Q&A corner

Helena Caluwé

Hi, I'm Helena Caluwé. In September 2019, I started my fifth year with PwC. What a ride it's been! I'm on the Indirect Tax team, where we deal with a range of issues for large multinational companies. One day I'm making calculations on the potential impact of Brexit on a company, and the next I'm guiding a client through the wild seas of the world trade wars.

PwC lets me grow together with my clients, and I've really expanded my professional network. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I'm my clients' trusted advisor and go-to person when they need help. When I graduated from college, I feared that the learning part would be over - not so! Every day, PwC gives me the freedom to learn something new and further develop my skill set. Last week, I had the opportunity to follow a three-day 'leading teams' training programme, where I learned how to get the most out of the team and myself. The saying "work hard, play hard" is true at PwC.

Often on a Friday, after a busy week, our team goes the local bar ('t Zonlicht) for a well deserved beer - or white wine in my case - and snacks. On the weekends I like to explore new restaurants or stay in and cook for friends. I like everything about Italy: the cities, climate, wine, food... My favourite dish to make is a 'risotto alle verdure'.

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Questions answered by Helena

What are my mobility options?

Internationally

We have an extensive international network across PwC Europe and PwC Global. We encourage our people to discover new cultures and new ways of working. We offer secondments of up to two years and can assist with long-term relocation to PwC offices abroad. We’ll support you every leg of the journey!

Internally

If you decide you’d like to broaden your skill set, we encourage you to explore the possibilities within other PwC departments and services.

Can I start working at PwC when I’m still studying?

It would be great to welcome you even sooner, but in a lot of cases, PwC jobs require you to have completed your final studies before you start. But don’t worry, you don’t have to have graduated yet to apply! Most candidates apply when they are still doing their finals. There are some exceptions. For exceptional students, obviously.

Are there other PwC positions that aren’t listed on the website, like Legal Consultant?

All open positions for PwC are posted on the website. If they're not online, it means that we're currently not recruiting for them or that they've been filled. For Legal positions, please refer to PwC Legal, where all open Legal positions are listed.

Dag Helena, are there also international working opportunities for Legals without a Tax background?

We offer different career possibilities for graduates with a Law degree. You can apply for a position within PwC Legal, our independent law firm, if you have no specific interest in our tax departments. There, we have several departments: employment law, corporate & commercial law, real estate, tax litigation, etc.

Should you however have an interest in tax, but you think you don’t have the right background, we can discuss if an extra master/postgraduate in tax (for example, in evening courses) is necessary prior to your start date.

What kind of study and specialisation we need to work in the Tax & Legal department ?

There are people with many different study backgrounds in our Tax & Legal department. From a bachelor in Accountancy to a Master in Notary Law, we are open to various degrees but here are some of the most common degrees required to work in our Tax & Legal Department : bachelor/master in Accounting, Taxation, Law, Business Administration or Business Engineering, Economics, ...

When you apply for a vacancy online, you will always find the degree requirements in the job description.

Ruben Opdenakker

I'm Ruben, and it's my third year with the PwC Transfer Pricing team with a focus on tax technology. When I'm not at my desk, you can probably find me playing table tennis in the lobby! Should you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'm happy to help.

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Questions answered by Ruben

What does an offer package look like?

Competitive salary plus allowances
Company mobile phone and laptop
Insurance
Company car and fuel card (for seniors and consultants)
Bonusus: collective and individual
Ongoing training
And much more, depending on the position

What if I’m joining PwC from another country?

If you match the government requirements, we’ll assist you with your immigration procedure, financially and administratively, via our Global Mobility team.

What’s the career track?

Associate
Senior Associate
Manager
Senior Manager
Director
Partner

If growth means something different to you and you’re not into the classic career path, we’re happy to support you along the Expert track! You can spend up to 20% of your time on training to further your skills and gain deep knowledge in your chosen field.

Maxime Servais

Hello, I'm Maxime! I'm a performance-driven Technology Consultant and I've been with PwC Belgium for over a year. Prior to joining PwC, I graduated from the Louvain School of Management (a double master's degree in Business Engineering and International Management). Since then, I've been on a variety of assignments in both the public and private sectors. Together with colleagues from PwC Europe and India, I'm now helping an insurance company develop a fully hybrid insurance distribution model.

When I'm not working, you can find me windsurfing, skiing or travelling.

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Questions answered by Maxime

How can I prepare for a job interview?

Your interview is your chance to shine. Know your facts, know why you’re a great fit for the role.

Do your homework and and just be yourself!

What’s the company culture like?

We live by our values: Working with integrity. Making a difference. Caring. Maintaining shared values, from our Chairman to the newest junior hire - this is what makes PwC special. Plus, we do a lot of activities together like team events, sports and the Last Friday drink, so we’re a close-knit team.

Lotte Van Doorsselaere

I'm Lotte, part of the Customer team within Management Consulting. I have a background in Economics with an additional master's in Marketing Analysis, with a focus on analytical customer relationship management (CRM) and data science. Since joining PwC, I've been able to expand my views tremendously and branch out into business model development, profitability analysis and commercial excellence. Working with fantastic colleagues has taught me a lot, not only within my own team, but across the entire firm.

In my spare time, I have set up our own local CoderDojo to help teach children programming skills and I help out my former ballet school with organizing workshops. We also have 2 cats who keep on amusing me with their quirks.

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Questions answered by Lotte

Who manages my PwC journey?

Everyone who works at PwC is assigned a People Manager. They’ll help you get settled and introduce you to all the cool tools we use. Your Manager backs you on the job and helps you explore exciting career possibilities. You’ll also be supported by our HR team, co-workers and senior management - We Guide, We Support, You Grow - that’s our motto!

Why should I join PwC?

The world’s evolving at an unprecedented pace, and we’re here to help you ride the wave of change. Just as we help clients meet their challenges head-on to stay ahead of the curve, we support you along your career path so you can grow in a valuable and sustainable way. How? Through coaching, continuous learning, expert colleagues, flexibility, cutting-edge technology and the freedom to evolve. So that together, we can impact others in a meaningful way.

What's the thing you like the most in your job?

The steep learning curves, for sure. Working at PwC is great for expanding your business view while also going deeper in your own field of expertise. You are surrounded by so many fantastic people that are supportive and willing to help you grow, pushing and helping you to deliver high quality work and be the best version of yourself. It's truly an amazing learning experience. Since months COVID-19 changed our world completely, but also in these circumstances the fun remains. We have virtual coffee breaks, virtual apero drinks, virtual workout sessions, and much more!

What are the kind of projects you usually work at in management consulting

Management consulting is very broad and consists of many teams with each their own expertise. I urge you to take a look at our website https://www.pwc.be/en/services/consulting/management-consulting.html to get a full view of all of our services. Common denominators are transformation tracks, optimisation projects and driving innovation. If you want to know more about projects in a certain team, let me know, and we can drill down deeper!

Do you sometimes get the opportunity to work internationally?

Yes :) ! Personally, I have travelled to the US for design workshops, as well as stayed in the northern part of the Netherlands for almost a year for another project.

We have other projects where colleagues needed to travel to Sweden, Dubai, Mexico, UK, ... Very fun, but don't forget, this can be also very challenging if you need to travel each week for, let's say, a year.

It comes with lots of benefits and learning opportunities, but you need to be aware of the impact on your social life. Luckily at PwC, you get to choose whether or not you are open to travel abroad. It's all up to you!

Thierry Melotte

Hi! I'm Thierry, and I started in August 2009 with PwC's Risk Controls and Compliance team. During my first years at PwC, I was mostly involved in audit support projects and data analytics.

Throughout the years, I've had the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of assignments in domains like third-party assurance, controls assurance, internal audit, financial audit, technology consulting and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) conversion.

I'm currently also taking an active role in recruitment at PwC so if you have questions, drop me a line! I'm happy to help.

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Questions answered by Thierry

What skills is PwC looking for?

We’re keen to meet motivated, exciting personalities with versatile language skills. English and Dutch or French are required for consideration. We’re looking for critical thinkers who want to learn quickly, but most of all we’re looking for people who really want to make a difference!

Are non-EU citizens eligible?

To be considered for a junior role within PwC Belgium, a valid visa or work permit’s required.

Unfortunately, non-EU citizens aren’t eligible unless you have the right paperwork.

For senior positions, non-EU citizens can apply. If you’re selected and the visa requirements are met, we’ll sponsor your Belgian single work permit.

I'm a first-year master’s student in Economic Law. To which department can I apply?

We offer different career possibilities for graduates with a Law degree. As you’re not yet a final year student, I suggest you apply for an Internship in our Tax and Legal department, where you’ll get the chance to learn more about Corporate Tax, Accounting and Tax, Global Mobility, People and Organisation and Indirect Tax.This will help you understand your interests and guide you towards your future career path. Check out the ‘Internships’ section of our Careers website to find out more.

What career choices within PwC would be best suited to a very curious technology mind that needs change?

I'm happy to answer your question! I see that you’re a very curious person interested in new technologies. At PwC, we reimagine the possible and invest in our people through digital upskilling: this way, they’re agile in their various domains of expertise and able to use technology to help serve our clients.

We’re always looking for passionate young graduates looking to learn new skills and challenge themselves. You'll have the chance to work with different clients of a variety of sizes and sectors to broaden your knowledge. I believe our Technology Consulting department would be a great fit for you, which you can find on our Careers website. Don't hesitate to have a look at our other open positions and let us know should you have any additional questions.

Vincent Slembrouck

Hi, I'm Vincent and I'm in my sixth year at PwC, within the Audit department that's specialised in the Financial Services sector. After work, I love getting out for a good run and I'm training for my first quarter triathlon! Curious about life at PwC? Feel free to reach out!

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Questions answered by Vincent

I have a bachelor’s degree. Can I apply at PwC?

Yes! We have a variety of opportunities for bachelor profiles. Bachelor’s graduates can apply to the following departments:

Cyber and Privacy
Technology Consulting
Audit (however, to be a Manager, you must have started a traineeship for IBR/IRE)
Personal Tax (People and Organisation)
Accounting and Tax
Internal Firm Services

At PwC Legal, we also welcome bachelor profiles in our Employment Law team.

What does the recruitment process look like?

For juniors

Step 1: Online application

Step 2: Phone interview

Step 3: Meet & Match Day

We’ll check your CV and if you’re a match, we’ll invite you to a Meet & Match Day or a series of interviews, where we’ll help you plot the route to your future! You'll work on a business case, attend an interview, and you just might walk away with an offer to kick off your professional journey with PwC!

For seniors

Experienced professionals can apply online and selected applicants will be interviewed by phone by a recruiter. Then you'll complete an online personality assessment, followed by an interview with a team member and probably a Director or Partner.

Q&A Corner

Having another question? Ask one of the PwC co-pilots below.