How to land a accounting job?

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  • #195214
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I live in California. I passed the CPA exam in 2014 but could not find a job. I am currently doing an unpaid internship at a small CPA firm. I was looking for work for months and only could land the unpaid internship and I feel like I will never get a paying job. The CPA already told me that he cannot afford to hire me in the future, but he might just pay me per project. I am not a licensed CPA since I need the hours and don’t know what to do.

    I do admit I have a gap of almost 2 years and employers don’t trust me yet, but I did use that time to pass all parts of the CPA exam.I have sent many resumes and no luck. I have tried to network with friends and family, but they all say you just have to apply online.

    I feel like I should just give up in accounting and do something else…

    Any advice, suggestion will greatly be appreciated.

    Thank you!

Viewing 13 replies - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
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  • #676649
    Yaz88
    Participant

    I really cant fathom how employers wont employee a person who passed the CPA! Unpaid Internship? Really?

    I wish I could help, but my advise is to try to connect with couple recruiters around your area. Connect with them Via LinkedIn for example and they will find you sometime. Do you have an account on Indeed.com? this website helped me connect with recruiters.

    Wish you all the luck, (Sep through Dec) is a hot recruitment season for Accounting Firms

    #676650
    MaLoTu
    Participant

    Have you tried CalCPA?

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

    All 4 passed - 2016

    CA CPA

    #676651
    TargetCPA
    Participant

    How long are you working in this unpaid internship?

    Based on your years of experience with this unpaid internship, you can apply to an entry level accountant positions with small growing companies in your city. I don't know that you are trying for an entry level positions or not, But that's a starting point when you are not a recent fresh grad eventhough you finished CPA.

    AUD - NINJA in Training
    BEC - NINJA in Training
    FAR - NINJA in Training
    REG - NINJA in Training
    BEC-78(Expired),68,71,69,74
    REG-Waiting for score
    AUD-
    FAR-
    #676652
    fuzyfro89
    Participant

    Put yourself in the shoes of the biggest critic you can imagine…

    Why do you think Demonofmist was unemployed for 2 yrs?

    What would it take you to give Demonofmist a chance in your firm/company?

    Is there something wrong with Demonofmist?

    These fears will be running through recruiter's and hiring managers' minds. You didn't talk about what you did for 2 yrs and why you didn't go bat sh*t crazy looking for work before, so I'll leave out the conjecture unless you decide to fill us in.

    Today, your CPA exams passed is great, but experience is seriously lacking. Let me be clear, being out of school for 2 yrs (I think, based on what you said) is not good and reflects very poorly upon you. If there are extenuating circumstances (had to take care of sick family, had to join the family business temporarily, etc), then make sure that is known on your resume and when you network.

    Without knowing the details of what you have done in the past 2 yrs, I can't really offer much good advice. Can you share more about what you did, and why?

    #676653
    nigercpa
    Participant

    My story is also similar to yours except that I am an International and wasn't able to get an employer to sponsor my work visa, which explains my employment gap. I have had several interviews within that time span that I wasn't extended an offer cos of this. It is a very frustrating position to be in but with your CPA exams passed you should get a job even if its an entry level position. After I obtained my license, I have had recruiters contacted me and I am very optimistic that I would get a job once I receive my authorization in a couple of months. Because I want to have an offer before the employment authorization and a lot of companies give two to three months period to start , I am now actively looking for a job now. The following are the steps I took within the last which tremendously improved my chances and confidence ;

    1. I joined my state CPA society: This helped a lot in networking and getting access to the society's career website.

    2. Last week, I volunteered for my state minority accounting group which got me connected to quite a number of big 4 employees , manager level and below and I was able to speak with them and even got some of them to submit my resume.

    3. I also make use of linkedIn and indeed. To put things in perspective, I was contacted by a Recruiter through Indeed some months ago and was interested in the job. I responded to the mail and didn't get a response for a couple of days. So I looked up her name from the email and sent her a linkedin invite, sent her a message and stated that she had contacted me for a job. Less than 24 hours I was interviewed. Unfortunately, I didn't get the job cos they needed to fill the position immediately which I wasn't able to do cos of my visa.

    So, I guess my point is you need to get out and make some connections, though I have not gotten an offer cos of my status, I am very optimistic that I would once I am ready to work. Also, the 2 years gap might be the major hindrance but keep trying and you will get something. Don't be too picky, you may have to start at an entry level. I have observed that getting the first door open may be challenging, once you have a job its easier to change jobs and eventually get something you truly like and enjoy after some years of experience and with your CPA, the sky is the starting point. Good luck!

    AUD - 87
    BEC - 77
    FAR - 83
    REG - 77
    Licensed in 2015

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

    #676654
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I think after 2 years (and no family or friends being willing to put in a good word for you), you need to assess very seriously what is wrong and why you're not making any progress. If you can't figure it out, then you need to get someone to tell you. This doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong with you and unfixable, but there's something that's hampering you, and figuring it out – and fixing it – is necessary to proceed. For example, nigercpa made this assessment and determined that the thing stopping him was his visa status, so he's fixing it. You need to assess your own situation and figure out what it is, then figure out what you can do to fix it or if it's something that while a drawback for accounting would be an asset elsewhere so a career change would be advantageous.

    For a random example, let's say you're artsy and go to interviews look like this: https://img.priyo.com/files/201309/casual-look-640.jpg Given that accounting is more about tradition, standards, etc., this might be giving the wrong “vibe” to your interviewers. So, you'd have a couple options: is art where your passion lies and you would be good at it and you can switch careers, or do you need to give up this look M-F and save it for the weekend?

    Until you can get some honest answers of “what's wrong”, I don't think you're going to get a job. Whether you can come up with those answers yourself or will need to get them from someone else is something only you know, but you need to get some brutal honesty to get some changes made.

    #676655
    Ineedsomesun
    Member

    Sounds like you're not getting interviews which means you need to fix your resume. I'm a tax accountant and the irs offers a course. It's called vita and after you do the course, you volunteer prepping returns for lower income individuals. I know a few coworkers who did it before getting their first job. Anyway, not sure you want to taxes but if so, it's a good way to go. At least you won't have any more gaps in your resume. Also, you might have to move for your first job.

    FAR - 78, FEB2014,
    REG - 82, MAY2014
    BEC - 79, JULY2014
    AUD - 68, 86, MAY2015 (ALL DONE!!!)

    #676656
    Missy
    Participant

    Here are my tips:

    1-have someone review your resume. If you still have access to career services at your school its a good first step.

    2-tweak your resume for EACH job you apply to. Make sure you're using specific keywords from the job posting. Basically at your stage in your career each resume you send out should almost verbatim be the job listing (as much as you can honestly. Don't SAY you've done accruals if you havent.)

    3-no matter what you may think you are not applying to enough jobs. If you're not getting out 2-4 resumes PER DAY, you are simply not trying hard enough. I don't care if you live in a rural farm town with only one gas station, broaden your search area, apply to jobs that say 2 years experience is required even if you don't have 2 years experience, apply to places that don't have jobs listed.

    4-Don't overlook the value of a great cover letter. If you're using the same cover letter for every resume you send out its obvious. Be specific to the ad like you are in your resume. Actually STUDY the art of cover letters, don't just cut and paste the first hit you get for cover letters on google.

    5-study interviews on you tube. Very small subtleties in your interview can make the difference in how the interviewer feels about you 2-3 days later. Again, there is a huge difference between the tips you'll read on google and actually SEEING how body language, vocal inflection and enthusiasm impact the process.

    6-have VERY VERY good questions to ask the interviewer. The hands down best interview question I've asked is “what specific skill do you NEED me to hit the ground running with on day 1.” Interviewers eat that kind of question up because its about THEIR needs, not the candidates.

    7-If you don't spend at LEAST 2-3 hours researching the company before your interview you are doing yourself a huge disservice. The interviewer wants to believe that you're into this particular company and job and not just looking for the first offer you can get. Inevitably you'll get the “why do you want to work here” question. If your answer is “because the culture seems good” you blew it. Anybody can say that ANYWHERE. You want to work here because you know sales increased 22% last year, a new region was added for sales in the midwest, or you're excited that they recently merged with the other largest widget company in your area.

    Hope some of that helps. You can compensate for lack of experience and for gaps in employment if you really make yourself an expert on the job hunting process.

    Old timer,  A71'er since 2010.

    Finance manager/HR manager

     

     

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

    #676657
    JohnWayneIsGod
    Participant

    In what part of California are you looking? If you are looking in Stockton or Fresno, it will be hard for you to find any work. However, if you are looking in the Bay Area or LA it will be hard not to find work. Everyone has given some good advice about tweaking the resume. Have a CPA look at your resume and offer suggestions. I had a few do that for me before I started looking and still do it occasionally. And practice interviewing before you actually interview. Like fuzyfro89 said above, employers will have objections and concerns when they interview you, so anticipate those objections and practice how you will answer them. Keep practicing those answers until they sell you and come off naturally.

    Last but not least: Send out several resumes everyday and include a cover letter that is tailored to your employer. I tailor my cover letter from a template that I made, but specially create a new one from scratch in circumstances that call for it. Look at finding a job like sales. You need to knock on as many doors as you can so that you can get your foot in the door, and once you get your foot in the door you need to be ready to sell yourself.

    FAR - 80

    Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.

    -John Wayne

    #676658
    MaLoTu
    Participant

    Is it a possibility that your non-paid internship is hurting you?

    I read an article that surveyed kids just graduating college and it said that those who did unpaid internships made less out of college than even those who did no internship at all. The reason was that it is actually against the law for a company to not pay someone for work that provides value to the company. I.E., the students in the unpaid internships were not gaining viable skills. The only way around this law is if you are receiving college credit.

    Here is the link to the article: https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/01/16/why-your-unpaid-internship-makes-you-less-employable/

    Here is a publication from SHRM about wage laws and interns: https://www.shrm.org/publications/hrmagazine/editorialcontent/2013/0413/pages/0413-internships.aspx

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

    All 4 passed - 2016

    CA CPA

    #676659
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Thank you for the tips. I will address some of your points.

    My family and friends tell me to apply online. They did not say they don't trust me. They said the companies only want your application online, and during the referral section you can put their name. They can't just send them my resume directly to the hiring manager. I do try to network, but everyone just says to apply online and just mention their name.

    I did work as a clerk previously, but i was only a temp worker. When the temp contract expired I just could not land a job, so i decided to use the time to pass the exams. I know i lack the experience and that's why I took the internship. It has been two months of internship so far…

    I did use the CPA society, I posted my resume there and even searched for jobs, but it feels like the website is dead…

    I currently need hours to become a licensed CPA, so I am only looking to work under a licensed CPA.

    Other than that, I am still applying, but just not having any luck. I got my resume looked at and they fixed it but still have not seen any result. Some people are telling me to just forget CPA and just take any job. So i am a bit confused at this point if I should just continue to pursue it or not….

    Thank you for your advices, it means a lot to me.

    #676660
    MaLoTu
    Participant

    You need to contact your local chapter of the CalCPA society. They have events where you can get connected with firms. The job board is dead and is just as good as blindly sending your resume through the online system.

    About your family, can you at least have them introduce you to the recruiter. Maybe ask if they can give you the recruiters email address?

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

    All 4 passed - 2016

    CA CPA

    #676661
    trish_1234
    Member

    Ineedsomesun gave some awesome advice. I was thinking of doing that course also.

    My resume is not the best and basically I got few job offers through networking. for instance, I used to work at a customer service job and was talking to a customer abt myself (I have a weird accent that always starts a personal conversation) anyways turns out he was a partner and offered me an intern at his firm lol.

    Another option is taking grad classes all my friends that went on to grad school got jobs. You just have to take one semester and go to job fairs meet recruiters face to face.

    and get ur resume checked over and over again

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

Viewing 13 replies - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)
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