French accounting firms (cabinets d’expertise comptable) are among the employers most willing to take on work-study students preparing the DCG, and yet many students struggle to find a place. The reason has less to do with the number of positions than with how people search: the most visible adverts come from the large networks, whereas most firms are independent practices that recruit without advertising, at the moment their calendar allows. This article explains why firms take on work-study students, what changes depending on their size, where and when to apply, and how to build a CV and prepare for the interview when you have no experience yet.
Why firms take on DCG work-study students
The DCG is a state diploma at bachelor level, the first step of the French chartered accountancy track. According to Onisep, the national careers information body, it is prepared over three years after the baccalauréat, in a lycée, a school or an apprentice training centre, and its programme combines accounting, law, tax, economics and English. That is exactly the foundation a firm needs before giving a beginner the bookkeeping of very small businesses.
For a firm, a work-study student offers three advantages.
A gradual build-up of skills. A work-study student learns the firm’s software and methods over two or three years. By the end of the diploma, they are operational on a portfolio, and the firm can offer them a contract without starting from scratch.
Extra hands during busy periods. Data entry, account matching, bank reconciliations and VAT returns take up a large part of the year. A work-study student who masters these tasks frees up time for experienced staff when year-end accounts and tax season come round.
A talent pool for the rest of the track. Many firms recruit their future staff accountants and trainee chartered accountants from their former work-study students. A student who is considering the DSCG and then the chartered accountancy traineeship is therefore a long-term investment for a partner.
Small firm, network or Big Four: what changes
The size of the firm changes the student’s day-to-day life, and therefore how to present the application.
The small independent firm (a few partners, a handful of staff) quickly gives a portfolio of simple client files: craftspeople, shopkeepers, liberal professions, property companies, associations. The student sees the whole cycle, from data entry to the year-end accounts, and works directly alongside the chartered accountant. Supervision is less formal, but the learning is broad. It is often the partner who does the hiring.
The regional firm or national network organises the work more into departments (accounting, payroll, legal, audit) and offers in-house training paths. The student is attached to a team, with a designated tutor, and may discover several activities over the years. Recruitment goes through an HR department or an office manager.
The large audit networks mainly recruit master’s-level work-study students for financial audit; their accounting services departments, where they exist, also take DCG students. The process is more standardised: online application, tests, interviews. The student works on larger client files but within a narrower scope.
No choice is better in itself. A student who later aims for statutory audit may benefit from a firm that also carries out statutory audits; one who enjoys contact with business owners will often thrive in an independent firm. To understand the difference between these two professions, see our article on what sets a chartered accountant apart from a statutory auditor.
Where to look and when to apply
The channels that work
- Public work-study platforms. La Bonne Alternance, a public service, lists adverts and also companies likely to recruit without having posted one. 1jeune1solution also gathers adverts and information on contracts.
- The directory of the Order of Chartered Accountants. It lets you list registered firms by area. It is the best basis for a targeted speculative application.
- Your training institution. The lycées, apprentice training centres and schools that prepare the DCG maintain relationships with firms in their area, which pass on their needs before publishing anything.
- Firms’ own websites. National networks and regional firms publish their adverts on their own sites, often before the large job boards.
- Your local network. The firm that keeps the books of someone you know, the one where you did a discovery internship, the chartered accountant who spoke in your course: these are direct contacts.
Speculative applications play a particular role in accounting firms, because many independent practices never advertise. Our guide to speculative applications to accounting firms details the method.
The right timing
A firm’s calendar follows that of its clients. January to May is taken up with the year-end accounts for December closings and with tax season; partners have little time to recruit. Two windows are more favourable:
- early spring, when the firm starts organising the next academic year and anticipating its needs;
- the end of tax season, from May to July, when the workload eases and partners review their teams.
Applying as soon as you know you have been admitted to your course, without waiting for the summer, puts you among the first applications. A student who joins the firm in September has time to learn before the first year-end accounts.
The contract
Work-study takes the form of an apprenticeship contract or a professionalisation contract. According to Service-Public, the French government’s information site, the apprenticeship contract is open to people aged 16 to 29, with exceptions, for a length that generally covers the duration of the course. The rhythm (one week in class and two at the firm, or two days and three days) depends on the institution: check before applying, because a firm looks at whether the rhythm fits its busy periods.
The CV of a work-study student with no experience
A partner reading the CV of a DCG work-study applicant is not looking for accounting experience. They are looking for three things: a solid academic level in the diploma’s subjects, signs of reliability, and motivation for the profession rather than for “accounting” in general.
Header and summary. Say what you are preparing, at which institution, and the contract you are looking for:
- Before: “Motivated student looking for a work-study placement.”
- After: “Admitted to the first year of the DCG at a lycée, on a work-study basis from September, with two weeks at the firm for every week in class, looking for an accounting firm in the local area.”
Education. The baccalauréat (specialisms, honours if any), then the DCG in progress with the institution. If you come from a BTS in accounting and management or a BUT GEA, say so: Onisep points out that these diplomas allow direct entry into the second year of the DCG and give exemptions from some units.
Experience. A student job, a discovery internship or a volunteer role all count, provided you draw out what interests a firm: handling a till, managing an association’s budget, entering data in a spreadsheet, dealing with customers. A line such as “treasurer of a sports club: kept the receipts and expenses book, prepared the financial report for the general meeting” says more than a long experience with no connection.
Skills. Excel at your real level (tables, formulas, filters), any accounting software studied in class, English with a verifiable level. There is no point listing qualities: they are demonstrated in your experience.
One page is enough, in a single column. Our audit assistant CV example shows how an accounting work-study placement is described once completed, and the staff accountant CV example gives an idea of the job the placement prepares you for.
The interview with the partner or the engagement lead
In a small firm, the interview is often with the partner, sometimes accompanied by the staff member who will be your tutor. The conversation is direct and covers concrete points.
- Why chartered accountancy? Show that you know what a firm does: bookkeeping, review, year-end accounts, tax returns, advice to business owners. An answer that mentions a typical client (a craftsperson, an association) is more credible than a general passion for numbers.
- What do you know about the firm? Its clients, its activities (accounting only, or also audit, payroll, legal), its size. This information can be found on its website and in the Order’s directory.
- How do you organise yourself? The firm wants to know whether you will keep up with the pace of studies and work. Talk about your methods and your regularity.
- What is your plan after the DCG? Saying that you are considering the DSCG, and perhaps the chartered accountancy traineeship, reassures a partner who wants to retain people. Our article on the DEC traineeship explains the rest of the path.
Some firms set a short exercise: a journal entry to post, an invoice to analyse, a VAT calculation. The aim is not to trap a first-year student, but to see how they reason.
Succeeding in your first period at the firm
The first few weeks often shape the rest of the placement. A few habits that firms appreciate:
- write down the firm’s methods (internal chart of accounts, document naming rules, review procedure) rather than asking again;
- group your questions, at a chosen moment, so as not to keep interrupting your tutor;
- report an anomaly early (missing document, reconciliation difference) rather than working around it;
- respect professional secrecy, including outside the firm and on social media;
- link your classes to your work: a tax chapter becomes clearer when you have just prepared a VAT return.
When you look for your next placement, or a first job, what you have done at the firm will become the core of your CV. The CV editor helps you format it now: it handles the layout and produces a PDF that the screening software of firms and networks reads without difficulty.
Sources
- Onisep, the DCG accounting and management diploma 🔗.
- Service-Public, the apprenticeship contract 🔗.
- La Bonne Alternance, discovering work-study 🔗.
- 1jeune1solution, the apprenticeship contract: who, how long, what benefits 🔗.
Frequently asked questions
Can the whole DCG be done on a work-study basis?
Yes, many institutions offer all three years on a work-study basis, under an apprenticeship or a professionalisation contract. The rhythm varies from one course to another.
Do you need to have found a firm before being admitted to the course?
It depends on the institution. Some admit students on condition that they find an employer before the start of the year, others support students in their search. Check as soon as you are admitted.
Can a firm turn down a first-year work-study student?
Yes, some prefer second- or third-year students who are already autonomous on data entry. A BTS in accounting and management or a BUT GEA already obtained is then an asset.
Does a DCG work-study placement lead to a job at the end?
Often, but it is never automatic. A student who has progressed on a portfolio and is considering the rest of the track has a good chance of being offered a contract.