Campus Recruiting & Internships

Campus Recruiting Overview

HW&Co. recruits at several Ohio universities each year, seeking accounting students or recent graduates interested in internship and staff opportunities. The internship position is one of great importance that allows us to build the future of our firm. Interns receive a combination of classroom and on-the-job training, along with a designated mentor to ask questions and seek support throughout their experience. We offer two separate internships each year – one during the spring semester and one in the summer. We invite you to take a close look at both of our programs.

Accounting interns are responsible for routine assignments based on their area of focus, and report to Senior Accountants and Job Managers. Each intern is assigned a mentor for the duration of the internship. They are a resource for a variety of questions on day-to-day work, but also on the role and public accounting.

Busy Season Internship

With a choice between audit, healthcare, private business advisory, or tax, our spring semester internship allows one to explore their career preferences in a real-world setting. It runs from January to April, and interns can anticipate working 40-55 hours a week. We do have a requirement that busy season interns take off from classes during the spring semester to be able to successfully keep up with learning opportunities and workload. The value of the busy season internship includes gaining experience during a crucial part of the year, the opportunity to work on a variety of clients and work, and so much more!

Recruiting begins about a year out from the planned internship start. The position is posted in January, and we showcase this to students during spring campus recruitment events and on job boards. We continue recruiting until all openings have been filled, concluding no later than October.

Summer Internship

With a choice between audit, tax, or private business advisory, our summer internship allows our interns to experience public accounting client experiences with the added opportunity for leadership development. It runs from June to August, and interns are expected to work up to 30 hours a week.

Recruiting begins about 10 months out from the planned internship start. The position is posted in August, and we showcase this to students during fall campus recruitment events and on job boards. We host HW&Co. Days, one in Cleveland and one in Columbus, in October and prioritize recruitment for the summer internship during this time. We continue recruiting until all openings have been filled, usually concluding in December.

Our Interview Process

We place emphasis on the candidate’s experience throughout the recruitment process to provide insight to all potential interns about the position, firm, and culture.

Generally, the process starts with an initial conversation on campus and/or through a phone screen with HR for interested candidates. This is meant to gauge a candidate’s areas of interest, extra-curriculars/work experience, and relevant coursework that has been completed.

For candidates who progress from the initial conversations, they’re invited to HW&Co. Day. This is a chance to visit our offices, socialize with firm professionals, and engage in a case study. Each attendee also has a one-on-one interview with a Senior Accountant or Manager. For any candidates invited to HW&Co. Day but are unable to attend or it’s too far out, we arrange the interview portion of this via Teams.

Following these interviews, we gather feedback and assessments from all of the interviewers to narrow our decisions on who we will progress to the offer stage. Offers are communicated and candidates will have a two-to-four-week window to accept or decline the offer.

The best places to learn more about our internship openings are Handshake, Indeed, LinkedIn, and our website.