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I got a call from the Google recruiter about my L7 em interview Google She said I did overwhelmingly good on all interviews except one had mixed feedback on a system design. No surprise because it was not a good interview. The recruiter said i had a choice to go to hiring committee, give referrals they could call about my system design or take another system design interview. I’m not confident about the system design because of the bad experience I had with the previous interviewer. What should I do?
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My experience is smaller firms work just as much, with much less perks.. but that of course could vary.
Make sure to look thoroughly into the group within the firm you're going to. Certain mid-size firms will hire you under the disguise of better hours when you'll ironically work more than you did at a Big 4. Also, make sure you absolutely nail down what work you will expect to get during the talks because the mid-tier I came from lies about the work to reel people in and then forces you to work for teams you didnt sign up for.
I've heard other mid-tier firms actually do have good WLB though so don't let that deter you. Just make sure you do your research.
PwC 1 speaks truth. Going through exactly that now.
I started at a smaller-ish firm (80 people). No regrets, learned a lot and met close friends that I will always have. But the service models at small firms can be different - lots of hand holding of clients and helping with any kind of issue they might have (SALT, sales tax, more advisory/consulting, etc.) since not all the clients have sophisticated accounting teams in place. You can get a great experience at a small firm and work less hours, but there’s less pay and no guarantee of working less hours outside tax season.
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I spent 7 years at big 4 (different service line) and found my WLB and that of those ahead of me to be unsustainable for me personally. I've been at RSM for a year and it's been a huge difference. Consider taking 1 step down (to an RSM/grant Thornton/BDO), which will provide more exposure to smaller clients but keep a bit more career optionality than a very small firm as a stepping stone. Maybe you'll find you can't stand the really small clients that would be your sole base at smaller firms
I think depends what business you're building on the side... If it's mainly working with the public, then not a huge deal to be from a small firm. On the other hand, if it's working with businesses and executives, they might respect your experience more from a large firm.
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Every situation is different. People, rightly or wrongly are biased towards Big4 experience when looking at exit opportunities. Its harder to move on from smaller firms, but smaller firms can provide certain lifestyle benefits. You generally give up benefits with smaller firms. Regional firms vary greatly. Lots of pressure to grow, fewer resources.