[naildown]

Hello CPA professional,
I already accepted an offer from CBIZ and start on January. Grant Thornton also offered me a summer starting position. Since Grant Thornton’s ranking is higher than CBIZ. Can I work at CBIZ for half year and switch to Grant Thornton? Is it will look bad on my resume? The point is, I also want to try BIG 4 after 2 years. What’s a best plan for me?

[stuckintheslowlane]

Hi Naildown,
Are you still in school? Do you have your CPA license? If you didn't take the CBIZ job, what would you be doing until June 2019? 🙂

[naildown]

Hi Stuckintheskowlane,
Yes, I ‘m still going to school and gonna graduate this December. I'm working on my CPA, and just passed one section. I have to work at CBIZ January because I already accepted their offer. I haven't accept Grant Thornton's offer yet.

[ultrarunner]

Congratulations on receiving offer from GT. Is the first firm fulltime offer too? If so, you should think about the best way not to burn the bridge. If I were you, I would contact the first firm, withdraw and study CPA exams until summer. It is a big investment for any firm to hire and train new hires. If you plan to work there only before working for another, it doesn't seem fair to the first firm. Anyway it's just my 2 cents. All the best.

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[Tim]

Yeah I would just be honest with CBIZ. I wouldn't mention that you got an offer from a “better firm” but I would just say you got a “better offer” from another firm and not mention who it is. See what they say, but they will probably just say that's understandable and wish you the best of luck. Like Ultrarunner said use that time to dig in on CPA exams.

[naildown]

Thank you so much for all the suggestion. But I do heard it is bad to accept an offer and turn it down.

[MaLoTu]

If you do what you want everyone to tell you it is fine to do and start working at CBIZ and then move onto GT a few months later, I do not think B4 will bat an eye IF you have 2 full years with GT. I guess the risk you are taking is the GT doesn’t work out for whatever reason then you are on your third firm. That will be very hard to explain to a new firm. I doubt you would be able to explain it to the point where it doesn’t look like you were getting fired because on the firm recruitment side that is what I would see.
So it is definitely a risk. Beyond the ethical quandary, it would be totally feasible to start with one and switch. No it won’t affect you chances with B4 2 years down the road under normal circumstances.
I wouldn’t worry all that much about the costs to train you. You are starting in busy season and they need bodies that can do work.

[dgg135]

I’d wait until you pass the cpaexams and then leave. I wouldn’t stay less than a year.

[Biff Tannen]

I don't think it would make a difference. In terms of rank, CBIZ and GT are both middle-market firms as far as rankings go. If you had an offer from a big 4, then I think it would be advantageous to jump ship. I would say to stick to the firm that has the better culture.

[Author]

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