[ajurew1]

I was told by a recruiter that passing the CPA exam won’t help me find a job, and employers will not take it into consideration since I don’t have the kind of experience they are looking for.

I have been working as a lease/recovery accountant since I graduated college. I read tenant leases and bill the tenants based on the terms of their leases. I have been unable to get interviews for Staff Accounting type jobs. Do I have any way out of this position and into something that offers more career growth?

BEC - 84 (4/13/2013)
REG - 82 (10/17/2013)
AUD - 85 (12/5/2013)
FAR - 75 (10/11/2014)

[Study Monk]

Thanks!

I think Kathryn Meyer is my only option for the on campus Advanced Federal Income Taxation. I can't find any info on her, so I was considering taking that one online.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

Thanks!

I think Kathryn Meyer is my only option for the on campus Advanced Federal Income Taxation. I can't find any info on her, so I was considering taking that one online.

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Mayo]

“I do disagree with you that public accounting firms assume that new hires are likely to pass the exams relatively soon. The trend is more likely that at least 25% of their work force will not last more than 2 years and not get their CPA, another 50% will take at least 2 years to get their CPA, and only 25% will get their CPA the first year.”

@Studymonk, I'd say most of the large firms do assume all new hires are CPA ready. It's one of the reasons whether 5year bachelor+masters programs are becoming more popular. I mean, it's still nice to say you've passed it and it will give you brownie points during recruiting. But like another poster said, there's a myriad of other factors involved.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

“I do disagree with you that public accounting firms assume that new hires are likely to pass the exams relatively soon. The trend is more likely that at least 25% of their work force will not last more than 2 years and not get their CPA, another 50% will take at least 2 years to get their CPA, and only 25% will get their CPA the first year.”

@Studymonk, I'd say most of the large firms do assume all new hires are CPA ready. It's one of the reasons whether 5year bachelor+masters programs are becoming more popular. I mean, it's still nice to say you've passed it and it will give you brownie points during recruiting. But like another poster said, there's a myriad of other factors involved.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Study Monk]

Very well the majority rules 🙁

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

Very well the majority rules 🙁

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

This thread is depressing..

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[Study Monk]

This thread is depressing..

I spoke to an ancient wise man who sent me on a mushroom induced journey through an ancient forest to find the key to passing the CPA exam. A talking spider monkey told me to throw the last of my drinking water in the dirt to find what I was looking for. So I followed his instructions and the following message appeared in the soil:

"Do 5000 multiple choice questions for each section"

[John Tucker]

Okay guys can I step on the soap box for a minute lol? In today's job market, candidates seem to be putting an over emphasis on education rather than actual quality and RELEVANT work experience with high quality PERFORMANCE with a list of references to vouch for said experience.

You have to be the total package and everything that you are doing now and going forward should be to understand firstly what the total package is, and make sure you are doing everything to become the total package.

– Seek to understand all of the different levels of promotional growth within the Accounting sector you are seeking to work in, no matter if it's Public Accounting, Corporate Accounting Department, or Government Accounting Department. With each sector there are “starter” positions, then entry-level positions, then positions just above entry-level, then positions of management. For example, you might need to do free volunteer work or intern work or apprentice work, to qualify for the entry level bookkeeping position, to then qualify for the accounting clerk position, to then qualify for the traditional accountant position, etc. To THINK you can avoid the promotional ladder of RELEVANT experience and still be a viable job candidate is like presenting someone a box stating a “cake” is on the inside but when you open the box, all you have are the sprinkles and other cake “decorations.” RELEVANT and QUALITY experience is the cake, education/certifications are the frosting and decorations.

– Seek to obtain relevant education and certifications, such as the CPA, CMA, CGMA, etc.

– You must seek quality professional references to verify your relevant and quality work experience

– You must understand how to truly network, not just with recruiters but individuals within the industry who are hiring within the sector you are seeking to work

– You must understand how to organize and professionally present the “product that is YOU” on interviews. Why should I “buy” you? What's the missing need in my company and how do you fulfill it better than other candidates?

– You must have a DETAILED CAREER PLAN. Grabbing a degree and sitting for the CPA Exam is NOT A CAREER PLAN. A career plan is understanding your true passions and skills, understanding what sector of Accounting you want to work in, what area of the country, understanding the job promotional ladder, and putting everything together so that you break in and continue to move up the promotional ladder. None of this just “comes into place,” you have to sit down and strategically PUT it into place.

Now I'm stepping off the soapbox 😉

* State of MA CPA Exam Candidate
- BEC: Sunday, August 24th
- FAR: Saturday, November 29th
- AUD: TBA for February 2015
- REG: TBA for May 2015

[John Tucker]

Okay guys can I step on the soap box for a minute lol? In today's job market, candidates seem to be putting an over emphasis on education rather than actual quality and RELEVANT work experience with high quality PERFORMANCE with a list of references to vouch for said experience.

You have to be the total package and everything that you are doing now and going forward should be to understand firstly what the total package is, and make sure you are doing everything to become the total package.

– Seek to understand all of the different levels of promotional growth within the Accounting sector you are seeking to work in, no matter if it's Public Accounting, Corporate Accounting Department, or Government Accounting Department. With each sector there are “starter” positions, then entry-level positions, then positions just above entry-level, then positions of management. For example, you might need to do free volunteer work or intern work or apprentice work, to qualify for the entry level bookkeeping position, to then qualify for the accounting clerk position, to then qualify for the traditional accountant position, etc. To THINK you can avoid the promotional ladder of RELEVANT experience and still be a viable job candidate is like presenting someone a box stating a “cake” is on the inside but when you open the box, all you have are the sprinkles and other cake “decorations.” RELEVANT and QUALITY experience is the cake, education/certifications are the frosting and decorations.

– Seek to obtain relevant education and certifications, such as the CPA, CMA, CGMA, etc.

– You must seek quality professional references to verify your relevant and quality work experience

– You must understand how to truly network, not just with recruiters but individuals within the industry who are hiring within the sector you are seeking to work

– You must understand how to organize and professionally present the “product that is YOU” on interviews. Why should I “buy” you? What's the missing need in my company and how do you fulfill it better than other candidates?

– You must have a DETAILED CAREER PLAN. Grabbing a degree and sitting for the CPA Exam is NOT A CAREER PLAN. A career plan is understanding your true passions and skills, understanding what sector of Accounting you want to work in, what area of the country, understanding the job promotional ladder, and putting everything together so that you break in and continue to move up the promotional ladder. None of this just “comes into place,” you have to sit down and strategically PUT it into place.

Now I'm stepping off the soapbox 😉

* State of MA CPA Exam Candidate
- BEC: Sunday, August 24th
- FAR: Saturday, November 29th
- AUD: TBA for February 2015
- REG: TBA for May 2015

[sandy]

Anybody can learn all the accounting software like SAP, Oracle, and PeopleSoft. Don't listen to the recruiters who just match some words in the job description and submit your resume. When I started working as an accountant, I didn't know anything about PeopleSoft, they just trained me for one day and I bothered to learn lot of things from Google, YouTube. When you have down time at work, navigate through the system and figure out and that is the only way you will learn.

If you work in Public companies, you will have access only to your job level because of security and SOX compliance.

In Washington DC Metro area, even for entry level, they want you to have CPA!

[sandy]

Anybody can learn all the accounting software like SAP, Oracle, and PeopleSoft. Don't listen to the recruiters who just match some words in the job description and submit your resume. When I started working as an accountant, I didn't know anything about PeopleSoft, they just trained me for one day and I bothered to learn lot of things from Google, YouTube. When you have down time at work, navigate through the system and figure out and that is the only way you will learn.

If you work in Public companies, you will have access only to your job level because of security and SOX compliance.

In Washington DC Metro area, even for entry level, they want you to have CPA!

[PocketsWithCash]

Like I said before, I wasn't trying to discourage you, only let you know about my experience in the recruiting process. I only interviewed with big 4 firms so I'm sure it varies as you get outside of that narrow scope. With the big 4 you need your CPA to progress past a certain level so if they chose to hire you that's basically saying “you'll pass or you'll leave.”

Demonstrating value outside of the classroom and the exam is what will ultimately get you a job. You'd probably be surprised to know that I landed my job with: undergrad in econ (masters in accounting), internships in engineering, and 1 year working in marketing between undergrad and masters. If you're keeping score, that's 0 accounting-related work experience. If you show your worth in any work environment, and are personable, you will have no problem finding a job.

FAR 97
REG 91
AUD 5/30/14
BEC 7/11/14

[PocketsWithCash]

Like I said before, I wasn't trying to discourage you, only let you know about my experience in the recruiting process. I only interviewed with big 4 firms so I'm sure it varies as you get outside of that narrow scope. With the big 4 you need your CPA to progress past a certain level so if they chose to hire you that's basically saying “you'll pass or you'll leave.”

Demonstrating value outside of the classroom and the exam is what will ultimately get you a job. You'd probably be surprised to know that I landed my job with: undergrad in econ (masters in accounting), internships in engineering, and 1 year working in marketing between undergrad and masters. If you're keeping score, that's 0 accounting-related work experience. If you show your worth in any work environment, and are personable, you will have no problem finding a job.

FAR 97
REG 91
AUD 5/30/14
BEC 7/11/14

[Mayo]

Pockets and Jtucker perfectly articulated 90% of what you need to know in accounting recruiting. Good job guys/gals

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Author]

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