Preparation for Your Career

At SMU, besides equipping our graduates with the technical knowledge and skills necessary for their future jobs, career preparation adopts a start-to-finish approach comprising career talks, employer networking, career counselling, resume writing and ‘The Finishing Touch’ course which imparts etiquette, grooming and interview skills.

At the school level, the School of Accountancy (SoA) encourages students to immerse themselves in real working environments to prepare them for their foray into the working world. Accountancy students have opportunities for multiple internships in different companies either locally or overseas. Such exposure enables students to familiarise themselves with a variety of working environments and adapt more quickly in their careers.

The outcome of this is that our BAcc graduates continue to do well in the Graduate Employment Surveys (GES). In the latest survey (2011 GES), our graduates outperformed their peers from the other local universities with both the highest graduate employment rate and mean monthly salary. Click here for more details of the 2011 GES.

INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

In addition to imparting technical skills and know-how to students, SoA aims to groom students into confident individuals prepared for the working world. The best way to do so would be to immerse students in an internship which emulates the experience of a full-time employee in the organisation.

In 2011, about half of our students pursued internships both locally and overseas, of which about 56% opted to intern in the Big 4 and accounting firms, about 16% chose to intern in banks and the remaining in industries such as consultancies, insurance, asset management, hospitality, manufacturing, MNCs and government organisations.

SoA introduced a Modified Term 2 to create a unique internship window from December to February, which coincides with the accounting industry’s peak period. This provides students with the optimal first-hand experience of a career with the Big 4 and/or other accounting firms.

Our students have found their internship experiences so beneficial that many opt to do multiple internships to explore the various career options available to them. On average, more than half of our students do 2 to 6 internships, which help them make informed career choices. Many are also talent-spotted and receive 1 or more job offers before they graduate.

INTERNSHIPS OVERSEAS

In recent years, an increasing number of BAcc students have opted to pursue internships overseas. In 2010, our students pursued internships in countries such as China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, USA and Vietnam, working in MNCs such as UBS AG and AIA.

These students who opt for overseas internships have the opportunity to gain both international exposure and training experience simultaneously. They also have the privilege to observe business environments beyond Singapore and understand business cultures in other countries. Such experiences help prepare students to be internationally mobile in their careers.