[jergar8]

*Warning: Long Post

Long time lurker here. I wanted to see if anyone has ever dealt with getting a new job in my position.

I Graduated college in December 2010. I immediately went to work for a mid-sized regional public accounting firm in audit that January. I stayed for 2 busy seasons, realized audit was not for me, and left for private corporate financial accounting after a year and half in public.

I stayed at the private company for only 9 months before taking a senior accountant position with another private company that was closer to home, paid more, and was promotion in my title (senior vs. staff). That only lasted 10 months before I was let go. I was let go due to non performance. Basically the controller didnt have time to teach me the work and i was having difficulties learning it myself to make a long story short.

Luckily, a family friend had an opening at a small tax firm. I took a significant pay cut, but the partner verbally offered me ownership when I received my CPA. As of today, I have only passed FAR ( and hopefully REG as i find out on the 4th), so I am still 2 tests out from being a CPA. However, the partner has decided to sell the firm effective Feb 15th and new ownership has only guaranteed employment through April 15th.

My question to you guys is:

Is my short job history at each job on my resume going to put me at a significant disadvantage? Will it scare away potential employers? Is there anything I can do now to minimize the damage I have caused myself?

[fuzyfro89]

Disadvantage? Yes.

How to deal? Work on a convincing story, resume, pitch, interview skills, etc.

It's one thing if a potential interview/referral knows you a bit and then later finds out about your spotty work history, but someone who doesn't know you will have some very obvious questions by reading your resume. “Why so many switches?” Later, if you get the interview and are being considered for an offer, they'll wonder “why take a big pay cut? Could he/she not do better?”

Tough questions, so I won't lie and say they don't matter. They do.

The first two jumps are easy to explain.

– left public after realizing you didn't want a career in public… no big deal

– left 1st job for a promotion and raise… not ideal after <1 yr, but no one will be confused by that

The 2nd jump will be tougher. Did you oversell yourself and come up short? Did your manager not have the time to train you and wanted someone who was ready to go? The answer may be some of both, but it just makes things uncomfortable, and in a competitive job market, you won't be at the top of the list.

Do your best and forget the rest.

[Texan_Stuck_In_OK]

To add to fuzyfro89, if you tell a potential employer the bit about not being up to snuff because your manager didn't have time to train you…that will be a big red flag. In my former job as a staff accountant and currently as a controller, no one trained me on how to do anything. I applied the DILLY method of accounting. Do It Like Last Year! I would pull a previous version of what ever task I needed to do, and search the GL or anything else I could to find where the numbers came from. Once I found those previous numbers, I took those same numbers for the current period for the current task. It takes longer, but helps you to understand how things are working behind the scenes. Never blame someone else for your inability to do a job. Just be prepared to address the questions about your work history as honestly as possible without blaming anyone else. You could always turn it into an answer that demonstrates your growth. Something like “I was let go from a position because I could not complete some tasks, but that experience taught me the value of initiative and being the self-starter that I am today.”

A 88, B 76, F 84, R 76 Passed 2014

Licensed in OK

[Anonymous]

I honestly don't even think its a disadvantage. I had four jobs in 3 years and the reason I left was reasonable for all of them and I was able to explain in the job interview. To be honest I think it helped me get my fifth job because I had “experience” in several areas.

[jergar8]

To expound on the “problem” job, i was let go because i was not completing things in a timely fashion. We used a software for accounting that was primarily a manufacturing ERP system. My main problem was that the software delivered reports that inaccurate and unorganized. I would spend a significant amount of time trying to make sense of the information before i could even begin to process it.

The controller had been there for years, but was used to doing everything herself as my role was newly created. Rather than teach me the ins and outs of the software and how get the information, she would just complete the task herself.

That is what led to the end of that job. I'm not trying to blame the controller by any means, but like fuzzy said, it was probably both our fault in someways.

Anyway, I appreciate all the responses. I guess I will just have to explain may side of the story when the time comes and hope for the best.

[tomq04]

There are lots of jobs right now, you will be fine. Start applying before it gets crazy, and something should line itself up for the transition to be smooth out of your small firm.

REG- (1) 76
FAR- (2) 64, (5)74, (7)83 (Over achiever!)
AUD- (3) 70, (4) 75
BEC- (6) 75

[jergar8]

Just wanted follow up for those who are interested.

I had my first interview today for a Senior position with a rapidly growing firm in the health care industry. They did not ask about my short tenure at each job, however they did ask me why I left the problem job. I gave them the same explanation i posted in my earlier reply and the CFO appeared to have no issues with it. In fact, the conversation directly after my explanation was all the benefits they offered and what salary i was looking for. I told him where i was and he stated “oh well salary definitely wont be an issue”.

In closing, i guess honesty is the best policy. Hopefully I hear back from them by the end of next week, since that is the timeline they gave me! Thanks for everyone's input.

[Author]

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