This is the program they started a few years back right? Im actually curious how well its been implemented in MY.

The HK version of it was pretty meh I would say. The associates I knew that were on it kept on saying they get put on random jobs and at the end of 2 years didn't even know where they wanted to go to.

Completely different programs then. The one in HK you were sent to different departments to experience how they work. So 4 months in audit then another 4 months in deals / consulting in total for 2 years.

Worked with some of them in HK and you're not guaranteed a senior promotion unless you found a dedicated department within the 2 years

My personal advice is you should soldier on for at least 5 years in big4 hitting manager level before jumping ship. You will get the most out of your experience within big4 then. You don't learn shit in the first 2 years in big4. The skills you want to learn are project management / coaching / people skills, as they can be easily applied in your next role. This is if you are serious in progressing up the ladder quickly.

Also if your not happy about audit you can always consider jumping to deals / consulting after 2 years in audit. Its easier to transfer internally

1) The safest stream to pick if you are unsure about where you want to specialize in would be audit. Its easier to transition over to the other departments after a few years of audit experience

But if you know you want to specialise in advisory / deals then try to get into their graduate programs straightaway.

I spent my early years in audit before transitioning into deals. The core skills between both departments are pretty similar with the majority of people being ex-auditors


2) The key difference between audit and advisory/deals would be that audit is seasonal while advisory/deals is adhoc. With audit you have your peak seasons and probably some interim work in between.

Theres usually no work life balance during peak season but you can look forward to some off time after. With deals/advisory you could be working on back to back jobs for 6 months or even a year if you are unlucky.

But at the same time you could be lucky and have breaks in between your projects which makes it way better then audit.


Personally with the current economic climate I would suggest starting in audit for now. The advisory/deals departments aren't fairing to well atm

Which department did you interview for?

Ive heard its been difficult for departments to get people in due to the recent lockdown

Hmm really depends on how hard your department pushes for it.

Recently heard from a partner that offers were sent out but HR pushed the start dates back. He was a bit frustrated since people might end up rejecting the offer

Btw you didnt have an interview with a partner? Usually you would have one before getting an offer sent out. But this really depends on your level as well.

From what ive seen, MY likes to hire seniors / experienced associates for their advisory departments. Might find better luck doing a stint (1- 2 years) in assurance before making the switch over

But since your already doing internship at at a big, best bet is to get a partner to refer you.