[Anonymous]

I lost my job at E&Y in June 2009 and decided to do something different in life. I went back to school in 2011 to get my masters in taxation. I’m set to graduate this fall and I’ve passed both REG and FARE so far, but because I lost my job 4 years ago I can’t seem to get anywhere with anyone. I took my E&Y experience off my resume, but of course I still get questions about where I went to work after graduating in 2008. I’m trying to start over but no one will let me. Btw, I lost my job due to a combination of not being good enough and being in an office that had to let a lot of people go.

Anyone got any ideas outside of shooting oneself?

[riverplate]

The job market sucks, and those years not working are going to look as a stain on your record pretty much for the next 10y. You must have done something from 2009 to 2011. You need a fresh start, an internship or an entry-level job, something for 1-2 years, and someone who could be a reference in the future.

[FlipACoin]

I generally am not a proponent of lying about anything in an interview. Sometimes, however, you have to tell a white lie here or there bridge the story so employers can overlook something they may stereotype as a problem but in reality is not for you. Unfortunately, and especially so in large conservative corp environments, stereotypes are all they have to work on until they can see you work.

You, however, are in the comfortable situation of finishing up grad school. I would highly recommend a graduate internship with either big 4 or large corp big name company in corp accounting/taxation. Then, if you get a perm job, whatever you do, stick around for a solid 2+ years (even if your initial position sucks so bad you have to transfer to a different position within the same company). Can I ask what you have been telling these employers about what you did 2009-2011? If all you did was take some time off, live at home it shouldn't be that bad of a story. Some grad schools take 12-24 months to get in once accepted so you can easily use that explanation. I can't imagine anybody having that big of a problem with that story….

[FlipACoin]

PS…I just reread some of your post. I would definitely put EY back on your resume assuming you did something different for them other than tax (auditing for example). It's perfectly acceptable to try something, not be very good at it, and come back kicking ass at something else. If asked to elaborate on your E&Y experience the answer is really easy, you were laid off. It was 2009 and you were in the financial services sector, anybody should understand that!

[homerun07]

do your best to turn the “negative” into a positive– what did you learn from this experience and how it has shaped you today- how has it impacted your life and what you hope to accomplish now– what did it make you realize, etc (in a positive light)

i'm sure if they see that you take this as a learning experience it shouldn't be a problem. it's not like you lost your job for reasons that would make them question your integrity so i think you'll be fine. good luck!!

[Anonymous]

I appreciate the feedback I got from those here 🙂

FlipACoin: I have been telling them that after I lost my job in June '09, I took several months off since I was very discouraged having lost my job. I started looking again in 2010, but never got anything so I decided to go a different route and try to get into law school. I worked on that for awhile, but realized that unless I get into a top notch law school, the additional debt wasn't worth it. So around January 2011 I started working on going back to school for a masters in tax. Usually when I tell that story, I get two types of reactions.

A) I understand…that was a difficult time and our company had to let people go as well..or

B) You lost your job, therefore you are far too big a risk and we can't hire you.

I tend to mostly get a lot of those who fall into the B area. I will certainly push for an internship, but a lot of firms are biased in that they usually only give them to undergrads and not grad students who are in their final year. It's a difficult story to tell, but hopefully I will at least be given a chance somewhere.

Riverplate: You're right…it will follow me until I can land a job and build something out of it. Hopefully I'll be able to get something before I graduate in December, but who knows.

Homerun07: 🙂 Thanks for the advice.. I do my best to make it seem like none of this bothers me when I'm in an interview, but underneath obviously it does. I'll do my best to keep it positive and hopefully I'll get a chance down the road somewhere.

[Anonymous]

This is where a guy like me who owns a small firm would step in and scoop you up in a heartbeat. We all go thru trials and failures in life. A true sign of character is your ability to bounce back. I'd see you are passing exam, went to grad school and looking to work hard and do well. I'd offer u a nice salary, u give me your time and dedication. Unfortunately big firms have set “standards” and even more unfortunate is that humans are not algorithms. For a profession that talks about goodwill and intangible assets, the hiring process does not reflect it. They don't teach the real world in textbooks. I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger, and still making them today. I know how it feels to be discriminated against for them, so maybe that's why I am sympatheitc to our situation. My firm is not as glamorous (if there is such a thing) as a big 4 firm….but the money is still green. And when I want to disappear for a couple weeks at a time, several times a summer……nobody breaks my chops. As long as work is done first.

This post is mostly moo.

[FlipACoin]

Animal…Don't fool yourself about graduate internships, all big companies (big 4 included) have specific internships geared toward grad students. Most would rather have somebody a year away from getting their masters (and more likely an official CPA) than a year away from finishing undergrad. They may have to pay a few bucks more for your if hired but you are TONS more valuable and they won't have to shell out 50 grand for your masters because you will be done well before being qualified for tuition reimbursement.

All in all just don't give up. I've worked for some first class companies and had great opportunity to do some interesting things, but my resume, if blind, is still a hard pill to swallow for many. Finally I realized this: In the world since 2007, every significant opportunity I've had was a direct result of knowing somebody. Besides the above, your best bet is probably to network! Get to know as many people as possible in the area and one of them is bound to be of some help….

[Author]

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