Only experienced applicants will be considered...
February 7, 2010 11:46 PM Subscribe
Any advice for getting an accounting job without having any experience?
It's the old catch 22 - need experience to get the job, need the job to get experience. My SO has just finished a two masters in accounting/finance (on top of a useless-jobwise bachelors degree in music). Hasn't done the CPA but planning to do it at some point.
Sent off lots of resumes but no accounting experience to put on it. Unsuccessful and getting discouraged.
I guess having a foreign sounding name doesn't help. HR departments are racist, right?
Anybody know anything about this profession, and how to get a foot in the door?
It's the old catch 22 - need experience to get the job, need the job to get experience. My SO has just finished a two masters in accounting/finance (on top of a useless-jobwise bachelors degree in music). Hasn't done the CPA but planning to do it at some point.
Sent off lots of resumes but no accounting experience to put on it. Unsuccessful and getting discouraged.
I guess having a foreign sounding name doesn't help. HR departments are racist, right?
Anybody know anything about this profession, and how to get a foot in the door?
I don't know anything about accounting other than the minimal bit I'm basically required to understand in order to perform my job, but I have some experience helping people get jobs that they're technically not “qualified” for (I help graphic designers in the Philippines without college degrees get jobs—in the Philippines, it's so much harder to get a job without a degree than it is in America). I was going to write my method here, but it's much easier to just post a link to this article which our plan is basically based on:
http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbr-now/2009/08/how-to-get-a-job-without-exper.html
It really works!
posted by ferdinandcc at 1:32 AM on February 8, 2010
http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/hbr-now/2009/08/how-to-get-a-job-without-exper.html
It really works!
posted by ferdinandcc at 1:32 AM on February 8, 2010
I guess having a foreign sounding name doesn't help. HR departments are racist, right?
Oh come on now. Wrong.
I don't know where you are but in my town right now there is a group of accountants who are providing free tax help to people under a certain income level. There's likely a nonprofit or two in your town doing the same thing. He/she will gain experience and exposure while networking with other accountants. He/she should act fast though, as tax season is underway already. (Assuming you're in the U.S.)
posted by headnsouth at 3:32 AM on February 8, 2010
Oh come on now. Wrong.
I don't know where you are but in my town right now there is a group of accountants who are providing free tax help to people under a certain income level. There's likely a nonprofit or two in your town doing the same thing. He/she will gain experience and exposure while networking with other accountants. He/she should act fast though, as tax season is underway already. (Assuming you're in the U.S.)
posted by headnsouth at 3:32 AM on February 8, 2010
One way to build experience is to work with a temp agency that specializes in accounting. Some will help with additional training and obviously with placement.
posted by birdwatcher at 3:48 AM on February 8, 2010
posted by birdwatcher at 3:48 AM on February 8, 2010
Given your name, I'm assuming you're Australian and have a connection to Brisbane. It's coming round to tax time again (okay, well, it's 5 months out) but directly ITP et al will be selling courses to do their tax agent training. It's pretty much a very thick book plus an exam. For someone who is an accountant, this stuff should be a breeze. Thereafter, tax agent work with someone like ITP or H & R Block and ta da, experience of a kind. How does that sound?
posted by b33j at 4:03 AM on February 8, 2010
posted by b33j at 4:03 AM on February 8, 2010
US-based advice (not sure where you are):
If your SO passes the CPA exam, or even just gets started and passes a section or two, that will increase public accounting firms' interest because they want employees who can pass the CPA exam.
Was your SO's GPA low? A lot of the bigger firms screen candidates based on GPA, if his/her GPA is low, he/she may need to apply to small local firms instead. In that case, I'd recommend dressing up very professionally and going door-to-door with resumes to small firms and CPA offices (do a Google Maps search for "CPA" near your address). Small firms have less formal recruitment/hiring processes. If your SO impresses the owner with his appearance and demeanor, the owner may be willing to give him/her a chance for tax season. Do a good job and it may become permanent.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:46 AM on February 8, 2010
If your SO passes the CPA exam, or even just gets started and passes a section or two, that will increase public accounting firms' interest because they want employees who can pass the CPA exam.
Was your SO's GPA low? A lot of the bigger firms screen candidates based on GPA, if his/her GPA is low, he/she may need to apply to small local firms instead. In that case, I'd recommend dressing up very professionally and going door-to-door with resumes to small firms and CPA offices (do a Google Maps search for "CPA" near your address). Small firms have less formal recruitment/hiring processes. If your SO impresses the owner with his appearance and demeanor, the owner may be willing to give him/her a chance for tax season. Do a good job and it may become permanent.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:46 AM on February 8, 2010
Robert Half is an international staffing firm that specializes in placing accounting professionals. Accountemps is a temp company for accountants, bookkeepers, and other finance types.
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:45 AM on February 8, 2010
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:45 AM on February 8, 2010
An observation about the labor market: workers for almost every function and at almost every level are a dime a dozen. One result of this is that HR has the ability to be very, very picky. Which isn't to say that they are effective at matching the right people to the right jobs (they generally aren't), but it's an employer's market and HR is able to exercise whatever judgment -- good, bad or indifferent -- it likes.
My point: finding a job is going to take time, so don't get discouraged.
Reach out to everybody from the Big Four (i.e., Deloitte, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young) to midsized firms (e.g., RSM McGladrey) to the staffing firms like Robert Half and Accountemps (although as they place temp workers, they are generally biased in favor of experienced workers) and to small, local accounting firms in your area. Check into campus recruiting and job fairs (through which entry level folks can sometimes pick up HR contacts).
headnsouth's idea to find a local firm doing pro bono work for low income folks is a good idea as well.
Make sure to get that CPA as career advancement without one is much harder; options for employment much more limited; and compensation levels much lower (for the same work). (In my view, getting an accounting degree with the intent to work in accounting but without the intent to get the CPA is a waste of time. The CPA is that important.)
(And be sure to mention prepping for the CPA on the resume and in interviews.)
Good luck to your SO!
posted by SuzB at 2:23 PM on February 8, 2010
My point: finding a job is going to take time, so don't get discouraged.
Reach out to everybody from the Big Four (i.e., Deloitte, KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young) to midsized firms (e.g., RSM McGladrey) to the staffing firms like Robert Half and Accountemps (although as they place temp workers, they are generally biased in favor of experienced workers) and to small, local accounting firms in your area. Check into campus recruiting and job fairs (through which entry level folks can sometimes pick up HR contacts).
headnsouth's idea to find a local firm doing pro bono work for low income folks is a good idea as well.
Make sure to get that CPA as career advancement without one is much harder; options for employment much more limited; and compensation levels much lower (for the same work). (In my view, getting an accounting degree with the intent to work in accounting but without the intent to get the CPA is a waste of time. The CPA is that important.)
(And be sure to mention prepping for the CPA on the resume and in interviews.)
Good luck to your SO!
posted by SuzB at 2:23 PM on February 8, 2010
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posted by mullacc at 1:32 AM on February 8, 2010