2 years Gap after graduation, how to get into public firm?

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  • #191416
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I graduated from school two years ago, just have some intern experience before graduation (half year). After graduation, I had baby and took care of her till now. I have master degree and got CPA passed already. Now I think it is the time to go back to work, but how can I get into public side? The firms seem only favor on campus recruiting for entry level positions. Do I still have a chance to get in?

    Really need some suggestions, thank you!

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  • #638906
    waffle_house
    Participant

    Are you a BAP member? I remember when I was in school we would have a day with the firms where top firms would come to our university and you could speak with them and give them your resume. Or simply get in contact with a recruiter from a firm and submit your resume. Also you maybe check their website and see if they are hiring. I remember I applied at a big 4 firm with no audit experience just an internship at a non big 4. It was for an experience hire obviously I wasn't experienced because I was working in industry. The recruiter said they would have to bring me on as an “on campus hire” even though I was working at an industry job for a year. Do not believe they only recruit straight out of college BS a lot of folks here will probably tell you. Take a chance and keep looking there is always something out there. You could check with your previous firm you had an internship there I'm sure they are more than willing to have you back if you did well during your internship and now you have your CPA. I think you will be fine.

    P.S.

    Congrats on your baby and taking care of her and not putting your career first because there are more important things in life than working 12 hour days.

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    #638907
    rp 12
    Participant

    I think there is a possibility. You need to explain your situation well, and let them know that you passed exam, and have enough credits to be licensed (depending on your State).

    If I was you, I wouldn't apply directly at Big4 firms if you don't have experience for even being considered as an experienced associate. Since you are out of school for 2 yrs… you will be seen as an ‘experienced hire'. I would possibly start applying in mid size firms to small firms, and yes start Networking also using LinkedIn, and become a member of your State CPA society… They could be of a good resource too. Hope this helps. Good luck!

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    #638908
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    I believe your biggest challenge will be to get people to give your resume a fair review since you can't exactly put “took 2 years off post graduation due to new child” on your resume… or maybe you can?

    Others already said it, but get out in front of recruiters and make your opportunity to talk via phone or in person. Your timing is a few months off since few people will hire an entry level candidate (i.e. no full time experience recently) until March or April in public… there's simply no one available to train you. That doesn't mean you should sit at home and do nothing, but it's just something to keep in mind.

    Start reflecting on your goals, likes, dislikes, etc, so you have some things to talk about when you speak with hiring managers/recruiters. Things like:

    – What type of job you are looking for?

    – Practice area

    – location

    – Travel/no travel

    – Industry(ies) preference

    – A good answer to “why have you not worked since graduation”… it's obvious to you, but just practice a few ways to talk about this without conveying “my job comes second” (even if it does)

    – take a look at some behavioral questions and start some interview practice on your own, reach out to career center at your university, practice with friends

    Start thinking about these things and more. Some will come up in conversation while others may not, but good to know what you want so you can intelligently discuss your goals when someone in a position to hire is around.

    #638909
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I love the suggestions you guys gave me. These are very,very…helpful. I appreciate them a lot. Thank you, guys!

    To waffle_house: I am far away from my university, so it is hard to use on campus resources. But it is good to know that they do not only hire on campus, and there are still chances for me. The firm that I interned with is very small, and I do not think the can afford one more employee. I will try to get to the recruiter for bigger odds.

    To rp 12: I know most people want to get into big 4, so do I. I believe that I can learn more by working there. But I agree with you, it is not the right time for me to get in. I want to start with mid-size firm too. It is hard to imagine what you will face at work until you start to work. Maybe after working in mid-size firm, I will like it and just stay there.

    To fuzyfro89: You gave me so many detailed and practical suggestions which I can start to work on one by one. And the timing you mentioned is very important too. I sent out some resumes recently and got no reply yet, so I guess I need to be more patient than I thought I should before.

    #638910
    rp 12
    Participant

    cpatobe2013: I would definitely suggest that do go for big4 but after getting experience in mid size to small cpa firms… Things in Big4 are thrown very fast… Also use your time now to see what u want to do audit tax or risk advisory…

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    #638911
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I am under the impression that Big 4 hires 2 types of people:

    1. Very inexperienced people (meaning on-campus recruiting undergrads)

    2. Very experienced people specializing in public accounting.

    It seems impossible to get hired if you are out of college for few years and no public accounting experience. If you only have corporate accounting experience, I think the best chance is to apply for small to mid-size CPA firms, get some hands on experience then you might have a better chance of getting into big 4.

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