[OnMyWay2Somewhere]

You can skip everything up to the ****, if you’d like.

I finished my Bachelor’s four years ago. I got a job with the IRS, chasing down people who couldn’t pay their taxes. I hated it. I quit for a job one state over, and that small firm closed shop within two months. I was completely screwed and had to couch surf when I got back home. Then my car broke down. Then I herniated a disc, with no health insurance, and was limping for 6 months. Nobody would hire me. Ever since, each job I’ve held as gotten progressively worse and more unrelated to accounting. I have been layed off twice, fired for something I didn’t do, quit over an ethical dilemma, and had my hours cut so much I had to leave. The last job I quit because it was very physical and my hours were exceeding 70 hrs/wk. I’m in very good physical shape, but at my age it was too much. I was getting heart palpitations from lack of sleep and overexertion. My doctor basically told me to quit. I’m embarrassed to say that I’m now working retail. This is where I was when I started college. I keep having to take worse jobs just to pay the bills when something doesn’t work out. I’m really starting to feel like I’m cursed, seriously. Last week, my alternator went out on my way to class to take an exam. Then my computer crashed and is non functional so I had to buy a new laptop. Then tonight I tried to do my homework and realized for two classes I needed to buy access codes because I bought used tetxtbooks. Just with used textbooks, my bill came out to $800!

I’m getting my last 5 classes done so that I can take the exams. I would’ve done this sooner, but my ex wife left me with $30K of credit card debt and a mountain of medical bills and red light camera tickets while driving my car and hid the tickets from me when they came in the mail. This is all actually a true story. I hate to sound like a whiner, but damn, like I’ve really been through hell. So anyway, now that I’m debt free, I can afford the tution and pay for the exams. I’ve been studying for them for two years now, just to stay fresh.

My school career center is insisting that I make a LinkedIn profile. It’s so pathetic; I don’t want to post it. I’ve been applying to jobs and internships more than I’ve been studying. But I’ve had barely any responses. I had one good interview for a government entry level job, but I guess somebody better came along or something in my background check disqualified me. Banks don’t select me for interviews even for a teller. I’m at a loss here about what to do. Our school had a career fair this week for summer internships. I wasn’t selected to go 🙁

So I’m really wondering how people here are doing with the job search and the exams. I get the feeling that most of you are already in the field. It makes me wonder if I’m wasting my time. I’m pretty smart with anything related to math and money. A lot of people who meet me ask me why I’m not doing something better, even when I’m interviewing. They’re like, “we see you have this accouting degree with a good GPA, why are you applying to this job that highschool dropouts do? It’s really frustrating. At my last job, the accounting clerks had dropped out of their two year degree programs years ago. I asked several times to move into office work to get some experience. They told me they really needed me in the warehouse doing receiving because I the only reliable person they could find.

******

How did all of you get your foot in the door? School career center? Friends and family? I have no family, and at this point, my social network is useless for accounting careers.

[confusedcandidate]

Take a hard look at yourself and how you come across when you meet people and interview. Do you smile, hold your head high, have an easy laugh, a few amusing anecdotes and knowledge of local events/sports etc? Or do you stammer, shuffle your feet, look embarassed, and act like you'd rather be anywhere else?

I know it's hard to seem confident and likeable when you've been through so much. It seems like you've had one thing after another. That's how it is – one thing leads to another, an inconvenience turns into a crisis, and the next thing you know your life spirals out of control. It sounds like you got a shit hand, and I'm sorry to hear that. It's hard to be confident and carefree when your life is on fire.

But the truth is that people don't care about strangers' problems. It's like…if *I* had a few things go rotten in my life, and had a few crises pop up, and had tons of personal stuff happen all at once, my firm and coworkers would bend over backwards for me. But you can't open with that. You have to build up to it.

I think it's very possible that your personal problems come across through your body language when you meet people, and they get scared away because of it.

Your best bet is to crush an exam or four, touch up the resume (hire someone to help – there are professionals out there who specialize in writing resumes for people) and go to as many business/networking/recruiting/dinner party events as possible. Practice your smile in front of a mirror. Stand up straight and fix your posture. Brush up on local sports and celebrity news.

Good luck.

Weekends are meaningless to a CPA candidate

[Track55]

Set up profiles on Linkedin and Indeed. Once I set those up, passed an exam, and put CPA candidate as my title, I started getting messages from private companies. I interviewed with firms and government agencies for a year but didn't get anything. I decided not to go firm or gvt ever again – I used Indeed and joined a publicly traded company. I get CPA hours since I work with CPA's.

So yes, set up profiles, and no, not everyone who is testing has experience. In the year I was looking for work I took the exam 4 times (2 pass 2 fail). It took me a year to find work and my friend took 2 years to find a teaching position. It's very saturated in So Cal. Everyone seems to have a college degree.

Have you done practice interviews at school? I didn't realize I kept looking at the roof until someone filmed me and showed me.

AUD - 99
BEC - 83
FAR - 86
REG - 92

California - Internal Audit

CPA since December 2016.

(took seven tries, 1 year 10 months).

AUD - 74, 99 !!
REG - 74, 92
BEC - 83
FAR - 73, 86

Studying for Ethics exam

California candidate
Business and Industry

[OnMyWay2Somewhere]

Track55 — thanks for the reply.
How easily did you land the job at the publically traded company? I've seen a few job ads for industry asking for CPA candidates, which I thought was odd because I wasn't sure how someone would get the license going that route.
I do interview very well. I'm happy to get an interview and meet people. They are usually conversational and the people seem to like me. There's some laughs and understanding. I never mention any personal problems or offer up excuses for anything. The problem is that I rarely get interviews unless it's for something crappy. I get flooded with interview offers for low paying jobs. I think at this point it's my background and possible references that are holding me back. I thought for sure I had the job at Employment Security Department for Paryoll Auditor. They asked when I could start and voluntarily told me as I was leaving that it should only take a week to hear back and what the next step was. It was a panel interview, and the lead walked with me to the parking lot. Then I never heard back lol.
The job boards at the school's career center are confusing. I see some jobs requiring years of experience but only require a high school diploma. Then employers say you need an internship to get anything. But how did these people get the experience without even being in a program to get an internship? Weird.

[Anonymous]

I got my first accounting job by literally going door-to-door dropping off resumes and cover letters (customized with the name of the firm and addressed to the appropriate person, if I could determine a person's name, but otherwise a generic letter) at every accounting firm within the distance that I was willing to commute. I had no prior accounting experience; my work experience was college work study, retail, and bank teller. One of the firms that I dropped a resume at was a very small office that the owner had forgotten to unlock the door after lunch, so I had to knock on the door, and he came to open it, so I ended up getting to talk to him for a minute, and he told me he wasn't hiring then but would be when school started back since his current employee was going to school in the fall, and I should check back in the fall. So, I did, and I got the job. (I also got an interview at one other place – the receptionist took my resume at that location, said that she knew they were looking for someone, I heard back and got an interview…but they were wanting an experienced tax preparer, and I had no experience.) This wouldn't work or be appropriate everywhere (I'm in an old-fashioned small town), but I share it as an illustration of a unique way that does work sometimes.

LinkedIn is definitely a good idea. Even though it might not look like what you want it to, LinkedIn is still a resource that will help your job pursuit. Definitely put a picture on it and make sure that the picture you use looks very professional and conveys the image that you need to convey for your job search. I've seen people whose LinkedIn pictures are cute, show their hobbies, etc., and that is totally not what you want on your LinkedIn. For an accountant, I think a LinkedIn picture should be in a suit, or at minimum a button-down shirt. Frankly I think mine (if you click my username it will take you to my LinkedIn) needs an upgrade; even though it's in a suit, it's a picture in the outdoors, with historic buildings in the background (buildings from my current workplace), etc., so it conveys a lot more personality than should be in a LinkedIn picture. If you have a friend or family member that can help you take a picture, the the ideal would be one with a neutral background (sheets can make great cheap backdrops) and otherwise just a simple head-shot. Like a school photo, without the crazy expressions. 😉 A professional photo would be even better, but professional photos can get expensive, too. (Though going to the photo places in Kmart or JC Penney wouldn't be too expensive…)

Mock interviews can definitely be helpful, even if you're already experienced with interviews. I recently had the opportunity to be a participate in one as an interviewer (I work at a college) and realized from “the other side of the desk” how useful they would have been as a student, and almost wanted to ask the organizer if I could have some mock interviewers as an employee. 🙂 Because every interviewer is different, it was interesting for me to hear the questions posed by my fellow panel of interviewers, and the angels they took. So, having seen one now (never did them as a student), I'm a fan of them, and would encourage you to talk to your career resources department and see if you can do some.

My last suggestion would be to tailor your resume to the position you're applying for, including scaling it back when needed. It sounds like some of the jobs you've applied to have seen you as over-qualified. Right now, you're trying to step back into accounting. So, if you're applying for an accounting clerk job, maybe don't list the CPA exams on that resume. You said you finished your Bachelor's 4 years ago, so I'm guessing the college you're doing now is working on a Master's; I wouldn't list that, either, on your resume when applying for an entry-level accounting job. Generally my thought has been to only list qualifications up to one “level” beyond what's required. So, my first job was the one in the accounting firm listed above, where I was a Staff Accountant, or something like that (never actually had an official title; half the time I was there, it was just me and the owner, so there was no need for titles). When I was looking for my next job, I was halfway through the CPA exams, but wanted to switch to private accounting and had just under a year of accounting experience. I'm in a small town with few opportunities, so when I saw an Accounting Clerk position that required a high school diploma and preferred an associate's in accounting, I applied to it, but only listed my Bachelor's in Accounting, not my CPA exams. I got the job, learned a LOT, and loved it. But, I think if I had listed the pending CPA it may have over-qualified me. So, tailor your resume to the job you're applying to. Go ahead and be a little over what they're requiring, but not too much. If you were applying to the accounting clerk job that I had – requires HS diploma, prefers Associate's – and listed Bachelor's complete, Master's nearly complete, and CPA exams in progress, you'd likely not be called in for an interview, and even more likely not be hired, because people would see you as over-qualified and not likely to stay. A little over-qualified makes you stand out from the pack, but a lot makes you look like you'll leave. However, if you applied for a Staff Accountant job that required Bachelor's, then listing the Bachelor's and the Master's in progress or the CPA exams in progress could be the one-up that makes you stand out. Personally, I probably wouldn't list both, but my “only one extra” rule is just a personal thing, not a standard rule that I read anywhere.

[MaLoTu]

I think your best bet would be to stick it out with this retail job until you pass the exams. It will show that you took the job to give flexibility for your schooling, that you are willing to do what it takes to get to where you want to be, and that they can trust you to hold on to the job for more than a short period of time. Although all those reasons you left each place are valid reasons, it is a lot of jobs to go through and is likely to hinder your search. Passing the exams will definitely show commitment to the field and any public employer will value that.

Try to excel at what you do in retail. Upward progression always looks good on a resume. Try to quantify things you do. Most importantly, don't apologize or feel dumb for working retail. You need to connect the dots for recruiters and you do that by leveraging what you do and what you know, it is just hard to put it in words and make it relate-able, but it is not impossible. I think the items I mentioned in the second sentence are a good starting point. Everyone will understand you having to take a survival job. You will see more interest in your candidacy once you have the units to sit.

I came from teaching to be starting at a public accounting firm in September. It took a while and I did a lot of networking. It can be done.

Almost always from my phone... please excuse my typos!

All 4 passed - 2016

CA CPA

[Track55]

When I gave up looking for firms and government I entered key words in Indeed (accountant, etc). One of the jobs that came up asked for someone who had a certification or was working towards one. You can get CPA hours in business and industry as long as you work with CPA's and do accounting, audit, tax, etc.

A big help was that friends work there. They don't have accounting degrees (or degrees) and aren't in my dept, but at least they are there. The other thing was I had already passed REG. It all came up in interviews.

How could your references be holding you back? I only ask accounting professors and past supervisors (non-accounting) I know will help.

I had the same experience with the CA Employment Development Department for an auditor position. I made it to the final round and drove 2 hours for the interview. They said they would get back soon and I didn't hear jack till I contacted them a month later.

Lilla had great advice. At my school they take Linkedin photos. You should ask. Wear a suit and shave. I had a beard until my last year in college. Do mock interviews.

Like she said, tailor your resume. I interviewed for a position at the school where they filmed Beverly Hills 90210. One of the panelists was a part-time accounting professor from my university I had never seen before. He worked at the school I was interviewing at full-time. He asked why someone who passed one of the exams would interview somewhere that would not provide CPA hours. Like Lilla said, it was obvious I was going to leave as soon as something else came along.

The reason it took me a year to find work was because I didn't have an internship. But you don't need an internship to go business and industry. I did use the school career website but didn't find much. However, I still pay the $125 a year to keep it active as an alumnus.

Best advice – knock out an exam, get on Indeed and take a good Linkedin photo.

AUD - 99
BEC - 83
FAR - 86
REG - 92

California - Internal Audit

CPA since December 2016.

(took seven tries, 1 year 10 months).

AUD - 74, 99 !!
REG - 74, 92
BEC - 83
FAR - 73, 86

Studying for Ethics exam

California candidate
Business and Industry

[happygal]

Hi OnMyWay2Somewhere! If you are in a urgent need for a job and are having trouble getting it on your own, perhaps you should try a placement agency for accounting and finance related positions. They probably will pay you less than market rate, but it may help you in the short-term experience wise as well as financially. I have personally tried Robert Half

Here are some additional ones that may help that I looked up for you (disclaimer I haven't tried these):
Accounting Principals (placement agency)
https://www.manpowergroup.com
https://www.kellyservices.com
https://www.monster.com

Good Luck and stay positive! 🙂

[Mayo]

“How did all of you get your foot in the door? School career center? Friends and family? I have no family, and at this point, my social network is useless for accounting careers”

90% of all good entry level jobs in accounting are gotten through on campus recruiting and internships. So mine was gotten through an internship with a Big 4 firm.

-High GPA
-Attended recruiting events
-Was a member of Beta Alpha Psi one year and an officer the next year
-Part of the 150 hr program to get BBA and Macc concurrently. Program is a recruiting pipeline for the firms
-Was a TA which made networking with professors extremely easy*. I had a few of them recommend me to the firms as well as an internship with a Big 4 alum.

Recruiting is tough OP. You can get right up to the door, foot and all, and still have it shut in your face. I had 5 interviews going into recruiting and my nervousness torpedoed 4 of them. The 5th was luckily the big 4 firm I interned and eventually worked for. You just never know…

*Networking should be fun and you should do it to meet people in your career and personal life. It has benefits in that people know who you are and there is name recognition, but I never think you should be all Machiavellian about it. These are personal relationships after all, and people will sense if you are being sincere or fake. Which is why doing it over a long period of time is more effective than a crash attempt at the end.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Anonymous]

It will be easier in the fall..get a job at a firm doing tax whether you like tax or not..then once youre in if you want out of tax simply ask to be moved to another position if possible when it opens up.

AS far as public accounting goes you will just have to wait until they hire again..

Im in a similar position as you..last year sent out 30 resumes (small metro area of 250k) heard from 5 places while I was FT in school and turned them all down stupidly to focus on the CPA..now I wait until Fall again.

Also you will have to be willing to move to an area you might not want to live..Im in IL and looking now in Chicago..but I am keeping my mind open to places like Dubuque Iowa, Madison WI etc..

Once you get two years experience in Public and your CPA you can write your own ticket..If you need money just find something to hold you over until Fall.

[Anonymous]

I want to reiterate highly to keep your options open on moving.

I plan to send out 400-500 resumes over Sept. to December. In multiple cities and states if need be.

You have to do WHATEVER it takes to get your foot in the door.

[Anonymous]

No accounting experience at all and had a 3.2 accounting GPA. I got my job through campus recruiting which I think is where most people get there first job in public. Of course, I would suggest LinkedIn and Indeed.com they are both very helpful. I have people message me all the time on LinkedIn. Make sure your resume has been reviewed my multiple people and update it often to reflect the job your applying for. If you are willing to relocate I would apply to jobs in other states.

[Anonymous]

Perseverance, and ANY experience. I just completed my first year at a public accounting firm and it has been awesome. To me it has not been an easy road; I have held numerous jobs that have been unrelated to accounting.
First let me start by saying that my degree is not even in accounting, I took a defunct major in Management. But before that while I was going to college I was working, I will work during the day and go to night school. I worked in mowing lawns, replacing roofs, building retaining walls, basically any construction job I held. I eventually got a job at Discount Tire Company (one of the best companies) changing tires, doing inventory, and eventually becoming an assistant manager. I was an assistant manager for about 2 years, talked to my CPA (now mentor), and decided that I longer wanted to be in retail. At that point I was married and had a child, so dropped down to being part time (still put in 40hrs a week), changed tires, and went to school to meet the 150 hr requirement. I was part time changing tires for about 2 yrs before I landed an “accounting” job, at a public company (1 of the top 10 worst companies to work for). Did that for 2 years, while I studied took, and passed 2 sections of the exam. During that time a searched for jobs, I applied to numerous and finally got a response from one I saw in Craigslist. It’s a local firm, but they do Audits and Tax services, and a lot of high net worth individuals.
While I held all those jobs, I always gave it my best. I worked to be the best lawn mower, best concrete mixer, best tire changer, and if they wanted me to be clean the bathroom, I as the best damn bathroom cleaner ever. I used those experiences and turned them into positives. When I worked in construction and landscaping I used that time to help me do tax returns for construction companies, from discount tire, I learn about inventory management, POs, people management, client relations, and business insights, I use those experiences to help me in doing not only tax returns, but bookkeeping, compilations, and reviews depending on the client.
So what I want to tell you is, don’t give up, do the best you can at that retail job, and keeping search for that job. Did I mention I just turned 31? And this is my first year? From my experience from searching and applying jobs, skip those big 4 and regional firms; focus on your local firms. Big 4s usually try to get straight out of college workers, locals look beyond the college resume and also at any experience you may have and what you can bring to the table. And always wear a sharp suit, be confident, and lastly smile.

[confusedcandidate]

>I plan to send out 400-500 resumes over Sept. to December. In multiple cities and states if need be.

FOUR OR FIVE HUNDRED resumes? Seriously??? That's horrifying, and doesn't compute…I agree that you should keep options open and be mobile, especially early in your career, but maybe you should change your strategy a bit if you are sending out more say ten or twenty or so without any bites.

What gives? Genuinely curious. Horrible grades? Convicted felon? Bad interviewer/ugly resume?

Weekends are meaningless to a CPA candidate

[PNS2CLT]

Nearly all entry-level positions (among medium & large firms) are filled via the campus recruiting process. Most jobs are filled during recruiting season, which takes place during the first several weeks of the fall semester. Firms make one or more visits (for company presentations, meet-and-greets, panel discussions, activity sponsorships, etc.) cumulating to the career fair. Of course, public accounting firms typically have a separate career fair – but you'll still need to apply via your school. Then interview seasons begins.

What's the best way to land a job? Be active during recruiting season — educate yourself about the firms, attend as many events as possible, interact with the recruiters, etc. The earlier you do this, the better (most firms have programs for even freshman) but most schools will allow you to attend their career fairs + apply for jobs long after you graduated. And most also provide free seminars that prepare you for recruiting season, the job fair, interviewing, etc.

What are firms looking for? Primarily strong GPAs — my firm requires at least a 3.2. (For comparison's sake, Deloitte in my area required a 3.7 although they've softened on it as the qualified candidate pool shrunk). If you don't have relevant work experience (e.g. spent the past 2 years working as a bookkeeper), at best you will be offered and internship.

What happens if you went to a school that's not recruited, or you didn't receive an offer or your grades were poor? Apply to anything and everything… teach yourself Quickbooks and a low-paying bookkeeping job (which might not pay more than minimum wage) should be within your reach. Use it & the CPA to build your resume and take another stab at the career fair. Linkedin helps too — network with college instructors, etc.

And one last thing… nobody cares about your personal problems — some will view your narrative as you being somebody prone to manufacturing drama. Use adversity to your advantage only in positive light but don't get personal.

Good luck.

[PNS2CLT]

Nearly all entry-level positions (among medium & large firms) are filled via the campus recruiting process. Most jobs are filled during recruiting season, which takes place during the first several weeks of the fall semester. Firms make one or more visits (for company presentations, meet-and-greets, panel discussions, activity sponsorships, etc.) cumulating to the career fair. Of course, public accounting firms typically have a separate career fair – but you'll still need to apply via your school. Then interview seasons begins.

What's the best way to land a job? Be active during recruiting season — educate yourself about the firms, attend as many events as possible, interact with the recruiters, etc. The earlier you do this, the better (most firms have programs for even freshman) but most schools will allow you to attend their career fairs + apply for jobs long after you graduated. And most also provide free seminars that prepare you for recruiting season, the job fair, interviewing, etc.

What are firms looking for? Primarily strong GPAs — my firm requires at least a 3.2. (For comparison's sake, Deloitte in my area required a 3.7 although they've softened on it as the qualified candidate pool shrunk). If you don't have relevant work experience (e.g. spent the past 2 years working as a bookkeeper), at best you will be offered and internship.

What happens if you went to a school that's not recruited, or you didn't receive an offer or your grades were poor? Apply to anything and everything… teach yourself Quickbooks and a low-paying bookkeeping job (which might not pay more than minimum wage) should be within your reach. Use it & the CPA to build your resume and take another stab at the career fair. Linkedin helps too — network with college instructors, etc.

And one last thing… nobody cares about your personal problems — some will view your narrative as you being somebody prone to manufacturing drama. Use adversity to your advantage only in positive light but don't get personal.

Good luck.

[Author]

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