Ernesto Escareno: "Accounting Job with Weyerhaeuser" (April 2006)

All the time I spent walking in and out of the Career Planning office at St. Edward’s University has definitely paid off. From my freshman year through my senior year I met with Career Counselors and the Internship Coordinator. I am enjoying my job in Federal Way, Washington as an Accountant-I for the firm Weyerhaeuser.

I am working on three projects as part of the Enterprise Accounting Center which is composed of 43 members and is the biggest group in the accounting department. My projects involve: separating invoices from two plants and creating JV entries and memos, making entries on plant loss claims decisions, and the administration of two profit centers. I’ve experienced “Closing Week”. One week each month all the accountants in my group arrive as early as 5:00 a.m. and leave past 12:00 midnight. Everybody rushes to finish their projects and assignments before the deadline. Cramming for finals is easy compared to this.

In three months I will become the dedicated accountant responsible for three plants and will be responsible for closing all the accounting work for those plants.

While my academic studies prepared me for my job, the Career Planning office guided me in finding this job. As a freshman and a sophomore the Career Counselors encouraged me to develop my career portfolio by getting as much experience as possible. I participated in campus organizations, I joined professional groups, I participated in research projects, and I worked at several internships. I attended the annual Job Fairs to look for internships and jobs. I met with the Internship Coordinator for leads on internships and I met with Career Counselors many times to update my resume and to learn how to create a cover letter. The Career Planning office also helped me learn how to network, they connected me with on-campus recruiters, they helped me rehearse for my job interview with Weyerhaeuser, and they even taught me about business dining etiquette. Gracias a todos en el departamento de Career Planning por prepararme para este trabajo.