[nosaly]

Hi guys,

I’ve been in public accounting for almost 3 years now- Did my busy season as a senior and am thinking about quitting before another busy season hits. I am debating if I should take some time off for myself after passing all my CPAs and quitting my job this August. I’ve had a rough year, and am not eager to jump to another job right after this one. Ideally, I’d like to take several months off travelling and doing some “soul searching” to improve myself as a well-rounded human being and leader of my own life. I’m in mid-20s.

My question is, how is the job search different if I were to take the time off, as opposed to going straight from public to private? Is it tough to get back into recruiting if you have been out for a while? Should I start talking to recruiters now, or reach out to them after travelling? Does my market value go down? How much or how seriously does it impact my career?

I feel burnt out and I’m ready to take a break. If you guys have any experiences or suggestions, please share, I would greatly appreciate your inputs. 🙂

Thanks guys.

[jlp0369]

I have always been very curious about this as well.

FAR: 87
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[klmc]

Why not land the job first and then tell them you can start in 3 months and explain the situation?

|FAR| - 72, 83
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ALL DONE!!

[Mayo]

I got out of public and went straight to industry. No vacation no nothing. Left my firm on Friday and started in my new job on Monday.

If you have unpaid vacation, use that money to take some time off. Otherwise, maybe try getting a job in industry first, and then going through one quarter end and then explain the situation like klmc suggests.

Trust me, I was burnt the hell out when I left and still have not gotten a proper vacation. Looking to take 2 weeks off in September. Finally 😛

Another alternative would be to touch base with some recruiters and ask them their thoughts on having a few months off before job searching.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[jessica8926]

It is not a bad idea as long as you can explain why you took time off to anyone hiring you. It will be their first question to you. I and a friend took a few months off after leaving public. I already had a job lined up but my friend didnt. However, she had no problem finding a job because she explained to them that she took time off to finish the exam. That was my situation too and every employer/recruiter understood and accepted it! The whole taking several months off to do “soul searching” might not be the best explanation to give and it might prompt more questions and uncertainty than anything. I would only take a few months off then have a solid explanation for why when you start interviewing.

AUD - 69, 77
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Finally done (5/24/16)!! Yahooooooo!

[Anonymous]

Just throwing this out there – I think the likelihood of finding a job in private and then asking to start 3 months later is low. In my experience, if a job in private is advertised for “immediate” (2 weeks – 1 month) start, it's because they're needing the position filled – someone left and they're short of help. So, even if they really like you, if you want to wait 3 months to start, that might make them decide to hire someone else.

There are situations where they're intentionally hiring for a long time out – I think this happens most in government, but does happen elsewhere too, like in Jessica's situation. However, if they're looking for someone to start as soon as they give notice, they're probably not going to be happy with someone starting in 3 months instead.

[logueco]

I would absolutely start to talk to recruiters NOW.

It is a very very small chance that you will be able to find a company in industry that will be advertising a position that they are looking to fill 3-4 months down the line (or one they can put off filling for an extra couple months). However if there does happen to be that kind of unique situation, the only way you are going to be able to find it is by reaching out to as many recruiters as possible and see if they have anything that fits that bill.

Assuming that locking in a job that you can walk into several months down the line isn't feasible, then the main thing you need to do is come up with a justification for why you are taking that time off and think of ways that you can sell it as a positive as opposed to lost time.

I took some time off after public, I originally had some offers lined up but then decided that career path wasn't for me, and found myself unemployed for 3+ months while looking for accounting roles. I spent the time travelling and came up with some BS about little projects I worked on in the meantime/what I learned travelling etc. so that I was prepared when the questions inevitably came up via recruiters and interviews. And the whole time I was checking in with recruiters in case anything amazing came along that I wanted to jump on (plus just to keep myself on their radar).

I didn't find that having the time off limited me in my job hunt too much, but I did find that it does raise a lot of suspicion when someone sees an extended period of unemployment so you NEED to have a really good story as to why you took the time and what you did. And I also found that it did hurt me a bit when I was negotiating. I think knowing that you are unemployed and are looking can lead some firms to try and low-ball you, although my recruiters always handled the negotiations and managed to drive the price up by playing competing offers off each other.

[logueco]

I would absolutely start to talk to recruiters NOW.

It is a very very small chance that you will be able to find a company in industry that will be advertising a position that they are looking to fill 3-4 months down the line (or one they can put off filling for an extra couple months). However if there does happen to be that kind of unique situation, the only way you are going to be able to find it is by reaching out to as many recruiters as possible and see if they have anything that fits that bill.

Assuming that locking in a job that you can walk into several months down the line isn't feasible, then the main thing you need to do is come up with a justification for why you are taking that time off and think of ways that you can sell it as a positive as opposed to lost time.

I took some time off after public, I originally had some offers lined up but then decided that career path wasn't for me, and found myself unemployed for 3+ months while looking for accounting roles. I spent the time travelling and came up with some BS about little projects I worked on in the meantime/what I learned travelling etc. so that I was prepared when the questions inevitably came up via recruiters and interviews. And the whole time I was checking in with recruiters in case anything amazing came along that I wanted to jump on (plus just to keep myself on their radar).

I didn't find that having the time off limited me in my job hunt too much, but I did find that it does raise a lot of suspicion when someone sees an extended period of unemployment so you NEED to have a really good story as to why you took the time and what you did. And I also found that it did hurt me a bit when I was negotiating. I think knowing that you are unemployed and are looking can lead some firms to try and low-ball you, although my recruiters always handled the negotiations and managed to drive the price up by playing competing offers off each other.

[Author]

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