[Anonymous]

I have been trying to get into any public accounting firm basically since I graduated in 2012 and even during my Senior year as well applying for internships, entry-level positions, etc. I ended up finding a job for a rather large Publicly-traded company within a year of graduation, but I am not really getting the satisfaction/feeling that what I am doing is truly giving me good career experience. My current position is in General Accounting for the Shared Services group at my company.

In my continuous effort to obtain a public accounting position, I have had phone interviews, in-person interviews, and went through the campus recruitment process, all leading to no offers. These interviews have been with non-Big 4 firms, instead being with the “next 4” firms.

I feel that with my current role I have pretty much hit a wall and am eagerly awaiting my next career challenge. I feel that working for a public firm will give me the experience I am looking for. I don’t mind working the crazy amount of hours employees for public firms are forced to work, as gaining the experience is most important to me at this point in my career. Has anybody had similar experience as I am currently in and was able to obtain a role with a public accounting firm?

Some background on me: I have my 4-year degree in accounting, have passed 3/4 CPA exams and am planning on taking the 4th in August.

Thank you all for your responses.

[jaredo155]

I can't personally relate as I have never tried to work in public, but my old roommate basically went through the exact same thing. He didn't get any hits off of campus recruiting and ended up taking a corporate job in the interim. He stuck it out at that job about 6 months until he passed 3 of the 4 parts and then was able to get in to one of the regional accounting firms here (not Big 4 or next 4 but the tier just under that). He has been there 3 years now and has progressed from staff to senior to supervisor, and the other day he told me one of the Big 4 was recruiting him now. He isn't going to take it though because he loves the culture at the more local firm he is at, so maybe local/regional firms might be an option to get your foot in the door and give you more options down the road.

Good luck!

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[pjypjy8520]

I think once you have passed your 4th section, post that on LinkedIn (if you don't have a profile, make one). I got contacted from a HR manager from the national firm (next 4). Usually, the entry positions are hard to get into if you are not recruited out of campus but I think once you have passed your exam, there will be firms that will be aggressively pursuing you. This may not apply to Big 4 or other national firms, but I think most of local offices or regional firms try so hard to hire CPA's or those who have passed the exam. It's a bit harder for them to get talents out of school. Also, I don't know where you are located but it could also depend on the office's demand. Right now, Texas offices are having shortages. It is mainly oil and gas derived market in Texas but there are some other big companies here as well (American Airlines, AT&T, JCPenney, etc) those big 4 firms ALWAYS need people.

Good luck!

[Author]

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