Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Kate Ross is a third-year commerce student majoring in Accounting. She chose Dalhousie’s commerce program for the mandatory co-op experience.  

Last fall, Kate secured her second work term with Deloitte as a staff accountant. She was attracted to the job because she wanted to pursue an accounting designation.

“ My accounting professor in first-year said that if I wanted to pursue an accounting designation, I should work for one of the accounting firms. After that, I reached out and connected with people at all of the big four accounting firms and found Deloitte the most appealing.”

While talking about managing heavy workloads, Kate said “I tried to make my job search as personal as possible by meeting people for coffee and discussing their role so that I got a feel for the company. This made balancing my job search and school easier as I could dedicate an hour to getting to know someone and also get my name in with the company all the while focus on my studies for the rest of the time.”

Kate’s short-term goal is to start full-time at Deloitte and complete the CPA designation. However, in her long-term she does not plan to work as an accountant for her whole life.  After she earns her CPA designation, she plans to go for Law school or switch into a consulting role.

Tip of the week from Kate:

My biggest advice when looking for a job is to find a connection in that company you’re applying to and take them out for coffee. This shows the company that your very interested and keen to work there. When interviewing, always stand when someone else is standing and shake their hand when you enter and leave the interview.