[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

[johnchua9963]

bump

[Anonymous]

That's actually exactly what I did. I'd walk in, say I'd recently completed an accounting degree and wanted to drop off my resume and cover letter in case they had any openings. Or, if you know they have an opening, you can modify your spiel/letter to reflect the opening – “I saw on your website that you were looking to hire an Accountant I and wanted to introduce myself.”

My cover letter was fairly generic. The only one I can find in my email right now was one that I was passing out just before I graduated…but I'll paste it here still for reference. Your goal in the cover letter has to be to sell yourself, your skills, your abilities, why you are the best person that ever walked through their door…without quite saying it like that. 😉

“I would like to inquire about any openings within your firm. At the end of May, I will complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and I am eager to begin working in the accounting field.

While studying accounting, I have gained experience in several business positions including having spent the last 2 years working in the banking industry. Through these experiences, I have acquired many skills and have specifically excelled in:

• Creative problem solving

• Being flexible and adaptable

• Delivering superb customer service

• Utilizing technology to accomplish various goals

• Communicating professionally and effectively with clients, vendors, and co-workers

I have attached my resume for your consideration and would welcome the opportunity to discuss the ways that I can benefit your firm.”

[Anonymous]

That's actually exactly what I did. I'd walk in, say I'd recently completed an accounting degree and wanted to drop off my resume and cover letter in case they had any openings. Or, if you know they have an opening, you can modify your spiel/letter to reflect the opening – “I saw on your website that you were looking to hire an Accountant I and wanted to introduce myself.”

My cover letter was fairly generic. The only one I can find in my email right now was one that I was passing out just before I graduated…but I'll paste it here still for reference. Your goal in the cover letter has to be to sell yourself, your skills, your abilities, why you are the best person that ever walked through their door…without quite saying it like that. 😉

“I would like to inquire about any openings within your firm. At the end of May, I will complete my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and I am eager to begin working in the accounting field.

While studying accounting, I have gained experience in several business positions including having spent the last 2 years working in the banking industry. Through these experiences, I have acquired many skills and have specifically excelled in:

• Creative problem solving

• Being flexible and adaptable

• Delivering superb customer service

• Utilizing technology to accomplish various goals

• Communicating professionally and effectively with clients, vendors, and co-workers

I have attached my resume for your consideration and would welcome the opportunity to discuss the ways that I can benefit your firm.”

[Mayo]

There are rellay three main ways that I've seen people get into the Big 4. In order of most common:

1. Internship out of college. Over 95% of interns are offered and accept offers

2. Full time offer for recent or about to graduate students. This is usually done through networking. Either a professor or employee gives a referral, or the student heavily networks right before graduation.

3. Experienced hire from smaller CPA firm.

@OP, I'd say option #3 is your best option. Going back to school when you don't need additional credits is a big risk. I'd suggest shooting for a smaller CPA firm (just not too small) and contnue to network. Join your local CPA society, make connections, and keep in touch with classmates at other firms. Then when you're ready to transition to a big 4 (if you still want to), you might be able to get the name/email of a specific recruiter or HR person to contact.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

There are rellay three main ways that I've seen people get into the Big 4. In order of most common:

1. Internship out of college. Over 95% of interns are offered and accept offers

2. Full time offer for recent or about to graduate students. This is usually done through networking. Either a professor or employee gives a referral, or the student heavily networks right before graduation.

3. Experienced hire from smaller CPA firm.

@OP, I'd say option #3 is your best option. Going back to school when you don't need additional credits is a big risk. I'd suggest shooting for a smaller CPA firm (just not too small) and contnue to network. Join your local CPA society, make connections, and keep in touch with classmates at other firms. Then when you're ready to transition to a big 4 (if you still want to), you might be able to get the name/email of a specific recruiter or HR person to contact.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[icanhazcpa]

I ended up getting my job through an internship, but if you just get the AICPA release for public accounting firms in your state, it will list which ones offer internships and entry-level positions. I just sent out mass resumes and cover letters to every firm in that book and ended up going from thinking I wasn't going to get an internship to five offers.

BEC - 83
FAR - 83
REG - 74, 78
AUD - 76

Becker Self Study

[icanhazcpa]

I ended up getting my job through an internship, but if you just get the AICPA release for public accounting firms in your state, it will list which ones offer internships and entry-level positions. I just sent out mass resumes and cover letters to every firm in that book and ended up going from thinking I wasn't going to get an internship to five offers.

BEC - 83
FAR - 83
REG - 74, 78
AUD - 76

Becker Self Study

[logueco]

NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK

I graduated from a University in Ireland and then came back to the US trying to get into the Big 4 and everyone I talked to said that the majority of their recruiting takes place through campus recruiting, so I assumed I was screwed.

I gave it a go anyway and just tried to network as much as possible for a few weeks and I ended up with interviews with all 4. The biggest thing is you have to have NO SHAME. The HR people who deal with recruiting are used to being constantly contacted by people either for themselves or on behalf of others. It's just part of their job so don't feel bad about sending out emails to people you've never met about finding out more information.

Some of the things I did that worked:

I called all the offices and asked to speak with someone in recruiting. I then asked them all of my questions about the recruiting process etc. just general stuff, but always finish with “I'm extremely interested in applying for a position, what would be the next step in the process for me?”.

One of the companies I called gave me a phone interview on the spot and I was able to advance to the next stage straight from there.

Create a linkedin and start using it! Add everyone you know (professional jobs only preferably, they look to see who you know, what circles you are running in). Then add everyone you speak with once you've talked to them. It enhances your profile and also allows you to contact them in the future easily.

Contact recruiters straight from linkedin. I emailed a few recruiters, who I had never spoken to before and just said I was interested in applying to x company, would they have any time to speak with me on the phone or preferably in person about applying. They all got back to me right away. Some worked, some didn't, but remember it's their job to recruit and if you think you are good enough for the Big 4 then you are doing them a favor by getting into contact (don't actually ever say that, but that should be your line of thinking, confidence is everything).

Lastly, and this was actually really useful, contact any accountants you already know and see if anyone you know has any accountant contacts (especially Big 4 veterans). Set up a meeting with them to talk about accounting as a profession and their experience and let them know you are interested in getting a job in the public accounting. If you handle yourself well and impress them, 99% of the time they will offer to put you in contact with someone they still know in public accounting. Any time you can get a foot in the door through a professional reference you are at a HUGE advantage.

[logueco]

NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK

I graduated from a University in Ireland and then came back to the US trying to get into the Big 4 and everyone I talked to said that the majority of their recruiting takes place through campus recruiting, so I assumed I was screwed.

I gave it a go anyway and just tried to network as much as possible for a few weeks and I ended up with interviews with all 4. The biggest thing is you have to have NO SHAME. The HR people who deal with recruiting are used to being constantly contacted by people either for themselves or on behalf of others. It's just part of their job so don't feel bad about sending out emails to people you've never met about finding out more information.

Some of the things I did that worked:

I called all the offices and asked to speak with someone in recruiting. I then asked them all of my questions about the recruiting process etc. just general stuff, but always finish with “I'm extremely interested in applying for a position, what would be the next step in the process for me?”.

One of the companies I called gave me a phone interview on the spot and I was able to advance to the next stage straight from there.

Create a linkedin and start using it! Add everyone you know (professional jobs only preferably, they look to see who you know, what circles you are running in). Then add everyone you speak with once you've talked to them. It enhances your profile and also allows you to contact them in the future easily.

Contact recruiters straight from linkedin. I emailed a few recruiters, who I had never spoken to before and just said I was interested in applying to x company, would they have any time to speak with me on the phone or preferably in person about applying. They all got back to me right away. Some worked, some didn't, but remember it's their job to recruit and if you think you are good enough for the Big 4 then you are doing them a favor by getting into contact (don't actually ever say that, but that should be your line of thinking, confidence is everything).

Lastly, and this was actually really useful, contact any accountants you already know and see if anyone you know has any accountant contacts (especially Big 4 veterans). Set up a meeting with them to talk about accounting as a profession and their experience and let them know you are interested in getting a job in the public accounting. If you handle yourself well and impress them, 99% of the time they will offer to put you in contact with someone they still know in public accounting. Any time you can get a foot in the door through a professional reference you are at a HUGE advantage.

[henryv]

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I have one concern with regards to what logueco have said.

I work in a small public firm for 2 years now and I want to move to a big 4. The said firm handles a lot of government related audits and I don't know if I could use that to my advantage. I'm going to finish my CPA exam + ethics by the end of the year. If I do a linkedin, do I also need to put in my experiences over there or just basic information like where I graduated or if I'm CPA licensed? I would rather do a that since my current employer might notice I'm job hunting and my resume will list my experiences anyways so it will be redundant.

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[henryv]

Sorry for reviving this old thread, but I have one concern with regards to what logueco have said.

I work in a small public firm for 2 years now and I want to move to a big 4. The said firm handles a lot of government related audits and I don't know if I could use that to my advantage. I'm going to finish my CPA exam + ethics by the end of the year. If I do a linkedin, do I also need to put in my experiences over there or just basic information like where I graduated or if I'm CPA licensed? I would rather do a that since my current employer might notice I'm job hunting and my resume will list my experiences anyways so it will be redundant.

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[henryv]

I would rather do posting basic information and not work experiences in linkedin**

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[henryv]

I would rather do posting basic information and not work experiences in linkedin**

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[henryv]

Bumping regarding the linkedin question…

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[henryv]

Bumping regarding the linkedin question…

FAR - 92 02/2013
AUD - 90 05/2013
REG - 85 10/2013
BEC - 80 12/2013

I'M DONE. THANK YOU LORD!

[Author]

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