[sscusc]

Hello everyone,

I would like some help deciding what to do in the short term future. In college and after graduating, I have made a few mistakes which I still regret. I can’t seem to focus on studying for the CPA exam because of how frustrated I am. I cannot get interviews and when I have gotten some rare interviews, I have either botched them or they chose to go with other candidates.

I graduated with an Accounting/Finance degree from a state school with a 3.5 GPA. With 154 credit hours.

I found a TEMPORARY job in a different city. The job was in mortgage banking so no, I wasn’t auditing financial statements and I was not handling doing any financial analysis. That job is now over for me.

Currently I live with my parents and I am studying for the CPA exam with no short term future goals.

I use a lot of job board websites to apply for accounting/financial analyst jobs. I applied for an experienced associate – audit position at a big4, and I had a phone interview for that because I knew the recruiter. She told me straightforwardly that my role at my previous job wouldn’t be suitable for an experienced audit associate position (even though their job description states “1 year of work experience” with nothing specific. Yet I realize this and I try to tie my past work experience to auditing and I think I failed to do that. It also seems that all ENTRY LEVEL jobs are being taken by newer graduates. I also landed another phone interview with a F500 company who told me they were looking for people with more financial/financial modeling experience.

I feel like I am stuck. I have been out of work for 4 months and I don’t have any idea on what to do. I do not know what it feels like to be an actual FULL TIME employee of a company.

Please advise me!

So far I have been thinking of the following options

1) Go back and put in 4 more years to get another bachelors degree in Engineering

2) A masters degree (however GMAT seems to be a huge obstacle for me, how do I study for it while studying for the CPA exam? I took it once before and didn’t do good enough to get into a decent school)

3) Give up with any aspirations of getting a decent financial/accounting analyst/auditing job for now. Find a teller/clerk job, attain work experience and try to move up.

[Anonymous]

You may well have to start at the bottom and work your way up. No one wants someone without experience, and no one will give you good experience till you have crappy experience. I got a job intended to answer the phone and process payrolls. >.< But it was in a small firm where I was allowed to do anything I could do, so now I can do almost anything there, and when applying for a next position will have experience that actually counts!

However, if you think you would enjoy engineering more, by all means go for it. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the Master's, because it seems like experience > education when you're trying to get a job. My impression is that the career potentials are greater if you get experience and then get the Master's later if/when it would open more job opportunities. Right now it might just make you educationally-over-qualified while experience-under-qualified…at least that's my perspective on Master's, but I know a lot of people get their Master's and then get a job and do well, so somewhat a preference thing.

[sscusc]

I agree with you. It's just unfair that I have put in lots of work to get a job I can say I am QUALIFIED to get and yet I just think that I am SO stuck. It's demoralizing that my good friends have jobs at Big4 and are working towards a brighter future while I have to look at clerk jobs at the prime of my life? I don't have many solutions in mind and that's why I am asking for advice on these forums. All I can do right now is study for the CPA and keep applying for jobs, keep an active, healthy mind and body and maybe make a connection or two in the field. I would rather just get another bachelors degree in a booming field, work harder at it, and get a job in it instead of putting up with a crappy, uninteresting job too. But I really want to stick to Accounting and eventually get into the field I want to get into.

[mla1169]

If engineering is what you want to do (but you likely would have studied that if it was) then go back to school. Think about throwing in the towel after 4 months of job searching though as you'd very likely find yourself in the same position as a new engineering grad trying to land a job. If you're not looking for mortgage jobs, you're entry level. I've been working in corporate accounting for over 20 years but if I changed specialties all of that experience is irrelevant. If I tried to go into public, I have NO experience at all.

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[sscusc]

Thank you for your advice mla. Some areas of Engineering are booming and it would definitely keep me interested. However I think that it's a drastic decision on my part if I choose to go with it. And I would probably only do it if I was 100% certain that having a bachelors degree in Accounting/Finance + being a CPA would help me out in the Engineering industry (Taking on managerial roles in the industry). I have been taught the value of time of money from an early age and I really don't want all this time and money spent to go to waste if it will just end up being ignored in a completely new career.

I do agree with you on your assessment of Entry Level status. And in return, I want to pose this question: What can I do BESIDES get the CPA parts passed, keep applying for jobs, and trying to network to make up for the lack of experience?

Is it to pursue some skill, certificate etc?

[Anonymous]

Well, I tend to agree with Elisabeth. You certainly have to work your way up or you can just look for something else while working. It is often easier to land a job when you are working. Why not try having recruiters working for you?

[mla1169]

Keep applying. If you're not getting interviews it's time to have someone critique your resume. Chances are, a bit of tweaking is what you need. You have to make looking for a job your JOB. Get out at least 3 resumes per day (ideally 5). Apply to places that don't have listings. Use LinkedIn, the value of networking cannot be stressed enough. Post your resume (leave off phone # and create a designated email address) on indeed.com and monster. Reach out to Robert Half, and any other recruiters who do permanent placements.

4 months job search is nothing, even in engineering. If this is what you want to do it absolutely can be done, but you can't half-xxxx your job search.

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

Some catch that catch-22.

It's a vicious cycle, I know. You can't get a audit position because you already don't have audit experience.

Honestly a 3.5 GPA is not bad at all, perhaps you've just been approaching the problem the wrong way. May be the problem is not education, but you're just not socially suave. You said it yourself that you feel like you've botched interviews. Investing in attending networking events with your state CPA society or a linked-in premium account may not be a bad idea.

I would go for entry level positions. If you have to try that hard to make you past experience relevant to the position you're applying too…I can guarantee a recruiter is going to call BS on that right away and that'll shoot any chance had down the toilet.

Just my two cents.

[Anonymous]

sscusc and others on this forum. Ideas and let me know how off-base these are:

1. Can one get an internship if out of school. Perhaps sscusc could take that approach for 3 month internship? Are there internships that are not in the summer?

2. If you are thinking of getting an Engineering degree as an option, then perhaps you need to really look at your interests more closely? Perhaps you could considering tying CPA in with something like Project Management. You could be working with Engineering but managing Timelines and Budgets.

3. You mentioned getting a temp job but in another town. Perhaps you could continue doing temp work in industry and trying different types of industries to gain experience.

4. Networking is key and you mentioned you have “friends” in Big 4…could they not provide some insight on how to land a position?

5. Resume and interviewing – work with someone to refine that area and really consider what your best assets are as you are in a process of selling yourself.

[Author]

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