formality since the appointment had already been set. When the recruiter emailed me that I had not been selected for a second round interview, I asked whether she'd be willing to give me any feedback about where I fell short. She never responded. The guy who'd asked about the happy people got an offer.

The first round took place at my university. It was very straight forward. The initial interviewer was basically looking to see if your personality would fit into her company's corporate culture. After about a week I received a call from HR informing me that they would like to invite me in for a second round. The second round consisted of an office tour with an associate, an interview with a manager (basic behavioral questions were asked) and two separate HR interviews. Tip the interviewee - Be well informed about the position you're interviewing for and try to leverage your strengths towards that position when answering questions.