[vkraft]

accountants! if you have a few minutes to read a scenario and give a fellow accountant a little advice for a friend, it would be very much appreciated.

note: this isn’t for me, it’s for a very close friend of mine that i’m watching struggle to find any kind of accounting job.

background: -located in Los angeles (if that’s relevant) -he graduated in summer 2013 (so been out of school for about a year and a half) from a good university with a solid accounting program. accomplished a decent 3.0ish GPA. was also a member of a professional business fraternity. -has since been working at Target and studying for the CPA -has recently passed all 4 parts of the CPA -no internship, no accounting work experience

he is feeling lost and out of options on where to look for accounting positions. it seems most mid-size/large accounting firms hire entry level positions directly from the university and now that he’s graduated and been out of school for quite awhile, he has lost this convenient means of applying and interviewing. it seems his applications and inquiries to HR are getting ignored. he’s been applying to jobs posted on sites like monster, indeed, simplyhired, and even craigslist but it seems even positions titled “entry level” require 1-3 years of experience that he doesn’t have. he’s even been trying atypical accounting positions like AR/AP. but as i said, any positions he has applied for have gone unanswered.

he’s a capable individual and his people skills are better than how he appears on paper but the first step is even getting an opportunity to get into the office. he’s passed the exam, that has to count for something.

ANY advice would be fantastic. tips on how to better market himself, places to look that he may not have thought of, anyone with an “in” to an accounting firm -nudge nudge- (just kidding!)

FAR- 95
REG- 94
AUD- 92
BEC- 90
()__crayola__))>

[kettlecorn]

Where did he go to school? Usually the university will have a career center he can still use to apply for jobs particularly for alumni

[vkraft]

UCSB. it does but only once a year, in october-november.

i also know it isn't hiring season right now (he didn't believe me when i kept telling him he'd miss it)

FAR- 95
REG- 94
AUD- 92
BEC- 90
()__crayola__))>

[jinjuujii]

How about craigslist? I am sure tons of practitioners are looking for entry lvl tax position right now? Since he passed all 4 parts of the CPA, it shouldn't be too hard.

If I was in his position and exhausted all my options, I would print out my resume, go on yellow pages and look up all the accountant firms (especially the small ones) and just go to the firm and give the partner my resume.

FAR: 2-27-2015

[vkraft]

he's tried craigslist a bit.

i think the problem is that with busy season so close, firms need people but don't necessarily have time to train someone that has zero experience :/

FAR- 95
REG- 94
AUD- 92
BEC- 90
()__crayola__))>

[s2sylvir]

Linkedin is a good way to meet recruitors I think… a lot of recruiters are on there — he should just start messaging them.

BEC - PASS (79)
AUD - PASS (63, 71, 74, 74, 83)
REG - PASS (88)
FAR - PASS (58, 89)

Becker for all + FAR 10 Point Combo

[fairylite]

Another option he could consider is accounting temp jobs. Often, those can lead to temp-to-hire positions within the company, or at the very least, give him some accounting experience to put on his resume.

Is he only considering accounting firms? If so, I think he's limiting himself. There are a lot of entry level corporate accounting jobs out there; the accounting assistant at my old company has been consistently getting interviews over the past few months despite having very little accounting experience. It might take him a bit longer to find an active CPA to sign off on his experience, but once he's had some work experience under his belt, he can definitely use that to leverage himself into a better position/company where he can find someone to sign off on his experience.

BEC 11/12/2015
REG 1/1/2016
AUD 1/22/2016
FAR 2/28/2016

[vkraft]

great suggestion on contacting recruiters directly through linkedin. thanks!

and no at this point he's open to all opportunities. i wasn't feeling too optimistic about temp positions because my logic is that anyone looking for an immediate temp found themselves short-handed and might not have time to intensely train a new hire.

FAR- 95
REG- 94
AUD- 92
BEC- 90
()__crayola__))>

[Herbieherb]

Try a temp agency like adecco /Robert Half. Also try at Target don't they hire from within? Its good PR for them.

NEW YORK- DONE

[Anonymous]

I definitely agree on the busy season point that you raised. I was recently laid off from an accounting position within the credit union industry due to a merger. I have had a few interviews at public accounting firms in the last month and they were very forward about letting me know they wanted to bring someone on that would be operational with little to no guidance, given that busy season is upon us – regardless of the fact that I have a few years experience in corporate/non-profit accounting and I have passed three of the four exams.

It's also very likely hiring freezes up a bit with corporate accounting gigs as many of them are tied up in year-end processing. I imagine he should opportunities start to increase there. You joked about it, but networking is probably the easiest way honestly. A lot of hiring is conducted through referrals and if he knows anyone I would encourage him to reach out. Best of luck to him!

[Isostasy]

Learn QuickBooks small businesses and CPA firms really see that as a positive and it's a very easy software to learn.

[10keyLeah]

I would suggest looking back over his resume. You said he has a great personality but it doesn't show through on paper. Maybe it's the paper (resume)? Also, the suggestion of handing over resumes in person may be a good idea. Just remember to respect a company's or firm's instructions for submitting a resume.

Ninja Combo, Yaeger, Wiley -- Licensed CPA, May 2015

[Author]

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