[Anonymous]

I can’t technically say I’m a CPA until I get the 1 year experience, right? I’m in Illinois if that is relevant. Also…I’m not even sure what to do now since the ILBOA website isn’t totally clear on what my next step is to get my license. I’m going to take the ethics exam soon and I’m not working currently. I have no idea what to do about job searching…I didn’t do an internship or have any real accounting experience so my chances of landing a job seem kind of dim even with all the sections passed. Any tips?

[krschneids]

Be sure to mention that you have all four exam sections passed

AUD 79 (7/14)
FAR 78 (7/14)
REG 78 (8/14)
BEC 81 (10/14)

[krschneids]

But no, you cannot legally refer to yourself as a CPA yet

AUD 79 (7/14)
FAR 78 (7/14)
REG 78 (8/14)
BEC 81 (10/14)

[Anonymous]

Just copying and pasting from another thread:

I just wanted to say the catch 22 of experience but no experience is a fallacy a lot of people use as an excuse, at least in this industry. Plenty of people are hired for fulltime and internship positions without any relevant experience. We hire kids where the only thing on their resume is scooping ice cream in the summer. We hire adults that have zero accounting internship or work experience, where their only job was being a musician on a cruise ship. In short, experience comes from a wide variety of activities, not just employment. It may be totally true that for you, some experience would push you above some of the other candidates, but it is not some sort of hard and fast rule that this industry (or, to be honest, a lot of industries) go by. When entry level jobs put stuff like “minimum 2-3 years of experience required”.. I hope you guys don't really believe it. This is a recruiting tactic, fyi.

[Mary 2496]

From what I understand, you cannot say that you're a CPA until you are licensed by your state board. Unless your license is already recorded online and/or you have it in your hand, you cannot use the CPA title. I see a lot of people that pass all four sections and start using “CPA.” Unfortunately, not quite yet. 🙁

[Anonymous]

I'm going to use all caps for emphasis, not to be rude:

YOU CANNOT SAY YOU'RE A CPA UNTIL YOU ARE LICENSED BY YOUR STATE!!!

There are serious repercussions if you get caught doing so.

Now that that's out of the way, having all parts may help you find a job. It shows dedication to the profession, self-discipline, and demonstrates a baseline of knowledge. I would indicate in the Summary section that you have all four parts passed on your resume.

Just remember that resumes get interviews and interviews get jobs.

[fuzyfro89]

Others have already said it, but No, you can't put “CPA” next to your name on you rresume if you are not an active license (license number issued by state board, current on CPE requirements, etc).

As far as getting experience, others have offered good advice. There's no magic formula. It's a grind. Call people. Meet people. Talk to people. Network day in and day out. Get some kind of experience, any experience, so you have more on your resume than “went to school and passed the CPA exams”.

[Anonymous]

For Illinois you do not need one year of experience.

From the IBOE website:

Illinois is classified as a two-tier state. This means that the Illinois CPA certificate is issued upon successful completion of the CPA examination and “Professional Ethics: the AICPA’s Comprehensive Course.”

Hope this helps.

[Author]

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