Careers

What do you like about working in the Advisory practice?

FRM Associate #1

Advisory provides an eclectic environment where I feel I can handle a variety of engagements, not specifically just one area.

IT Advisory Associate

Advisory really gives the opportunities to challenge yourself and show yourself what you know and show other people what you know, in a situation that will allow you to grow as quickly as you can handle. The specialization is like a job function but what you get out of it is why advisory really is beneficial for the people who work there. You get so much exposure to different industries that you can then learn more generalized knowledge and apply your specialization to that.

FRM Sr. Associate #1

I have the opportunity to work with people from all different backgrounds, all different expertises. When you are on an engagement and you need to have a certain expertise, there is oftentimes someone there who might have more knowledge to help you try and accomplish whatever you are trying to do. So in that regard there is always a lot of good talent to refer to, good resources on the engagements.

IT Advisory Associate

It comes down to probably three things. One was the flexibility of schedules and the availability of traveling. I really wanted to travel. I do a lot. The second is the people. I have done a number of internships and the internship with KPMG was by far not only the most rewarding from an intellectual standpoint but both from a relationship standpoint. I networked here more than other places. I built relationships that I wanted to see continued in the future. The third would just be the sheer amount of information that I gathered. In a very short amount of time I was able to learn a lot about industries that I had never known before. It really showed me the wealth of information that was out there to be gotten.

What skills does someone need to be successful in Advisory?

FRM Sr. Associate #1

One thing I can say from my experience is you work on every engagement you are working with almost entirely different people. So you really have to have good people skills and know how to maybe take on different roles within a different group. You might have more of a leadership role in another group. You might have not so much a leadership role but more of a support role. You gain good people skills because at every engagement you are working with different people and you are faced with different challenges.

FRM Sr. Associate #2

I'm in FRM but I have had the opportunity also work on ORM engagements and also IAS engagements and even audit engagements as well. So it has provided a lot of exposure to a variety of engagements, industries and clients.

FRM Associate #2

I think what is beautiful about the perspective we stand in is you get the opportunity to read and research and always be at the top of what it should be. For a long-term career goal, for instance, I said that was always what I wanted to do, that is something that I really appreciate about being here in this role at KPMG. Someone is always sending you email and you are always reading and you always stay on top of what is expected in regulatory and just general best practices.

How does working in Advisory help your career?

FRM Associate #2

I definitely think KPMG is a great place to build a career. I interned at another big four while I was in school. The experience, quite frankly, was like night and day. I like the culture. It definitely leaves you the opportunity, if you are a go-getter, to make your way, which can be a little scary, if you are used to a more structured environment. But if you are that type of person and you are a driven person, of all the places that I have worked, this is probably the most fertile way to build yourself and testing against your own standards and you own measures of what success is.

FRM Sr. Associate #1

It is just broadening your horizons, maybe enlightening you to something you would like to focus on that you didn't know about, working with talented, smart people from all sectors of industry and business and getting a variety of engagements to get experience on. The other thing is it can expose you to something that you might never have gotten experience in. You think, well, this is really interesting and maybe you want to focus the rest of your career in that direction. That is another thing it offers.

FRM Associate #2

I definitely do see in terms of building a career here is that the more that I stay here and the more that I try to reach out, when I'm in the office try to reach out, and meet people, the more that I will be able to grow. There is definitely absolutely a period of time it takes that building, and it's not just the fact that you're a good worker. It's a relationship that you have to build.

FRM Sr. Associate #2

It is in some respects in that partners and senior managers are very open to talking to you. Many times I would just knock on somebody's door and walk in and ask them about the different types of engagements that they have available, talk to them about my interests, and I find that they are very accessible to tell them what I want to do in terms of my career.

IT Advisory Associate

No matter what you decide, if you want to take it all the way to the top, partner, and whatever your choices from there, or if you want to develop yourself as far as you can and see what opportunities are available, it's a great place to develop your career and see what you can make yourself into.