GTP Students Connect with Employers at Tax Attorney Recruiting Event
The annual recruiting event connects highly qualified GTP candidates with tax employers across the country.
Each spring, students in Boston University School of Law’s Graduate Tax Program (GTP) are invited to participate in the Tax Attorney Recruiting Event (TARE). Now in its eleventh year, the event connects Tax LLM students from BU Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and University of Florida Levin College of Law with tax employers from across the US.
This year, GTP students joined representatives from top tax employers—including Amazon’s tax department, a number of law firms, and all of the “Big 4” professional services firms: Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)—for a series of interviews and networking events designed to facilitate the hiring process for tax law professionals. “We love this event,” says Emily Dorsey (’05), law student campus recruiter at EY. “Accounting firms look for tax attorneys with technical skills when they hire, and top tax programs like BU Law provide exactly that type of training.” According to Dorsey, over half of the lawyers hired by EY’s tax division last year had recently completed an LLM in Taxation.
To help students prepare for TARE, and the interview process in general, the GTP offers many opportunities for professional development. In addition to providing individual advice, BU Law’s LLM Professional Development Office organizes a range of presentations and workshops on such topics as job search strategies, networking tips, resume preparation, and interviewing skills. Beyond this support, students can take advantage of a lecture series on cutting edge issues; engage in pro bono opportunities with the School’s various nonprofit partners, such as the Harvard Federal Tax Clinic; and interact with practitioners through panel discussions and networking events held at the Boston area offices of the Big 4 and other employers.
Christine Townsend (LLM’17) came to BU Law for her LLM in Taxation after developing an interest in tax law while clerking for one of the Commissioners of the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board as a JD student at New England School of Law. Throughout the year, she capitalized on the professional development services offered by the School. “I found the mock interviews with the GTP career advisers very helpful because they helped me identify keywords and talking points to bring up in my interviews. I was able to incorporate my talking points as great conversation starters,” she says. “I also had a meeting with one of my professors before TARE and he really helped me figure out my selling points.”
Katie Nies, manager of talent acquisition at PwC, says the participating schools “prepare the students very well.” She also noted that TARE “gives candidates the ability to get a sense of the culture by meeting so many people in the firm.” Such interactions help students assess whether a potential employer is a good match.
Upon graduation, Townsend will join PwC as a tax associate in its McLean, Virginia office. “The TARE receptions really helped me obtain my job,” she says. “The event provided me with the opportunity to connect with the Big 4 recruiters, which was really helpful in being able to clarify my location preferences.”
The success of GTP graduates is tied not only to TARE, but to the full range of support the program provides its students and alumni. A survey of Class of 2016 graduates found that, as of January 2017, 90 percent of responding alumni (with 69 of 80 graduates responding) had found employment with professional services firms, law firms, and other employers.
“TARE and the GTP give you the opportunity to get your foot in the door with tax employers,” Townsend says. “From there, it is up to you to seize the opportunity.”
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