[Ajar]

Hi all. I’ve been scouring some past threads and it looks like folks that are looking to transition from private to public definitely encounter some job-search hurdles. I’m in a similar (but somewhat unique) situation and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions / advice

I graduated in 2016 with an undergrad degree in accounting, then did a two year masters program which was not business related and also worked as a graduate assistant in a non business role. However when I graduated from that program in 2018, I accepted a position with a private company as a staff accountant. Since then, I’ve passed 3 out of the 4 exams (and sitting for my last one in March 2020). Additionally, I’ve been applying for MSA programs to meet the 150 hours and will hopefully find out about acceptances in March as well (for a Summer 2020 start). Of course, my state has a work-experience requirement before they will issue a license (public and supervised under a CPA).

I live in a major city in the Northeast and have been applying for public positions (excluding those that explicitly state “must meet 150 hours”) yet get rejected or ghosted.

At this point, I’m thinking of pausing the job search until March (hopefully after passing my last exam and getting an acceptance to an MSA program) so I can add that to my resume. Also, hoping that access to campus recruiting / career services / and my state society’s career fair, as well as building a network will help.

Does anyone have any tips for how to go about transitioning to public accounting? There is no shortage of firms in my metropolitan area and I know I’ll be starting as an entry level associate (although I’d hope to move up after getting some work experience since by then I’d already be eligible to get my license).

Also, I’m a little bit “older” (26) and will be 27 when I finish the 150.

[Icarito]

Are you sure the experience needs to be in public? Most states just require performing certain accounting duties under the discretion of a CPA, whether it be in public or industry.

[MaLoTu]

You should definitely focus on the last exam. Your best time to get hired will be in the fall. I would start utilizing LI to contact recruiters or managers/partners at firms you are interested in. I would do this around March/April. Try to network with your state CPA society if an option exists. If any of your alma maters have connections with local firms I would also utilize that network (attend meet the firms). Also any school near by that has a meet the firms open to the public I would go to (that is how I got my position).
Are you applying for entry level staff 1 jobs? If you are applying for experience hire positions this may also be getting you rejected as you will be new to public accounting.

[JM03]

I think your issue is that you’re trying to apply at a weird time.
In my city, the major accounting firms only recruit in September for their entry level positions that start in January or the following September. Hence, they are trying to get their new hires in right now and not actively recruiting. They recruit straight through the business schools at the two major universities as well, so if you don’t have access to the career centers there, you’re SOL.
With that being said, I think your best bet would be to concentrate on passing the last exam and getting into a MSA program. As you said, you can then use their career resources.
You’re only other option is to bypass traditional recruiting by knowing someone very high up at the firm.

[Ajar]

@icarito it could be, however it seems a little less stringent to go via the public route (not to mention the experience).

@malotu just staff level 1 positions. I DEFINITELY plan on attending meet the firms in Sept (as well as my state society’s career fair). You actually made me realize there may be smaller hiring things going on around May so I’ll scope those out and start going to some state society events.

@jm03 haha sadly I don’t know anyone super high up. Seems like Sept seems to be the magical time of year though.

[Author]

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