[johnchua9963]

Dear another71,

I hope all of you are doing well today. How do you land a public accounting job out of school? They seem to heavily recruit from university campuses, and at that time, I had no interest to work in public accounting so I didn’t bother to pursue them. After obtaining my B.S. in accounting, I had been hitting walls as far as job search and I was only able to find temporary assignments. So, is it still possible to land a job at those firms? If so, how?

Regards,

johnchua9963

[RGlazier12]

Are you CPA exam eligible? Most students with simply a BS in Accounting do not graduate with the required credits. My suggestion would be to contact your local public firms and determine where they heavily recruit out of. If they recruit at a school near you, and you're in need of credits, look into pursuing an MS in Accounting and using that schools recruiting events and networking to land some interviews.

If you are not in need of any credits, or have no interest in jumping into additional schooling, you need to be networking extensively.

You also need to probably accept that you won't be hired by a Big 4 firm, as they tend to exclusively hire out of the “biggest and brightest” universities. Structure your search toward the mid-market tier and local firms for the time being.

You can definitely get hired, it's just going to take a little longer and more effort to get face time. I went to Marquette and wasn't really sure if I wanted to be in public or private by the time I graduated. I also wanted to move back to Chicago, and most of the firms interviewing students on my campus were looking to stock their Wisconsin offices. I graduated with 137 credits, so I needed an additional 13 to sit for the CPA. My solution: I enrolled in DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School in Chicago, finished my required credits, got a killer graduate GPA, and then used their recruiting system and networking to it's fullest extent. I came out of recruiting season with a couple of offers, and I'm about to start at my firm in the next month.

It can be done, good luck!

CPA Candidate - Becker In-Class Study

AUD - January 10th, 2013 - PASSED 95
REG - February 28th, 2013 - PASSED 81
BEC - April 11th, 2013 - PASSED 85
FAR - May 30th, 2013 - PASSED 85
ETHICS - May 2013 - PASSED 95

[RGlazier12]

Are you CPA exam eligible? Most students with simply a BS in Accounting do not graduate with the required credits. My suggestion would be to contact your local public firms and determine where they heavily recruit out of. If they recruit at a school near you, and you're in need of credits, look into pursuing an MS in Accounting and using that schools recruiting events and networking to land some interviews.

If you are not in need of any credits, or have no interest in jumping into additional schooling, you need to be networking extensively.

You also need to probably accept that you won't be hired by a Big 4 firm, as they tend to exclusively hire out of the “biggest and brightest” universities. Structure your search toward the mid-market tier and local firms for the time being.

You can definitely get hired, it's just going to take a little longer and more effort to get face time. I went to Marquette and wasn't really sure if I wanted to be in public or private by the time I graduated. I also wanted to move back to Chicago, and most of the firms interviewing students on my campus were looking to stock their Wisconsin offices. I graduated with 137 credits, so I needed an additional 13 to sit for the CPA. My solution: I enrolled in DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School in Chicago, finished my required credits, got a killer graduate GPA, and then used their recruiting system and networking to it's fullest extent. I came out of recruiting season with a couple of offers, and I'm about to start at my firm in the next month.

It can be done, good luck!

CPA Candidate - Becker In-Class Study

AUD - January 10th, 2013 - PASSED 95
REG - February 28th, 2013 - PASSED 81
BEC - April 11th, 2013 - PASSED 85
FAR - May 30th, 2013 - PASSED 85
ETHICS - May 2013 - PASSED 95

[johnchua9963]

Thanks RGlazier12! I don't need any additional credits to sit for the CPA exam and I am going to start studying this month for the CPA exam. What do you mean by network extensively? Where would you network? What I am picturing on that statement was going to the local CPA chapter events and networking with folks there. What are some other places, other than CPA events, can you network?

Regards,

[johnchua9963]

Thanks RGlazier12! I don't need any additional credits to sit for the CPA exam and I am going to start studying this month for the CPA exam. What do you mean by network extensively? Where would you network? What I am picturing on that statement was going to the local CPA chapter events and networking with folks there. What are some other places, other than CPA events, can you network?

Regards,

[johnchua9963]

By the way, where would you find a list of small to mid-sized public accounting firms online?

[johnchua9963]

By the way, where would you find a list of small to mid-sized public accounting firms online?

[johnchua9963]

bump

[johnchua9963]

bump

[ti807910]

As an alumni of your university, you should still be allowed to have access to campus resources and events. If your firm has a Meet the Firms type of event, go and hand out resumes like crazy. Your campus chapter of Beta Alpha Psi should also provide opportunities to network with professionals. The way I got my Big 4 job was attending a general business recruiting event on campus and handing out resumes. Go to everything you can. You can also try checking their websites and submitting resumes. I also get a lot of job offers through linkedin pretty regularly. Hopefully that gives you some ideas for networking 🙂

FAR: 72, 68, 73, 78 (passed)
REG: 61, 70, 73, 63, 78 (passed)
AUD: 65, 84 (passed)
BEC: 89 (passed)

NASBA gave Doby a passing score, Doby is freeee!!

[ti807910]

As an alumni of your university, you should still be allowed to have access to campus resources and events. If your firm has a Meet the Firms type of event, go and hand out resumes like crazy. Your campus chapter of Beta Alpha Psi should also provide opportunities to network with professionals. The way I got my Big 4 job was attending a general business recruiting event on campus and handing out resumes. Go to everything you can. You can also try checking their websites and submitting resumes. I also get a lot of job offers through linkedin pretty regularly. Hopefully that gives you some ideas for networking 🙂

FAR: 72, 68, 73, 78 (passed)
REG: 61, 70, 73, 63, 78 (passed)
AUD: 65, 84 (passed)
BEC: 89 (passed)

NASBA gave Doby a passing score, Doby is freeee!!

[Anonymous]

You can meet people just by walking into their office. I got my job in public accounting by doing simply that – visiting the office of every accountant in the area, handing out my resume and (slightly personalized) cover letter, and introducing myself. If you're going for a big firm, this might not work, but if you're willing to work in smaller firms, it can be a real charm. Takes a bit more time than going to an event, but also helps you stand out more! If you can talk to someone beyond the receptionist, that's great, but not always possible. In my situation, the owner happened to be in the front office talking to the receptionist/only other employee, and I chatted with him for a few minutes, then about 3-4 months later got a job working for him. 🙂 It's a very small firm, but I think that a small firm lets you see more and learn more than a large one!

[Anonymous]

You can meet people just by walking into their office. I got my job in public accounting by doing simply that – visiting the office of every accountant in the area, handing out my resume and (slightly personalized) cover letter, and introducing myself. If you're going for a big firm, this might not work, but if you're willing to work in smaller firms, it can be a real charm. Takes a bit more time than going to an event, but also helps you stand out more! If you can talk to someone beyond the receptionist, that's great, but not always possible. In my situation, the owner happened to be in the front office talking to the receptionist/only other employee, and I chatted with him for a few minutes, then about 3-4 months later got a job working for him. 🙂 It's a very small firm, but I think that a small firm lets you see more and learn more than a large one!

[johnchua9963]

“You can meet people just by walking into their office. I got my job in public accounting by doing simply that – visiting the office of every accountant in the area, handing out my resume and (slightly personalized) cover letter, and introducing myself. If you're going for a big firm, this might not work, but if you're willing to work in smaller firms, it can be a real charm. Takes a bit more time than going to an event, but also helps you stand out more! If you can talk to someone beyond the receptionist, that's great, but not always possible. In my situation, the owner happened to be in the front office talking to the receptionist/only other employee, and I chatted with him for a few minutes, then about 3-4 months later got a job working for him. 🙂 It's a very small firm, but I think that a small firm lets you see more and learn more than a large one! “

I had heard this one before. I just really don't know what to ask those firms once I cold called them or cold approach them. Obviously I am not going to ask if there is an opening here since most will just redirect me to their website. Or maybe I am wrong. Please help!

[johnchua9963]

“You can meet people just by walking into their office. I got my job in public accounting by doing simply that – visiting the office of every accountant in the area, handing out my resume and (slightly personalized) cover letter, and introducing myself. If you're going for a big firm, this might not work, but if you're willing to work in smaller firms, it can be a real charm. Takes a bit more time than going to an event, but also helps you stand out more! If you can talk to someone beyond the receptionist, that's great, but not always possible. In my situation, the owner happened to be in the front office talking to the receptionist/only other employee, and I chatted with him for a few minutes, then about 3-4 months later got a job working for him. 🙂 It's a very small firm, but I think that a small firm lets you see more and learn more than a large one! “

I had heard this one before. I just really don't know what to ask those firms once I cold called them or cold approach them. Obviously I am not going to ask if there is an opening here since most will just redirect me to their website. Or maybe I am wrong. Please help!

[johnchua9963]

bump

[Author]

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