[Anonymous]

I had quite a few interviews with different mid-sized to large public accounting firms, but a phone interview rarely resulted in a live interview, and I never got any offers so far. I have no idea what they are looking for…

I worked two tax seasons as a Tax Prep for small accounting firms. I worked full-time while in college, and I’ve been working for a little more than a year as a Staff Accountant for quite a large company where I deal with all kinds of financial accounting issues all the time. I passed FAR and REG, taking AUD in couple days.

Resume-wise I should be in pretty good shape. In my cover letter I mention that passed those CPA parts. So, tax + fin. accounting experience = should be ideal for midsized accounting firms, where accountants do both, audits and taxes. What the hell? I am just curious. I am originally from another country, and I do have an accent, but it’s not thick. Maybe that’s the issue. Because the recruiters say that their ideal candidates should have PERFECT communication skills. That’s the only reason I could think of. Anybody? Anybody have any experience working with people who have accents???

[trish_1234]

did he really say perfect???? I used to think most ppl are not racist or discriminate against whatever but I have come to learn as I get older this is not at all the case.

Where are you from? Use that for ur benefit…. the reason I am asking is that you can look for a firm that is diverse embraces it.

Long story but basically a while back I worked at customer service one of my customers was asking about my accent (its totally weird I am sooo mixed) I ended up telling him my life story (I talk too much, I make friends at the supermarket) including my journey to be a CPA (to explain the accent) anyways he offered me an intern at his firm he was a partner, I didnt know, gave me his email and said we are always looking for people bilingual and diverse like you!

I think that if you are applying for a lot of jobs its doubtful that they are all rejecting you because of the accent (could be wrong). Maybe you should have someone check ur resume. I have gone to soooo many people to check mine.. Maybe you are over qualified for the positions you are applying for. Also, are you networking or applying for jobs online? actually just reread your post I missed that you said you get called for an interview immediately I would do mock interview with professionals… my old college offered that…

note: sorry I did not edit this post lol …. sorry

AUD 69, 92 7/15 Gleim and Ninja test bank
FAR sometime in 10/15 Gleim
BEC not taken
REG not taken

[Anonymous]

I am applying online. My resume is fine. It generates a lot of phone calls once I start to send it out. Something happens during the phone interviews. If I get an interview, say with with some corporation not an accounting firm, if I talk to somebody at the Controller level – everybody likes me and I can get on offer. The problem is with the recruiters from accounting firms. They are too dumb for the most part. And yes, maybe they are just looking for recent grads. I won't tell where I am from, because I am afraid some people may figure who I am based on my other topics on this forum. Let's say I am from Europe, and now proud to be an American citizen.

[AJG38]

Hey MKE,

I just finished my MBA and had many Chinese and Indian classmates have trouble getting jobs after graduation. It's not racist Trish, but employers are looking for individuals, wether black, white, foreign, male or female, especially since it's a job here in the states, that can speak and communicate in English at an easily comprehensible rate. Is your accent thiick, or does it take you awhile to get the correct words out, because there is a difference between the two. Most of my classmates could communicate fine, it was just more difficult for them and took longer, and most employers didn't want to deal with that (unfortunately) and looked to other candidates; and the official language is English so it woulnt be discrimination for employers to look for candidates with better English communication skills. Be honest with yourself and have someone test interview you to get the kinks out and be comfortable in the real thing!

AJG

AUD - 91
BEC - 87
FAR - 82
REG - 81

All passed in Q2 and Q3 2015
Licensed since September 2016

AUD - 91 (4/7/2015)
BEC - 88 (4/29/2015)
FAR - 80 (5/29/2015)
REG - 70 (8/18/2015); 82 (11/08/2015)

Gleim & Ninja Flashcards

[Missy]

It is entirely possible that it is the accent. It is just as likely that it's not.

Plenty of people think their qualifications make them perfect for a position and are disappointed not to get an offer. You'll see your story on this board thousands of times—people that despite their best efforts are not getting offers in public. Some are US Born, some are not, some have passed all 4 exams some are just starting, some have many years' experience and others are just finishing college.

And for some mid sized-large firms the combination of 2 tax seasons at a small firm combined with a year of private experience is what they're looking for, others just may not value that experience. The bottom line is you don't know your competition. What if the people getting calls back have passed all 4 exams and have a couple tax seasons at larger firms than your previous firm? What If the competition gave a better answer to “why do you want to work here?”. Theres no way for you to ever know.

Keep applying and keep interviewing. You're in very good company with folks who received multiple rejections before getting the right job.

I will also add this, if you truly believe recruiters from accounting firms are dumb, that attitude comes across loud and clear in a phone interview. You can protest all you want how professionally you come across but I guarantee you that someone who does nothing but phone interviews all day long picks up on the nuances.

Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

Finance manager/HR manager

 

 

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[ruggercpa2b]

I am foreign and have worked with a lot of other foreign people with heavy accents that even I could not understand at a Big 4. I think even if you have an accent you should be confident when you speak and try to be clear and concise. I did mock interviews and made sure I could answer questions. One of my good friends that I worked with at the green dot was from Argentina and she had an accent and at times she was so self conscious she always sounded unsure when she spoke. She eventually grew out of it. Its all about being confident when you speak. I read a lot to help with my English and when I speak I am always very confident in myself. It truly makes a difference.

Like mla said it could be so many other factors. When I worked at the Big 4 it took me a whole year to get another job in industry. I interviewed a lot and always made it to the final round, however, there was always someone better and with a certification. I figured having Big 4 experience was it for me but I was wrong. You honestly never know who you are going up against when you interview.

AUD - NINJA in Training
BEC - NINJA in Training
FAR - NINJA in Training
REG - NINJA in Training

AUD - 1/6/18
FAR - TBD
REG - TBD
BEC - TBD

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[ScarletKnightCPA]

@trish_1234

Same here regarding racism. I used to believe while in school that race would not be an issue given that I was excelling at academics. Then I got out in the corporate world and realized that politics can be worse than high school… it's not the objectively ‘best' person that is chosen due to the fact you don't really need the ‘best' to do the job… working in a large complex organization requires working with other humans, and humans being human have their own biases enter the equation.

I am of ethnic background but I was born here and only speak english not to mention score 90+ percentile on english section of standardized exams… my ‘communication' skills have been brought up as a negative in past employers where I felt I was being targeted (which I had gotten HR involved and turned out I was).

Additionally, I seen my former manager (not the same one who I had issue with) who tossed a highly qualified resume when I pointed out that he started school in a African University prior to transferring here. She said ‘oh, do you think that his accent will be hard to understand?' and tossed his resume.

His country's official language is English and education would have been in English. Not to mention that she had an employee who she was best friends with who came from a non-english european country, had a strong accent including tripping over her words (still completely comprehensible however), but she nor anyone else had a problem with that.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I know what you're going through. English is my first language, I have no accent, I have excellent soft skills, and I am a grammar Nazi. However, employers constantly pass over my resume because I have a foreign name and they assume my communication skills aren't the best. I started using a nickname on my resume and I would get more calls. Don't know how to overcome the accent issue, other than embrace it as Trish said and hope for the best.

After your telephone interview, be sure to send a thank you letter of medium length and be absolutely 100% sure that it's grammatically perfect.

[CISNC]

This reminds me of some foreign students that had to list their “American nickname” and their “eligibility to work in US” on their resumes. They were doing it to just completely take out the possibility of being discriminated against. I realize it's a thing but you truly don't understand that it exists in the corporate world until someone close to you points it out.

AUD - 79
BEC - 81
FAR - 80
REG - 76

NINJA only - no book, no notes, mcq and audio only

FAR - Pass
AUD - Pass
BEC - Pass
REG - September

[ScarletKnightCPA]

Even if it is not intentional, if the individual labels you as non-native English speaker, they quite often have already established their perception of you having communication issue… with this in mind, confirmation biases come into play where they are looking to validate their perceptions.

So even if your communication is at the same level or superior to someone with an American-sounding name, you are not being held to the same standards. Miscommunication from the person with an ‘American' sounding name is dismissed because they are given the benefit of the doubt, whereas miscommunication from the person with the ‘ethnic' name is used to validate their biased perception.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[Anonymous]

Rutgers MBA? I was thinking of doing the part time program after I finish these exams

[AJG38]

Hey MKE,

I had another thought while pondering your position, first, are you sure its your accent and not a technical/education/experience issue, and second, after I graduated with my MBA last December I applied to over 150 jobs, only got about 12 phone interviews, 6 in person, and 1 offer; its not a great job market to begin with, but without knowing details, I would say your experience/education + current CPA exam record should be good enough for more luck than you're having, at least getting more in person interviews. I would ask a friend to faux interview you over the phone to see if they could pick up on any issues/mannerisms that might be turning off recruiters. Best of luck!

AJG

AUD - 91
BEC - 87
FAR - 82
REG - 81

All passed in Q2 and Q3 2015
Licensed since September 2016

AUD - 91 (4/7/2015)
BEC - 88 (4/29/2015)
FAR - 80 (5/29/2015)
REG - 70 (8/18/2015); 82 (11/08/2015)

Gleim & Ninja Flashcards

[y_u_no_pass]

One of the only people I went to school with that had trouble finding a job had an accent. But I know a few others who didn't have any trouble even with work visa and sponsorship issues.

Florida CPA!
Took final exam 2/25/15.
Sent in Application 3/12/15.
Issued License 3/20/15.
Used CPA Excel solely for all exams.

[Anonymous]

If you can get directly to the hiring manager or another higher-ranking person in the organization who might have some pull in the decision, I would work through them rather than a recruiter. It is not that recruiters are “dumb,” but they will toss resumes that that the hiring manager might not, just because they are looking for any reason they can find to narrow down their list of phone calls to make and interviews to arrange. If the hiring manager doesn't want to hear from you again after speaking with you, then cut your losses and move on.

[Anonymous]

@CISNC and @ScarletKnight – Exactly.

[ScarletKnightCPA]

@cpanj22

Yes Rutgers MBA. I'm doing it part time. The finance focus is top notch, I've been impressed by dedication of my class mates and the rigor of the class. The Accounting concentration is the same as undergraduate… maybe easier.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[Author]

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