[Anonymous]

I have recently passed the CPA exam 🙂 and I am looking to move to a warmer state. I currently live in a small town in IA and I figured that since I passed my CPA, I wouldn’t have a problem finding a job. Quite the opposite came true! I’ve had many people, including managers, look at my resume and they all say that it looks great and they’d definitely call me in for an interview, but I haven’t even gotten one call yet! NOT ONE!

Has anyone else experienced this? I’m wondering if it has to do with the fact that I live out of state? Any tips for applying in other states?

[msgolds]

I doubt it has to do with the fact that you live out-of-state. It's just generally a tough market right now. A couple of questions:

1) Do you have any prior experience?

2) What type of work are you looking for? Audit / Tax / Advisory / Corporate Accounting, etc? Is this specified on your resume? I've heard many times that companies are weary about people who do not specify what career path they want.

3) When you hand in your resume, do you provide a Cover Letter? I know lots of hiring managers who won't even look at a resume without a cover letter.

4) Have you looked into the job market in those areas? Some times the demand just isn't that great. Have you tried looking into the DC area? The government contract accounting business is HUGE around here, and entry-level accounting jobs are in high demand.

BEC - 90 PASSED
FAR - 84 PASSED
AUD - 93 PASSED
REG - 84 PASSED

I DID IT!!!!

Using Becker Self-Study

"If we were put here to carry a great weight, then the very things we hate are here to build those muscles."

[nolifecpa]

if you know somebody in the new state use their address but i don't think employers really care unless you want them to pay for your moving costs

the job market is still bad tho

REG-65,71,74,73,70,74,79
BEC-60's,60's,69,71,76*,78
FAR-67,66,65,79
AUD-54,60's,65,83*,69,80
*expired

DONE

[mla1169]

How many jobs have you applied to? I am always amazed to read that someone applied to 6, 8, or 15 jobs and is frustrated already.

As a point of reference, I left my job on Jan 31. I've been working in accounting since 1996 and have a CPA license. I sent out 8 resumes PER DAY EVERY DAY from Feb 1-Mar 20. That's 384 resumes. Starting Feb 4 I had 1 or 2 interviews every single day until Mar 20. Somewhere around 40 interviews. Ended up with 3 offers the week of Mar 20 and accepted one.

And if employers are saying it looks great but not calling, chances are there is something wrong with your resume. Have someone you know and trust review it.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[vanadium3]

very insightful mla. That's reality. if you live somewhere big, go get help from recruiters.

CPA

[KBinMN]

mla how does one send out 300+ resumes? Were these jobs you actually wanted? Were they in your area or in areas you'd have to move to?

Just curious.

[mla1169]

KB it was a combination of a lot of things. Some jobs were advertised (maybe about 80% of the resumes I sent out were in response to an ad), some jobs were listed 1+ month earlier but who knows if someone accepted the position then changed their mind or quickly didn't work out, some were just googling local businesses that I was interested in and cold contacting them. Some jobs were out of state (I live less than an hour from NH). Between Craigslist, Indeed, LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, the state unemployment website I guarantee one can find 8+ new listings that they are qualified for and would be a position to consider.

I'll add, I am 20 min north of boston and this is a pretty dense area for businesses. If I lived somewhere a bit less populated I might not have found as many new listings daily but still would have reached out to businesses that did not have listings.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Maple1223]

In Houston, Texas it is pretty easy to get something in accounting. We have a lot of oil and gas companies that are always looking to shell out some doe for a CPA. The problem is that they take their time.

There are also a large amount of staffing agencies that can find you a job pretty quick, just to get started. At a staffing agency, you can land a job around $20-$25 an hour, which is not the greatest but its a start, especially if it is just temp. Keep in mind, that 20-25 and hour will go a lot farther in Texas than most states.

That was my strategy, except my “temp” job ended up being permanent, mainly because I stopped applying to Oil and Gas.

I love business valuation work, so I decided to stay where im at.

I was talking to a hiring manager at SRR, a financial firm. They said they received over 200 resumes for a financial analyst position in the first day it was posted. Honestly the staffing agency is the way to go, unless you have connections elsewhere.

FAR 8/2/14
BEC 10/4/14
REG 11/29/14
AUD 2/7/14ish

[philb]

@mla those stats are insane. I have a friend (teacher, different industry) who got two offers from her first two interviews, after sending out resumes for maybe a couple weeks. Can't help but feel I was fed a line with the whole “accounting is a solid career” bit.

[Anonymous]

What experience do you have?

Please have someone look at your resume or cover letter. A career counselor at your college career center, friend who's good at that stuff, etc. I love the blog Ask a Manager for tips on cover letters and resumes. Plus the economic recovery is very slow so there's a lot of people applying for very few job openings.

How are you networking? Are you networking via professional groups? Volunteering? Other avenues? You know the saying “it's who you know”? This is very true in the job market.

[Anonymous]

“How many jobs have you applied to? I am always amazed to read that someone applied to 6, 8, or 15 jobs and is frustrated already.”

I absolutely agree with your point here (even if your example is really extreme. People get frustrated WAY too quickly.

“I have a friend (teacher, different industry) who got two offers from her first two interviews, after sending out resumes for maybe a couple weeks. Can't help but feel I was fed a line with the whole “accounting is a solid career” bit.”

I've heard teaching jobs are pretty competitive actually. The truth is accounting generally opens you to more types of entry level roles than most business degrees. The pay isn't huge, but it's decent and, depending on the company, your ceiling can rise very high over time (vs. say a teacher with an undergrad degree).

With that said, it is super competitive (esp at the entry level) and students try to make things simple and think Accounting degree + good grades + nice smile + Passing the CPA = guaranteed shot at success, but things aren't that simple in the real world.

[Allergic2CPA]

@OP: I agree with Maple1223. As evidence, I searched in careerbuilder for full-time “Accountant” for the last 30 days with the salary range of $50K-$80K and the result? 931 job listings. Keep in mind that this only with that one word because there are still more that may come out as “Financial Analyst” but I'm sure some results will overlap but you get the idea.

@Maple: Are you still interested in Oil & Gas industry? Do you happen to be bilingual (Spanish or Portuguese) with 5+ yrs. general accounting experience? If so, I can get you in contact with my recruiter since my current employer is hiring. I think they are somewhat desperate because they are looking for bilingual professionals.

FAR 46*, 77
AUD 70, 79
BEC 67, 82
REG 75

Texas License July 2013

Used Yaeger lectures based on Wiley textbooks

*Studied less than two weeks, forgot I had purchased NTS.

[Anonymous]

Allergic2CPA,

Are you referring to Houston, TX -oil and gas? I meet most of the requirement you mentioned; if so, please help me out, I am seriously trying to make a move in oil and gas. I would appreciate if you reply.

[Allergic2CPA]

@CPA2012….are you bilingual in Spanish or Portuguese?

FAR 46*, 77
AUD 70, 79
BEC 67, 82
REG 75

Texas License July 2013

Used Yaeger lectures based on Wiley textbooks

*Studied less than two weeks, forgot I had purchased NTS.

[Anonymous]

Allergic2CPA,

I meet all the requirements except that; I am bilingual but not in Spanish or Portuguese ; if they are OK with that,but I am ready to make a move and I really appreciate if you could talk to your recruiter/ employer. Thanks for your time.

[Kls238]

Like the OP, I'm also having a hard time finding a job. I live in a small city, and I think I've applied to almost every firm/accounting job in my area. I've only had one interview. I earned decent grades in college (3.3), and I have some tax experience through volunteering, but still no luck.

I have a health problems, so relocating outside my area isn't an option right now. Do I reapply to the same accounting firms (same positions – staff accountant) that I didn't hear back from 3-4 months ago?

Passed all sections.

[Author]

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