[AScott89]

I have been trying to get into public accounting since I graduated in May 2012 but I haven’t had any luck. I have my 150 hours and I just took the BEC section of the exam but I keep getting turned down at every entry-level job I apply for. Is anyone else having the same problem? I feel like the firms would rather hire someone just out of school or about to graduate than someone who’s been out of school for two years and working as a part-time cashier.

I’ve already gone to two different recruiters, both telling me that it’ll be hard to get a position without any experience but how am I supposed to get any if no one will give me a shot? I’m starting to get really frustrated here you guys. Does anyone have any advice or have been through a similar experience?

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B - 65, 74, 2/26/18
A - 72, 68, 84
R - 72, 82
F - 55, 79

BEC-65
AUD-72(8 '14); 68(11 '14)
FAR-
REG-

[JamesBJames]

If you have 150 hours and are taking the CPA exam, I feel like that should at least get you a phone interview at a lot of public companies. I would really heavily emphasize the exam eligibility (and any passes) on your resume if you haven't already.

How are you trying to find a job? Talking to recruiters is good, but do you have any friends at public accounting firms that you're interested in? Have you gone to career fairs? Are you utilizing LinkedIn at all?

FAR: May 1st, 2014 - 91
AUD: May 29th, 2014 - 97!
BEC: July 16th, 2014 - 91
REG: August 29th, 2014 - 88

Licensed December 2015

Feel free to add me on LinkedIn by clicking my username!

[AScott89]

I have had some phone and in-person interviews with companies but found out two and five weeks later that I did not get it. A lot of the people I went to college with went to other states or went into accounting departments at private companies. I haven't been to any career fairs yet. The accounting career fair at my school's campus is only for current students and a lot of the firms there weren't even hiring, they were just there to talk about their firm. I'm on LinkedIn and have tried using it but there isn't much in my area for people with no accounting experience.

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B - 65, 74, 2/26/18
A - 72, 68, 84
R - 72, 82
F - 55, 79

BEC-65
AUD-72(8 '14); 68(11 '14)
FAR-
REG-

[WeWillSee]

In school they always told us that Public Accounting firms look for people who have had one, if not two, internships by the time they graduate. My firm primarily hires those who have had internships inside and outside the firm, but there are exceptions.

Make sure that you strongly emphasize anything that you have done related to accounting – Did your school ever do volunteer work helping low income individuals prepare taxes, did you ever do accounting tutoring, did you belong to an accounting club, any job related to anything financial, etc.. I would put anything like that on the top of your resume. If you work at a retail store make sure you emphasize any inventory counts, cash reconciliation or anything else related to business operations. If you're including your GPA on your resume and it's below 3.0, i would omit it completely – I heard about a girl who was a perfect candidate in all other respects, except that she had a 2.9 GPA and that was the reason why she wasn't hired.

I know a lot of firms start looking right now to fill staff positions for January, so applying now may be a good idea. Look for every accounting firm in your area and apply. I probably applied to 20 firms when I was looking for an internship. Also, I know in my area there is a big accounting career fair downtown, a lot of schools attend, but people can also attend individually, it's usually a $100 entry fee, but worth it – see if there is something like that in your area.

I don't know if you've tried everything that I mentioned, but from my experience over the past couple years in public accounting, and seeing some of the hiring processes, these are just some suggestions I could come up with.

Good Luck!

[AScott89]

Thanks @WeWillSee Unfortunately I never did any tutoring in accounting. My school had a rule where you had to have an A to tutor and I only ever made B's and Cs. I didn't volunteet with VITA because you had to provide your own transportation and I didn't have a car at the time. I didn't do an internship for the same reason. I wish I had but there's no changing the past. My gpa was better than a 3.0 so I have it on my resume along with the 150 hours and the fact that I am studying for the cpa exam. I've applied at larger firms like KPMG and McGladrey but I either haven't heard anything back or have been turned down. For other Big 4 firms, I'm guessing you need to have at least a year of experience or do an internship in school to get on with them. I guess all I can do is just keep trying.

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B - 65, 74, 2/26/18
A - 72, 68, 84
R - 72, 82
F - 55, 79

BEC-65
AUD-72(8 '14); 68(11 '14)
FAR-
REG-

[acamp]

Time to do some pavement pounding. You do not need experience to get in with Big4, you need to find a way in to the campus recruiting. While yes, they primarily recruit from campuses, you can sneak your way in.

I would suggest attending an event put on by your state CPA society, usually free (or very cheap) to join for prospective CPAs. The problem with trying to join from the outside is that firms receive thousands of electronic submissions, so you need someone on the inside who is willing to nudge it in the right direction. That is, you don't need a best friend, but someone who might say “hey campus recruiter, met so and so and an event who is interested in joining the firm, here's his resume”. You could also try hitting up campus recruiters directly on LinkedIn, search “Deloitte Campus Recruiter San Francisco” for example and see who pops up.

The problem is not with your experience, its with finding a way in. Find ways to meet people in public and take it from there.

Self proclaimed: Highest ratio of Replies to Others v. Posts Created on A71

California CPA - Big4 Aud Manager Alum - Private Accounting at Startups

FAR, REG and BEC with Ninja Notes + WTB Only

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[ruggercpa2b]

I agree with everything that acamp said. You have to literally stalk people. Get out of the mindset of what people have told you about what the Big 4 are looking for. If you have a 3.0 GPA and have your 150 hours then you should be applying. I find it hard to believe that all those new hires the Big 4 are bringing all have done internships, passed the exam, or have one year of experience. Also, look at regional firms as well. Big 4 is not the end all be all of accounting. I think we all get hung up into trying to work for Big 4 and bypass other great opportunities along the way. If you have been trying to get in since 2012 what have you been doing in the last 2 years? Also, if the career fairs at your former school are not being strictly monitored then go to them. Unless someone is checking names at the door there is no reason why you should not get in. If they ask tell them you graduated from there. Sometimes actually putting forth the effort can be appealing to a recruiter.

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.

[Anonymous]

Do you have to work at Big 4? I was a career changer and I worked at a small regional firm, learned a lot, and got out after two years and now manage internal audit at private firm.

[AScott89]

I don't have to work at a Big 4 firm I'm just trying to get in at any accounting firm I can. I have contacted a campus recruiter before on LinkedIn but got just the generic ‘I'll keep your resume on file' response. I've tried to look for others on LinkedIn and haven't had good results. I'll keep trying that though.

What have I been doing in the last two years? Applying over and over at accounting firms, looking for firms that are actually hiring, and just trying to get any job in general just to have money coming in to pay for the cpa exam and to help my family out. My school only has one accounting career fair. I went to it two years straight but most of the firms there weren't even hiring or looking to hire in the near future. I'll probably take a look at joining my state cpa society or even the aicpa, maybe both. Just gotta save up money for the fees though.

--
B - 65, 74, 2/26/18
A - 72, 68, 84
R - 72, 82
F - 55, 79

BEC-65
AUD-72(8 '14); 68(11 '14)
FAR-
REG-

[ruggercpa2b]

One thing I did earlier this year was sign up to upgrade linkedin for a month and I was able to search for companies and directly email recruiters. I got 2 interviews from doing that. Once you pass the exam it might give you the extra boost. If they say that they are currently not hiring i would ask when it is they would be hiring. And then ask if you can follow up with them at that time. Sometimes you almost have to be persistent in a non annoying way. I have also asked recruiters to give me feedback. I had to revamp my resume because my mentor who is a tax director at a big 4 pretty much told me upfront that on paper I was not impressive. In person he said I could tell I was very personable and seemed smart. But if he had never met he would never hire me for a job.

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.

[nigercpa]

@Ruggercpa2be, have heard that resume sometimes limit the opportunity to be called for an interview if it does not look good. What is the general standard for a big4 resume and other accounting positions? I know I googled some times ago and re structured mine based on the google search I did, but am not even sure if it's still presentable. A friend in one of the big4 once told me that an entry level job does not need any experience, that I should remove all my previous employment from my resume. Can anyone give a better insight to this and give useful hints on how the structure and presentation of the resume should look like?

AUD - 87
BEC - 77
FAR - 83
REG - 77

Licensed in 2015

Far - Passed 83
Aud - Passed 84
Bec - Passed 77
Reg- Passed 77

[Anonymous]

@nigercpa

I included my previous RELEVANT work experience in the standard reverse chronological order. I also made sure to include the following at the top of my resume after my degree information:

“California CPA candidate under former Pathway 1: license application submitted; license # pending” so that they knew I did not need to have 150 credit hours and that I'm only waiting on my license #.

I always aimed to emphasize duties that directly served clients to show that I have SUCCESSFUL experience dealing with clients. I did hear during my recent interviews that some of the experience I had was “dated” (from college 2010 on)…so I will make sure I take that out.

[ruggercpa2b]

Like CPA4birthdaypresent mentioned I have listed the last two jobs that are relevant. I was told to take off the 2 jobs I had prior to 2007 because they were so old. Since 2007 I have only held 2 jobs so I have those listed. You dont want to remove all experience because you want to show that you were capable of holding down a job while in school. And at times some of the relevant experience can help you start as a second year staff vs a first year staff.

One guy that would be a great resource for reviewing your resume and giving you feedback is a guy named Andrew Argue he runs a blog called thebeancounter.org (Jeff I hope I am not breaking any rules). I did a mock interview with him a few months ago and afterwards he gave me some really good feedback on formatting my resume and how best to answer questions. Check him out. And it was free. You can't beat that.

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.

[nigercpa]

Thanks guys! I will check the website.

AUD - 87
BEC - 77
FAR - 83
REG - 77

Licensed in 2015

Far - Passed 83
Aud - Passed 84
Bec - Passed 77
Reg- Passed 77

[Author]

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