[ScarletKnightCPA]

Hi guys.

Now that I passed the CPA exam I would like to get some audit experience.

I am 5 years out of college, have 3 1/2 years of fortune 500 financial reporting experience and am pursuing my MBA.

Would the big 4 firms even look at me? I’ve tried reaching out to recruiters on linkedin but no bites yet.

Far: 76 (Wiley Test Bank)
Aud: 77 (Wiley Test Bank)
Reg: 61, 76 (Wiley book, Wiley Test Bank)
Bec: 86 (Wiley Test Bank)

MBA in progress

[UM1868]

Depends on your city. Your best bet first is to go ahead and apply to any openings you are interested online. Then you need to try to get in touch with a recruiter somehow. If you know someone who is big 4, they can look up someones e-mail address and you can e-mail them. Big 4 in smaller cities hire non-intern, older people all the time. Just make sure you have a resume that pops out. You already have a CPA, so that sticks out. Pursuing the MBA thing already will not pay off for a stint at big 4, but may later down the road.

Good luck.

Bec-76 (7/14)
Aud-81 (8/14)
Reg-82 (7/15)
Far- 82 (10/15)

Moral of the story, don't do your CPA while working in Big 4 Public Accounting.

[Anonymous]

Scarlet Knight-

My wife tells me her firm likes to hire from its clients (esp. on the consulting side). You may need to take a pay hit, but I don't see why it isn't possible.

A good place to start may be to join professional organizations and/or committees that have Big 4 employees on them and start networking. Start the dialog in person and follow up on LinkedIn. NJSCPA probably has a database that lists all committee members & their firms. I know PICPA has it. The nice thing about this approach is that it will get you connected with a good source of referrals (Senior & Manager level employees).

Also, if you can, drop a Senior one or two business cards and a resume next time your firm gets audited. They would probably be most willing to help you out so they get the referral bonus. The nice thing about this process is that the referror would send your resume directly to an experienced hire recruiter. You can bypass the online BS.

Skip the online applications unless nothing else works out. These things go into a black hole. I second the other poster's MBA comment. It doesn't add much value to an auditor. The Big 4 really like them in consulting, though. I should add that it certainly won't hurt you- it just probably won't PAY you as good a return as consulting.

What metro area are you looking at? What industries do you have experience in?

[jcan9703]

I'm kinda in the same boat as you scarlett, just 1 year out of college and less experience. I've been applying to positions like crazy but it seems like the only jobs they post are for experienced positions. I just want an entry level job but it seems like they only recruit out of school for entry level.

AUD - 89 07/02/14 (Becker practice exam: 74, 83)
REG - 92 08/18/14 (Becker practice exam: 75, 84)
BEC - 83 10/03/14 (Becker practice exam: 83, 70)
FAR - 91 11/24/14 (Becker practice exams: 64, 77)
*also utilized Becker Final Review after seeing practice scores for FAR*

[Author]

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