Starting your career at an accounting firm: The role of personality in explaining career starts

Abstract

We investigate whether personality traits affect graduate business students’ decisions to start their career (1) in the accounting profession, and (2) at a Big 4 accounting firm. Survey data (n ¼ 348) show that students with lower levels of openness to experience are more likely to seek careers in accounting. Further, students with higher levels of narcissism are more likely to start their careers in a Big 4 firm. Additionally, the effect of narcissism on students’ decisions to seek careers at Big 4 firms is fully mediated by their attitudes toward the Big 4. Compared to students who seek careers at non-Big 4 firms, Big 4 career seekers believe that the Big 4 offer higher salaries, better opportunities for training, experience, and networking, more advancement opportunities, better career prospects, more interesting, challenging, and fulfilling work, more friendly colleagues, a better relationship with supervisors, more job security, and higher prestige.