[Anonymous]

Let me give you a little bit of my situation before we get into the question in the title:

I just turned 44 this month.
I graduated from a small Kentucky university in May 2013 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting (GPA was 3.09, but it was 3.50 in this college).
Graduated from the same University in May 2016 with a Masters in Business Administration with an Accounting focus. GPA was 3.15.
As for experience, I have a stint in VITA and that’s about it. Primarily worked fast food or retail for most of my adult life.

I have been trying for 6-12 months to get a job in either accounting or something that would allow me to get some precious experience (banks, credit unions, accounts receivable/payable positions, etc.). I keep applying for positions with LinkedIn and Indeed. Recently, I started looking at Monster and even posted on Craigslist.

I’ve had three interviews (one for an industry job that would deal with accounting, one for a teller position with a credit union, and one for an insurance sales position). But nothing in the last month and I fear I’m becoming lost in the sea of candidates.

I’m struggling to pay my student loans and I can’t afford to go for the CPA test right now due to my financial situation. Nor can I currently move to a location where more accounting jobs would presumably be.

I don’t think I can ask for help from my parents as my mother recently lost a nursing job due to hospital cutbacks. They lost part of their pension due to the 2008 economic crisis and are relying on me to help with their retirement. Of course, I got to think about mine as well which is why I chose to get into accounting in the first place.

And here’s where we get into the question.

Hang On: Presumably, more jobs will start popping up once tax season is over with. I still live in my college town so perhaps some local openings will happen here as well. I could talk with my school’s career center and accounting professors to go over my options. Come fall, I could sit in with Beta Alpha Psi and try to battle students half my age for one of these jobs when the accounting firms come to town. Attend the career fair and hopefully someone will take a chance on me. If worse comes to worse, maybe HR Block will let me work with them for a year or two until I can get a good job.

Another option that I’m mulling is to do a GoFundMe to raise the money for CPA Exams/moving expenses to go where the jobs are.

Get Off: My lack of experience/CPA tests and financial situation forces me to find steady work outside of accounting. Whether this is permanent or just for a little while remains to be seen. But the market appears to be saturated (perhaps oversaturated?) and I just don’t have what it takes to stand out. Human resources won’t be interested/able to hire myself trying to kickstart my life and do something other than what I’ve done. Those loans just aren’t going to repay themselves.

What do you think? Should I hang on and work towards getting my accounting career going? Should I get off and find something that can help pay the bills? Or should I do some of column A and column B?

[Missy]

Do both. I was your age the last time I was job searching and yeah I think age is a big factor. I had over 20 years experience in accounting and it still took about 300 resumes and 40ish interviews. If you NEED something asap apply to anything and everything but continue looking for an accounting. Also try Robert Half which is the permanent placement side of accountemps.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Jobonjo]

Hang on and keep pushing!!!
It is never easy. Eliminate the negative self talk. You have all the tools you need to succeed. You simply have to harness them.
Finding something to just help pay the bills will only get worse over time. It is never going to be enough.
Fighting to obtain your CPA only has upsides, not only for your self confidence, but for your earnings. Don't settle!
16 years from now, where would you like to see yourself? FIGHT! GO FOR YOUR CPA! YOU CAN DO IT! HANG ON!

[Missy]

Also what are you putting on your resume? Make sure you're emphasizing the skills that will be useful in accounting (attention to detail,accuracy with a register, willingness to help coworkers,participating in inventory) and leave off the things that don't matter in accounting like folding jeans perfectly or delivering 18 meals a minute. You may have to tweak your resume for each position you apply to. Also make sure every cover letter is uniquely tailored to each position.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[startupcfo]

This what I would do if I were you, and I'm not advocating that you do anything illegal such as piracy.

It should NOT be hard hard for anyone to get off their butt and find a copy of some free study materials, even if a few years outdated. I would suggest you cram all that content into your head, start showing some progress, and then sell your story on GoFundMe or whatever. I don't think people would sponsor $1,000 bucks of CPA exams for you if you told a sad story alone, but I think they would if you showed them that you already had the practice test scores showing you could pass and your only obstacle was financial.

If you had enough intelligence and work ethic to get through the MBA, then this should be easy for you. If you can't, it means your MBA was too easy and you probably weren't gonna make it all along.

BEC - 87 | 02/28
REG - 70 | 06/10, REMATCH | 08/30
AUD - XX | 09/10
FAR - XX | 12/10

[Jdn9201]

To the OP, I'm sorry for your situation. Others have given you some advice here but I thought I'd give my $.02.

1. Try to get an accounting job, but hold off on going for your CPA for now. If you get a non-accounting job then you're not using your education. You also may have a hard time even getting a non-accounting job because people will look at your education as a negative (they may think you are overqualified). Once you get a job, then you could think about the CPA once you get back on your feet. Plenty of people get their CPA while working full time (myself included) so it can be done.
2. Do a resume /cover letter for every job so you can tailor your experience to what the job description is looking for.
3. Reach out to the career centers/alumni associations for both of your colleges – that's a network you should tap. Go to their career fairs and reach out to any professors you had to see if they are aware of any opportunities.
4. Reach out to temp and staffing firms – Adecco, Randstad, Robert Half. They may can help you get your foot in the door.
5. Try to get a forbearance on your student loans. I'm not super familiar with the rules, but if you're currently unemployed that has to be a hardship that your lender would take into consideration. They can't squeeze blood from a turnip. As long as you are not in default, they should be willing to work with you. Or, alternatively see if you can refinance them. I've seen commercials for this company called SOFI that helps people consolidate and lower interest rates on certain loans.
6. Don't do a Go fund me account or move to another location. If you move, especially if it's far away, you won't have any network at all. Unfortunately, getting into a good job depends alot on who you know and it will be much harder not knowing anyone. I also think that it's going to do a lot more for your self confidence by pulling yourself up yourself, and not depending on handouts from others. If you're trying to save money, maybe you could move back home with your parents for a little while? At least you wouldn't be paying rent.
7. It's really hard for me to say this because I'm not in your situation, but you also need to think more positively. Think about your strengths and what you have to offer. The first step in getting someone to hire you and believe in you is for you to believe in yourself.

Good luck, and I wish you the best!

BEC - 88 8/29/15
REG - 82 11/14/15
AUD - 83 1/8/16
FAR - 80 2/29/16

[Tncincy]

I'm all for hanging on because of the what if….if you jump ship now, you'll never know if you could pass the exam. Mind you accounting or becoming a CPA is not for everyone, nor is it a one shoe fit all either. So take the time to think about your options. You NEED a job, so like someone else said, start with the hiring agencies or temp pools and a descent resume. The library and you tube have enough stuff on there to at least generate some notes for any particular part of the CPA exam until you can afford study materials. The clock is ticking and you are not getting ANY younger so you got some work ahead. All is not lost, get to work. TODAY.
Oh…and student loans can be deferred, just ask the question.

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[Amortized and Energized]

OP, maybe you don't need to move, but is this college town you live in by any sort of city? Looking for a job in a college town isn't going to give you much other than jobs that college kids can be taking. The town I went to college in, a lot of the businesses were actually trying to take in college kids as interns to help them get experience, so it wasn't a great fit to try to start professionally there for me. I looked 20-50 miles away and found much better opportunities. With what you said regarding your mother it sounds like the job market around you may be drying up a little bit if people in other industries are being forced to cut labor. It sounds like it may be worth your while to really search in a more populated/urban center for an accounting job.

Are you able to go to the career center at your University? They have people there that can A.) find opportunities and B.) help tune up your resume. Your college wants you to get a job, it looks terrible for them if you don't so they usually have many avenues available to help their alumni hit the ground running.

Like others said, I'd contact temp agencies and recruiters. I definitely would not give up on pursing an accounting/finance role given that you got through school already. It'd be like throwing a diploma in the fire. Use what you worked for. Once you have a job, you can focus on the CPA. You don't need the CPA immediately to get an accounting job. Like others have said, you must keep a positive attitude. A job interview is a sales call and you are the product. You need to present yourself positively and confidently. Best of luck to you and I hope things turn around for you soon. You can and will get through this. THEN!! We'll see you back here to talk about the CPA exam 🙂

FAR - Aug 2015 (58), Feb 2016 (81)
u
BEC - May 2016 (79)
AUD - Jul 2016
REG - Aug 2016

[Anonymous]

Career Services at my university was invaluable to me. They know exactly what recruiters are looking for, when their hiring season is, and what they want to see and hear during interviews and job fairs.

You don't have to battle young people for a job. Drop that attitude it just makes people appear like they lack confidence. My old firm hired employees out of college where this was their second career at ages 28, 33, 47, and even 55. All of them did great, while the younger interns did not stay past a busy season or two. Your age and maturity are assets that make you automatically stand out in the crowd of kids, if you can figure out how to market yourself. Career Services can help you with that.

Put all ideas of giving up out of your head – you can always give up later AFTER you have made every effort possible. Call the student loan people and get an economic hardship deferral to get the payments off your back for a year. Put the CPA exam on the back burner – you need a job first and you don't need your CPA to get a job. If you have the credits necessary to sit for the exam, put “CPA Candidate” on your resume. Join AICPA and the Kentucky Society of CPAs or whatever its called in your state. Put that on your resume.

There's nothing wrong with H&R Block to give you some experience until recruiters and career fairs come to town. My first “accounting” experience was receptionist at a CPA's office. It was literally one old guy in a cheap, rented office doing a few tax returns and sending a few letters to the IRS. But, Career Services helped me to present it as gaining exposure to how a tax services company works, customer service, drafting IRS correspondence for the CPA to review, sending out tax organizers, following up on missing information and questions, following up on unpaid bills and retainers, and I answered the phone when people called or emailed from our website – that's helping to bring in new tax business. Pretty good experience for a job ad that said “receptionist”. Be creative! You can do it!

[C / X]

My advice: Hang on to the last moment and then get off! Don't let your limitations stop you, like another poster said, you need to believe in yourself. You might be older and not a good fit for public accounting (well the big firms anyway, smaller is prob okay) but I'm sure you also have many advantages as well so focus on those (like a good work ethic, more understanding of how to deal with spontaneous setbacks that arise, etc).

I think the one you need to convince right now is yourself, before you convince anyone else anyway. And there are other things. How far are you willing to commute? You can look for a job 1-2 hours away or maybe move back in with your parents? I believe there are grace periods for loans when you find yourself out of work. Put everything right now on credit card (as remember cash is KING!). The one thing I wouldn't do is a GoFund Me as that's just a bit iffy even for your situation. As an accountant you should know how to handle money well enough that it could backfire on you as those things are public and they just give off a weird vibe to me when they are for things like that…(but I could just be being judgmental..)

I do horribly in interviews but I learned I get better when I keep going on them and I also read a few local books from my library to brush on my interview skills and managed to get jobs that way. but I learned a while ago that if I just took any job I could get was the wrong way to go about it, so wait for something that you really want.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Craigslist is good but you might want to just register at as many agencies as you can. I regd at Apple One, Ledgent, Accounting Principals aka Ajilon Staffing, and Accountemps (Robert Half.)
I don't recommend Accountemps, they just seemed not to get many good job orders and their staff would often call me and say “I have something great for you” and then that was the last time I ever heard from them. With the other agencies I mentioned, they had no problem getting me into long-term temp jobs that lasted as long as 9 months.

Yes, these exams are expensive, as are the review courses. At age 44, yes you are over the hill, but plenty of people get the CPA in their 40s so that's not even an issue. Some people wait longer to get it – or until they *need* to get it for jobs they want. I'm 41 this year. I got a second B.S. in Accounting 2 years ago. I started the “accounting journey” in 2010, went to school part time for 4 years. Let's just say that in 2010 I never even thought about taking the CPA exam. I just wanted to learn accounting and work as an accountant. But, after being in a program at my school that billed itself as “CPA-qualifying program”, I figured what the heck? I didn't want a career in public accounting, and Big 4 would never hire me anyway due to the fact that I don't look like I'm in my 20s anymore. But, a good number of folks in the classes I took were going after the CPA just to boost their hireability and credentials…more letters after their name.

Keep going….take the CPA exam when you're ready to. And on the Gofundme that's a very good idea. If you ask for $3,000, that should cover it. $2,000 for a review course and $1,000 for the exams (assuming you pass them all on 1st try.) Definitely use a review course. Don't make the terrible mistake that I did and study on your own for a year and (now) get stuck with the new and harder version of the CPA exam.

[SeattleCPA]

Brian, some thoughts from someone who owns a small CPA firm and is always looking for good people to add to the team:

1. Employers, especially CPA firms, are dying for strong players to add to their rosters. The funny symmetry you'd see if you were instead participating in a small accounting firm owners' online group rather than a CPA candidates' group is the mirror opposite of this one… Employers lamenting their ability to find pepple. No kidding.

2. If in your neck of the woods, there really aren't openings, you may need to expand your search area. E.g., you need to be careful about sizing up salaries in some metro location because the costs of living are SO MUCH HIGHER, but if you get out into a market like Seattle, you might be surprised at how fast you'd find a position assuming you ran a strong job search.

3. Your age possibly is a disadvantage in some ways… maybe you've got a family which means you're not mobile, for example… but your age is also an advantage in other ways. Keep in mind that the thing about a professional services firm is you succeed based on a combination of technical skills and social skills. You can hugely impact how fast your technical skills grow. And you surely have social and emotional maturity beyond those of the typical 22 year old.

4. Look at small CPA firms. Most single owner firms probably can't offer you a good job because most single owner firms don't employ leverage in their operations. But small firms that do employ leverage can create good career paths for people. And keep in mind that if you go to work for a small firm owner who is a couple of decades older than you are, that owner will probably be ready for you to step into the ownership role before you're ready.

Hope those thoughts help. Try not to be discouraged.

[SeattleCPA]

Brian, one other thought too.

I think you'd find your employer willing to pay for the CPA exam prep materials. I know we do that, for example.

[Anonymous]

I do appreciate everyone's thoughts on my situation so far…

I need to clear a couple of things up though. I may be searching for an accounting job right now, but I do have a job that I took a couple years ago to help pay bills while going through school. And I don't intend on quitting it until I have a job in hand.

Number two is that I don't have a family to support. I've held off in that department until I can settle into a position and get myself financially stable. Yes, I have to help my parents with their retirement, but I don't have a spouse or kids that might hold me back on a move when/if that becomes necessary.

Now onto what some of you have suggested:

I have signed up for Adecco. We don't have Robert Half or a lot of recruiting companies where I live, but it would be about 50 minutes away in Paducah which would be the nearest town available (Clarksville is about 1 hour and 15 minutes away and Nashville is about 2 hours away). I've already spread my job search about 1 hour away for the most part, I have applied for a couple of spots in Clarksville. None in Nashville, though.

I have no designs on being in the Big 4 (heard nightmares about them making you a cog in their machines and 50-60 hours a week during busy season only for them to dump a lot of them after a year or two). Also, they don't seem to be particularly interested in older people. I have been trying for the small to medium sized firms, but so far I know of only one position opening in about 5-6 months.

I have seen a couple of internships available and they don't specifically say you have to be a current college student to apply. Should I try to go for those spots?

You're right that I'm overdue for another visit to the career center. And I'll dash off an e-mail to my accounting professor to see if he has any advice.

Also, any advice for growing a network? That might be something else that's keeping me from getting there.

[Anonymous]

I thought I'd give everyone an update:

I went to Career Services at my school. They gave me the name of three hiring managers at three accounting firms that recruit there. I e-mailed my resume with two of them which was I think the right call. The third one is for a job posting and I've been working on my cover letter and unofficial transcript to send as a package. But they told me straight up that things won't pick up until September.

I also e-mailed my accounting professor (the department head) in search of hiring advice. It's been three weeks and I've never heard back from him.

I've started to apply in various jobs in Clarksville and even a couple in Nashville. I suspect that I won't hear back from them because I live too far away.

I'm starting to suspect that I may need to start my post-collegiate career elsewhere and wait until some positions open up on Indeed.

[Author]

Replies