[jkpoker1]

I just finished up interviews on campus after graduating college this past May. Anyone have advice for getting a job in public? I’ve interviewed with small firms and mid size firms (more prestigious in my area), and I swear it seems like nobody likes me. I’m quiet, my gpa was a 3.0, and I was somewhat involved on campus and I’m currently studying for the CPA exam and I believe I just passed my first part. Why does it have to be difficult to get an entry-level accounting job?

Honestly, I’m not too upset about the on campus interview failures I’m currently experiencing. I interviewed with some solid local firms that typically interview on 3-4 campuses and are only looking to add a few staff accountants. Honestly, on paper and personally I will not compete well with other applicants that have higher gpa’s and maybe are better talkers than me.

Sorry for this rant but I thought a degree in accounting would lead to getting a job easier. I probably will have to take a low end A/P job making pennies or move far away from my hometown if I want to have a shot at getting a decent paying job because all of the jobs in my local area want 3-5 years of experience with LOL low pay (30-40k).

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[Hammer]

If life was easy, everyone would be handed a 250k job and our shit would smell like roses all the time. You have to pay your dues. Grind, Scrap, Sacrafice. Work harder and you'll get there. This is all you need to hear and you know it.

FAR - 70, 81
AUD - 83
BEC - 77
REG - 70, 78

Licensed in Ohio.

Now what the hell do I do?

[Hammer]

If life was easy, everyone would be handed a 250k job and our shit would smell like roses all the time. You have to pay your dues. Grind, Scrap, Sacrafice. Work harder and you'll get there. This is all you need to hear and you know it.

FAR - 70, 81
AUD - 83
BEC - 77
REG - 70, 78

Licensed in Ohio.

Now what the hell do I do?

[acamp]

Time to start networking. Join and attend things put on by your state CPA society, aspiring CPA memberships are usually free or nearly free. Can try AICPA as well.

On paper many of your peers outpace you; and you say, this goes for personal as well? Time to climb out of that shell, because much of public is talking to clients, talking to your peers, talking to your supervisors, talking to managers, etc. It is NOT being tucked away doing work. (especially if we're talking audit)

Really, social skills are probably valued more than technical accounting skills; however there are minimums to GPA, so even the brightest social butterfly won't get in with a sub-par GPA, and the 4.0 debit/credit rocket scientist wont get in if they cant talk to anybody.

So… Attend Events, work on social skills, you might even network your way into an interview. Finish the CPA exam as this will significantly improve your resume “3.0 with all CPA Exams Completed” starts to not look so bad. Even saying approved by the X Board if Accountancy to sit for the CPA Exam, shows you are taking steps in the right direction. Fact is, you didn't do great in college, so if you are in an area where individual offices are only hiring a handful of people, you might be out of luck. You talk about not wanting to move, well, do you want a public job anywhere, or that AP job at home? Nothing wrong with moving, gaining some experience and moving back if you still want to

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[acamp]

Time to start networking. Join and attend things put on by your state CPA society, aspiring CPA memberships are usually free or nearly free. Can try AICPA as well.

On paper many of your peers outpace you; and you say, this goes for personal as well? Time to climb out of that shell, because much of public is talking to clients, talking to your peers, talking to your supervisors, talking to managers, etc. It is NOT being tucked away doing work. (especially if we're talking audit)

Really, social skills are probably valued more than technical accounting skills; however there are minimums to GPA, so even the brightest social butterfly won't get in with a sub-par GPA, and the 4.0 debit/credit rocket scientist wont get in if they cant talk to anybody.

So… Attend Events, work on social skills, you might even network your way into an interview. Finish the CPA exam as this will significantly improve your resume “3.0 with all CPA Exams Completed” starts to not look so bad. Even saying approved by the X Board if Accountancy to sit for the CPA Exam, shows you are taking steps in the right direction. Fact is, you didn't do great in college, so if you are in an area where individual offices are only hiring a handful of people, you might be out of luck. You talk about not wanting to move, well, do you want a public job anywhere, or that AP job at home? Nothing wrong with moving, gaining some experience and moving back if you still want to

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[mla1169]

Networking is the way to go. Not everyone in public has a 4.0, but many do have some connections. If you don't have connections right now, start developing them.

And I know that I've mentioned on your previous threads, if all the jobs in your area are on the low end of the pay scale there is a good reason…in areas where jobs pay better, things cost more (like apartments and houses). Just out of college kids have to pay their dues, its painful and frustrating but unless you've gotten a few lucky breaks we all had to do it.

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[mla1169]

Networking is the way to go. Not everyone in public has a 4.0, but many do have some connections. If you don't have connections right now, start developing them.

And I know that I've mentioned on your previous threads, if all the jobs in your area are on the low end of the pay scale there is a good reason…in areas where jobs pay better, things cost more (like apartments and houses). Just out of college kids have to pay their dues, its painful and frustrating but unless you've gotten a few lucky breaks we all had to do it.

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

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[jkpoker1]

I just want to work in public because I know its the best way to gain experience in accounting. Honestly, I don't see myself being a good fit but I know its the best route and why not tough it out for 2 years if I can get a job in public. Shouldn't passing all 4 parts of the exam make it easy for me to get a job. I'm still far away from that (crossing my fingers I get a passing BEC score report in next week). Honestly I would not mind taking an A/P job just to gain experience if I can live at home and save money because it seems impossible to live on your own with an A/P salary.

I'm just upset because I just received a rejection letter from a cpa firm saying I don't have enough experience. They only interviewed recent college graduates so what kind of experience do they want. It seems like a lot of the jobs I've interviewed at, they look down on me because I don't have much accounting experience. Do kids really come out of college with 2-3 years of accounting internship experience (I only have 1 year of experience).

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[jkpoker1]

I just want to work in public because I know its the best way to gain experience in accounting. Honestly, I don't see myself being a good fit but I know its the best route and why not tough it out for 2 years if I can get a job in public. Shouldn't passing all 4 parts of the exam make it easy for me to get a job. I'm still far away from that (crossing my fingers I get a passing BEC score report in next week). Honestly I would not mind taking an A/P job just to gain experience if I can live at home and save money because it seems impossible to live on your own with an A/P salary.

I'm just upset because I just received a rejection letter from a cpa firm saying I don't have enough experience. They only interviewed recent college graduates so what kind of experience do they want. It seems like a lot of the jobs I've interviewed at, they look down on me because I don't have much accounting experience. Do kids really come out of college with 2-3 years of accounting internship experience (I only have 1 year of experience).

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[ruggercpa2b]

I believe most of the people getting jobs right out of college are the ones that did internships while they were in school. So they have some experience compared to someone who has never worked in accounting or did an internship. I think as there are more candidates that apply they start getting to be more picky because now you are competing with other top candidates. Its not just about your gpa but also personality. I know when people interview at the Big 4 that I work now the people that interviewed that person or had any form of interaction with that person all get together and we discuss not only your resume but what you said during the whole process that we might think you are not a good fit. And also personality comes to play. Do they think you would fit in with the team. If you are shy and quiet you will have to break out of that shell. I am a loner but if you saw me at work you would not know it. Being in audit I have to be outgoing and personable. It took me a year of aggressively looking to finally land a job with Big 4 and I had 5 years of experience in the private sector.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[ruggercpa2b]

I believe most of the people getting jobs right out of college are the ones that did internships while they were in school. So they have some experience compared to someone who has never worked in accounting or did an internship. I think as there are more candidates that apply they start getting to be more picky because now you are competing with other top candidates. Its not just about your gpa but also personality. I know when people interview at the Big 4 that I work now the people that interviewed that person or had any form of interaction with that person all get together and we discuss not only your resume but what you said during the whole process that we might think you are not a good fit. And also personality comes to play. Do they think you would fit in with the team. If you are shy and quiet you will have to break out of that shell. I am a loner but if you saw me at work you would not know it. Being in audit I have to be outgoing and personable. It took me a year of aggressively looking to finally land a job with Big 4 and I had 5 years of experience in the private sector.

AUD - 73, 72 retake 7/2/2016
BEC - 8/20/2016
REG - TBD
FAR - TBD

I am so ready for this nightmare to be over. Been at this way too long.

[acamp]

If you don't see yourself being a good fit, they probably don't either.

What leads you to believe you're not a good fit?

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[acamp]

If you don't see yourself being a good fit, they probably don't either.

What leads you to believe you're not a good fit?

Ninja + Wiley Test Bank: [FAR - 81] [REG - 76] [BEC - 88] [AUD - 73](doh!)

Becker Videos: [AUD - 82]

California CPA

[jkpoker1]

I'm quiet? IDK I feel like I come off as nervous in interviews and don't talk a ton. I feel like I answer questions well and ask solid questions (have posted about what questions to ask on this forum- ask about staff interaction with clients, etc.). I also feel I look very young (maybe like 18 years old lol even though I'm 24) so I believe people don't take me seriously. The reason I say this is because at one interview for a non-for-profit acted like i was under 21 (she was discussing retirement benefits and said you have to be 21 to enroll in the 401k) and said she couldn't ask me my age.

Also I don't see myself wanting to work busy season but I never display this during an interview. I feel like I say the right things and discussed my aspirations to become a CPA and clearly stated at all interviews I just recently to BEC and plan to take AUD in November.

Finally, how soon should I expect to be contacted back from cpa firms from on campus interviews? I interviewed probably 2-3 weeks back and I've heard 1 negative response so far from the 5 firms I interviewed with. I feel like I will not receive a 2nd round from any of the firms because I feel like they would contact me much sooner. Finally, as a side note, I have connections slightly to one firm. My supervisor at my internship is married to a CPA at one of the firms and she liked me so I made sure to let them know I knew the CPA's son and was friends with him (didn't want to but a friend said I should). Also this is random but the CEO of the company I interned for lives next to one of the recent CPAs so maybe if he asked about me, he would receive a positive response about my work ethic. Finally, one of the CPA firms actually had my internship company as a client (was already rejected from them with a letter saying I didn't have enough experience which is hogwash IMO).

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[jkpoker1]

I'm quiet? IDK I feel like I come off as nervous in interviews and don't talk a ton. I feel like I answer questions well and ask solid questions (have posted about what questions to ask on this forum- ask about staff interaction with clients, etc.). I also feel I look very young (maybe like 18 years old lol even though I'm 24) so I believe people don't take me seriously. The reason I say this is because at one interview for a non-for-profit acted like i was under 21 (she was discussing retirement benefits and said you have to be 21 to enroll in the 401k) and said she couldn't ask me my age.

Also I don't see myself wanting to work busy season but I never display this during an interview. I feel like I say the right things and discussed my aspirations to become a CPA and clearly stated at all interviews I just recently to BEC and plan to take AUD in November.

Finally, how soon should I expect to be contacted back from cpa firms from on campus interviews? I interviewed probably 2-3 weeks back and I've heard 1 negative response so far from the 5 firms I interviewed with. I feel like I will not receive a 2nd round from any of the firms because I feel like they would contact me much sooner. Finally, as a side note, I have connections slightly to one firm. My supervisor at my internship is married to a CPA at one of the firms and she liked me so I made sure to let them know I knew the CPA's son and was friends with him (didn't want to but a friend said I should). Also this is random but the CEO of the company I interned for lives next to one of the recent CPAs so maybe if he asked about me, he would receive a positive response about my work ethic. Finally, one of the CPA firms actually had my internship company as a client (was already rejected from them with a letter saying I didn't have enough experience which is hogwash IMO).

Quest to be a CPA

BEC-74 (7/13),
REG- ?? (8/13)
AUD-TBA
FAR-TBA

[Anonymous]

Let me just put this out there: You will NEVER get a job in public accounting if you are timid/shy/quiet (assuming you're doing audit, and sometimes even tax).

[Author]

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