[nievjohn]

Just found out that I passed the CPA exam a few weeks ago and having a hard time finding a job. If you know of any firms hiring for entry level positions please email me.

BEC 80
REG 82
FAR 83
Audit 75

[trang328]

It's just hard because of the economy right now. But I think since you passed your CPA already, you will have a better advantage compare to senior student in college.

Have you consider apply abroad? Do you speak other languages? i'm unemployed now like you, graduated BA of Accountancy and studying for my CPA. I haven't pass any part yet but I took 2 already. Still waiting for my result. If I passed all 4 parts, I'm thinking i'm gonna apply for firms in Hong Kong or Vietnam since I speak Vietnamese, Madarin and English.

You can check firm in Australia or England. I think they're more insterested in people who have a BA in the States and passed the CPA.

To be honest, don't work for firms in the U.S. It's not that glory like people said. My friend works for the Big 4, got pay $65000 a year for entry-leve, work 55-60 hours/ week (not busy season), and 70-80 hours/ week (busy season). So if you divide that by the hour, you got pay like $15-18/hour. That's rip-off. Working here sucks, I think there should be a law about it. It's worse than child-labor. Seriously !!!

anyways, good luck finding a job!

I live in NYC too. I sometimes go to networking event on meetups.com or college event. You Should check it out.

[zoe0913]

nievjohn,

Thanks. But passed all 4 parts w/ 90's +?? That's…insane!!!

I agree w/ Peanut. Accountemps and Robert Half are THE WORST ever. But you might wanna give Ajilon a shot bc I heard good things about them too.

Haha, it's pretty funny bc I worked in long island before i got my current job. And I have some friends doing reverse

commute to Connecticut and Jersey for work.

My experiences told me –

Try to contact big 4 or other national/international firms in different locations bc you never know if other openings are out there;

Keep haunting those recruiters, although they would say something like we don't have current openings. Okay, then check with them three/six months later. That's actually how I got my current job;

Don't interview for audit position only. Maybe you also wanna consider getting into tax side first and then switch to audit?

Hopefully this would help you a little bit. And I'm pretty sure you will hear good news soon!!!

FAR - 5/9/2011
AUD -
REG -
BEC -

[nievjohn]

Just wanted to update the thread. I actually was able to find a job, but not by the methods posted above. I used the old fashioned method of actually applying in person. It was a long shot but it worked. Was hired by the first company I dropped my resume off to.

BEC 80
REG 82
FAR 83
Audit 75

[rknight21]

i am happy for you nievjohn. Only if other ppl had that attitude. you took the intiative and it payed off.. I am feeling good too myself since i have passed my first exam and landed an auditing job myself too in the 3 month period

[Anonymous]

@nievjohn: congrats, I'm in a similar boat, still haven't found anything in the accounting field. yet. If you have some time please give me some pointers — I'm in NYC as well.

bullandre@yahoo.com

[Anonymous]

This just goes to show how bad the economy is. Before 2009, every accounting major I knew was getting job offers left and right after graduation. CPA firms used to go crazy hiring. But ever since our economy went to hell, CPA firms shut their doors and locked them tight. It's ridiculous!!

Just one year of experience is all we ask. But in this kind of economy, it's going to be very hard. But the good news is, once you pass all 4 parts, those credits remain with you forever. So, you can get your work experience anytime. No rush. But of course, the sooner, the better.

[Anonymous]

@nievjohn- My advice is to keep submitting resumes and don't give up. Eventually, you'll get an offer. It may take a while, but you'll get one.

[rknight21]

@cpaman he did get a job…. look at his post yesterday with an update

[mla1169]

I was told by a staffing agency that 4-5 years ago, if you could even SPELL CPA, you could get hired at a firm, albeit a small one. The job market is awful, brutal really.

So glad you were able to find something!

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

@Peanut- I actually have to give Accountemps some kind of credit. If it weren't for them, I would be jobless right now. I graduated from college in 2009 and couldn't find a job whatsoever. Accountemps was able to place me at a non-profit organization. After temping for a year, I finally got converted to permanent. Been working there ever since. It's a low paying job and it won't help me get the work experience I need to get the CPA certification, but I'm grateful to find *a* job. The way the economy is going, I don't expect to be changing to a better job anytime soon. I was hoping that passing the CPA exam would help get my foot in the door, but looking at the OP's situation, I don't think that will be possible. So, I may be stuck until economy eventually recovers, if it ever does.

[Anonymous]

@rknight21- You know, I didn't realize until now that this thread is 3 months old!!!! I just read the first few posts and then decided to post without bothering to look at when the thread was started. Errrr!! What's wrong with me? My brain is shot from all the studying I'm doing, hehe.

Anyways, it's actually a relief. Now I know there's some hope in me getting a job after I pass my last 2 sections. Whew!!!

[Peanut]

Lol I actually thought to myself “what is this guy talking about” then scrolled up and saw something I posted three months ago. My accountemps comments were just fom personal experience! I'm a huge advocate for Ajilon so I'm a little bias..

AUD 81 (X4) Previous scores 59, 72, 72
REG 80 (X3) Previous scores 59, 60
FAR 75 (X2) Previous score 67
BEC 79 (X2) Previous score 58

[nievjohn]

@bullandre

The best pointers that I can give you that I believe helped me land my job:

Have a clean resume, well thought out, easy to read, good flow. Employers don't like hard resumes with a lot of info, they like to read what you're all about in a few minutes and get an idea of your background.

Before you start applying to CPA firms, go on ANY kind of interview you can get. Get comfortable talking about yourself. Learn how to feel employers and what they are looking for. CPA firms dont hire right now, so if you get one interview you have to make it count and make sure you can pull through all the way to getting an offer. The only way you will be able to do that is through practice, practice, and some more practice. Think of interviewing as an art form, the only way to get good at it is to practice.

When on an interview, dont be afraid to get personal, at the same time try to keep it professional. Don't say more then what they ask for, yet give them enough so that it doesn't look like you are just answering their questions.

Comment the interviewer. Interviewers are just like us. They like to be praised.

Hope this helps.

BEC 80
REG 82
FAR 83
Audit 75

[Author]

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