[MustPass1988]

On jan 2nd, I made the move from public to private. I was told that I needed to start as soon as possible because they had a lot of things they needed help on. Since I started, I have not had anything to do. I was given a couple very small projects with no real direction or advice, and the senior accountant who gave them to me, would actually redo them and then complain that I didn’t do them the way he wanted. I was then told to study which I did every day for 8 hrs a day, 4 weeks in a row. They said that after mid February, 2013 projects would start picking up and that the reason they didn’t have much for me to do for the last 2 months was because it was easier for them to finish 2012 projects rather than explaining it to me. They assigned me specific sections and I’ve noticed that my manager has started to work on my sections for me, but hasn’t told me what he’s doing or even explained why he’s doing it. Today I got a project from my manager that was essentially researching a topic and summarizing the information, and he actually sent me he websites to use and then told me that he was doing the same thing as me. Also, he gave me another project that basically consists of 2 days worth of data entry. I am really frustrated because it seems like they don’t want to take the time to just explain to me what im supposed to be doing so they’re just giving me mindless projects and doing the “real work” themselves. My position was a new one and it seems like they just didn’t think through what I was going to be doing. My manager is not the easiest person to talk to and he has mentioned feeling badly about not having much for me to do, but said it would pick up in mid feb. I just feel like my 2 years in public accounting were wasted coming to a job where I’m not learning or accomplishing anything. I’m also not part of the team at all, they constantly have meetings without me and they never keep me in the loop with what’s going on. I feel like this weird girl who keeps showing up to study, gets paid, but isn’t really part of the company. There is an internal audit job open at a company that is well known and I have a connection to a woman who works there. What I’m wondering is, is it a bad idea to apply for that job and if not, how do I explain away this 2 month job?

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[MustPass1988]

@Lsync- weird I didn't see your reply until just now. I did apply for that job at the end of last week- I'm just kind of fed up with the whole situation. I havent had anything to do for the last week and a half and I emailed the guy I report to who isn't even in my office (but my manager IS in my office- it's a weird set up) and asked if he had anything I could work on and he couldn't even be bothered to write back but he's been calling my manager who sits next to me. SUPER frustrating. I decided I'm done asking for things to do and I'm studying until my test. Not only that but my boss is a jerk- he's the most negative person I think I've ever met & I try making small talk with him (which is painful because I HATE talking to him because of how negative he is) and he always treats me as if I just asked the dumbest question in the world. I asked him a question yesterday about something he had done the previous week, and he laughed and said “ha [coworker], did you hear the question she just asked me?”. I'm just sooooooo fed up with this job,

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[Nocturne808]

It is obvious you are being forced out. Nobody likes firing people, but these messages are being sent subtly so you get the point. Your work is being reduced so that you are so miserable that you eventually resign or find a new job because they don't want to pay unemployment.

As for the reason, just tell your next employer that “they had no work for me, I asked for more work but they said it wasn't really busy.”

[MustPass1988]

No, I don't think I'm being forced out. If I had been here for a year, I think I would be concerned about my job security. They keep referencing all these projects in the future but who knows if and when they'll happen. I don't think that being bored at a job means you're being let go, I think that's sometimes the way it goes in private, which is why people end up leaving or going back to public. It's really a combination of me being extremely bored and not fitting in with the group- I'm a 27 year old woman and the people I work with are 60 year old, negative and crabby men

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[MustPass1988]

Plus, my work is not being reduced, i haven't gotten any since I started

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[ParanoidAndroid]

@MustPass1988…You sound a lot like me…They give me no work to do, work with people way older than me and the motherfuck**g place just sucks…I hope I get something in the Summer/Fall in public accounting; otherwise I'm just quitting accounting altogether..=P

CPA for life...

[MustPass1988]

@paranoid yep I feel you exactly. I think my attitude has gone down the drain because of the negativity in this job. I mean, I'll ask my manager how he's doing in the morning when I get to work and I have never once heard him say “I'm good”. Normally he will take a long sigh and say “things have been better” or “barely hanging in there”. It's crap like that that seriously ruins the working environment. Not to mention, he couldn't care less about hearing something about another person. I've heard him cut people off in the middle of a sentence to talk about himself. I don't know anyone here besides the old people I work with and frankly, it's just depressing. Grrrr

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[Anonymous]

MustPass1988: Who does the daily bookkeeping, AR,AP, bank reconciliation ?does your manager at least give you those responsibilities?

[MustPass1988]

No I'm in internal audit, not accounting. I think I work with a bunch of control freaks who don't want to give anything up

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[neika822]

🙁 I'm sorry you guys are so unhappy with your jobs. I was MISERABLE in public, and would have preferred dog walking. I made the switch and now work at a local college (I would never have imagined ending up in nonprofit). I love my job, but I really think it's the environment I work in. My boss has told me numerous times that she wants me to gain a ton of knowledge and she helps me to understand new tasks. No problems if I need a day off. Everyone in my office is like family.

I hope you all can find a supportive workplace very soon! Not all industry/private careers are horrible! I'd rather walk across hot coals than return to public. But everyone has their own preferences. Good luck 🙂

R - *77*(02/'13)-Becker & NINJA
A - 71('11); *87*(04/'13)-Becker & NINJA
F - *76*(08/'13)-Becker & NINJA - "server upgrade" survivor
B - 60('11); *82*(10/'13) -Becker & NINA

DONE, DONE, AND DONE.

CPA in Massachusetts; issued 01/24/14

[MustPass1988]

Yeah I know that **hopefully** not all industries/ jobs are terrible but maybe it's just hard finding the right one for you. It's definitely not just the fact that im bored, although that's a big part of it, but it's just a negative place to be. Not the whole company, but this department (which is like 10 people). I have seriously thought about going back to my old firm but I traveled so much there that I just don't think I could do it. I think I'm going to start applying to smaller public firms though. In a way, I feel misled- they told me they needed me to start ASAP and had sooo much work but had I known it was going to be like this, I would have just stayed in public longer to get more experience. I would have been promoted this summer and now I'm stuck at a job where I have no responsibilities whatsoever.

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[neika822]

Yeah, maybe if you go to a smaller firm, you'll feel better about your career and have more opportunities. I've read a lot of stories about people going back to public after private. I know of someone who worked for about 3 months at a public company in the area, and then went right on back to her firm. It's not completely unheard of, or even frowned upon really.

R - *77*(02/'13)-Becker & NINJA
A - 71('11); *87*(04/'13)-Becker & NINJA
F - *76*(08/'13)-Becker & NINJA - "server upgrade" survivor
B - 60('11); *82*(10/'13) -Becker & NINA

DONE, DONE, AND DONE.

CPA in Massachusetts; issued 01/24/14

[MustPass1988]

LOL I just looked in my email and the last project I had was on march 7th. I decided today to look into smaller public firms and if that doesn't pan out, I will go back to my old one. There's no point in staying in a place that clearly is not working.

AUD: PASSED [81]; Expired, retaking August 23rd
BEC: PASSED [83]; Expired, retaking July 11th
REG: PASSED [83]
FAR: FAILED [64]; Retaking May 23rd

[Author]

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