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I was in the final stages of an interview with Microsoft two weeks ago, in partner marketing. Then the recruiter told me they were putting the hiring process on hold to assess the need for the role. Well, then we heard about Microsoft layoffs last week. Seems like most were in Xbox and Project Alpha but there’s not a lot of information out there. Should I hold out any hope that I’m going to get this job? Any insights on how much these layoffs have impacted the marketing org and/or new hiring?
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StartUp on Netflix is really good.
Top consulting firms right there!!

Bain & Company Which are the best consulting firms and practices for Climate Change & Sustainability, especially in the Canadian geography? Also, please suggest the best Canadian city for consulting jobs.
McKinsey & Company | Boston Consulting Group | Bain & Company | Kearney | LEK | EY | Oliver Wyman | PwC | Deloitte
#ClimateChange #Sustainability #Water #ESG
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^ I looked on DPN once to see if "DC Partner" was a thing. It's not. Do a search for "CPA", filter to US, Partner/Principal. There's a few Principals with CPAs, but they're listed as "DC Principal".
Needless to say, I was disappointed.
You could be a Partner instead of a Principal?
Oh damn. Props for doing the research @D1!
Dude don't do it man
I thought there was a class work hours requirement to sit for the CPA? Like you can't take it without taking enough classes to earn a master's in accountancy. That may just be TX though
OP, what practice area are you in? Consider CFA or other relevant certification. I agree with PwC1 in terms of difficulty and length of time required. I failed the Tax exam first go round with about ~25hrs study time.
Following 👀 same boat 🚣
The cake was a lie, huh.
Between the PMP and the GMAT, was one of those supposed to be difficult?
CPA doesn't strike me as particularly useful unless you want to go into accounting or corporate finance maybe? I honestly have no interest in either so I never looked into it. My mom got one and then never used it her entire working life except to do her taxes.
I dunno, haven't taken the PMP but heard it was one of those tests you could pass as long as you had a pulse. Took the GMAT a while back but also didn't strike me as particularly onerous so I'm just a little unsure of the scale here.
There are class requirements to sit for CPA, yes. I have a CPA. Could be useful in certain fields of consulting, likely not necessary. I passed all four tests the first time, probably put roughly 80 hours of studying into each test. Passing all four the first time is by no means unheard of, but also not super common. It's fairly hard. I started in accounting and so firm paid for top notch Becker review software.
I'd say CPA is ~75-125 per test to pass. It has been useful, even though it is no where near required for what I do. The bonus for passing my first year at the firm was nice too
There are plenty of other certs or resume fodder you could add without getting something as time intensive as a CPA and probably more related to our industry. Are you aligned to a particular technology within your practice? Get a cert for that. Learn a coding language. Get six sigma certified. I guess it would help to know what type of consulting you're currently doing. If you're in financial, then yes the cpa might be better than what I listed but highly doubt it will help you all that much unless you plan to go into accounting, audit or plan to work for a financial institution when you hang up your cape
@kpmg1, the masters in accounting definitely helped cut the required study time down
PMP is a joke! CPA is an absolute grind. I did it while working. It's somewhat helpful but not as important as in advisory.
Sounds like the CPA exams require significantly more time and effort than the GMAT (makes sense as they're more specialized)! Gives me more appreciation for my buddies in Tax/Audit.
How difficult is the exam and does it hold market value outside of the firm? If the PMP is on one side the GMAT is on the other, where do you think it falls on the spectrum in prep time and difficulty?
What value does GMAT hold outside business school? It's not a cert.
Using GMAT as a standardized test and yes, the GMAT is supposed to be harder than the PMP. Seriously?!
Ok, point is- how many hours per week would I have to study to pass? It seems like a serious test. The PMP seems like a joke and the GMAT was difficult for me.