[Ganondorf]

Every job listing I find says it requires 2+ years of experience. I have no real accounting related experience. I have only worked in fast food type jobs which I try to BS on my resume as cash handling experience to make it sound at least somewhat accounting related.

Where do you find accounting jobs that require no experience? I search the usual places like Monster, Indeed, CareerBuilder, etc, but practically every single job listed requires 2+ years of experience. Am I wasting my time applying to these listings? How important is having the experience?

[SaveBandit]

Apply to any posting that interests you, no matter what. They usually shoot for the moon in those job descriptions anyway. Pretty sure every job I've ever gotten had at least one requirement listed that I was in no way qualified for. Plus, HR usually posts those, and they have no idea what the hell they're looking at anyway.

Try tailoring your resume for specific positions as well. Use some of the key words in the Employer-posted job descriptions on your own resume so it will stand out. Some companies have software that automatically weeds candidates out if they don't hit on those key words. Even if you've only worked in fast food,make it sounds like you were given a lot of responsibility. Did you ever close out for the night? Closing out and locking the place up shows that you're trustworthy & responsible. Did you ever train any other employees? If so, you've done some supervising and leading. Word-smithing is half the battle.

4 for 4

FAR 85
AUD 94
BEC 86
REG 90

[Missy]

I truly cringe when someone posts “a recruiter told me………..” PLEASE think critically think about what a recruiter is and does.

They are SALESPEOPLE, not accountants (for the most part). They work on commission. If I say I want someone to do AP and I am willing to hire someone inexperienced at 35k but pay up to 45k for experience, who is the recruiter going to send? The one with experience will get them the best commission. Naturally they have no time to bother with a noob but that doesn't mean employers feel the same way.

You realize that when you see a post on monster or craigslist coming from a recruilter, half the time it is fictitious (I have confimed this, you can easily do so on google) just to see who sends in a resume. They generally are finding job listings posted directly by the employer and cold calling to say “hey I've got JUST the person for you!”

Some recruiters are fabulous and they are well worth talking to. You won't know that until after you talk to them. But realize they are not working for candidates by a long shot. Look your recruiter up on LinkedIn, look at how often they job hop or what their background is. Very telling.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[CPA CMA]

It is funny that all those firms expect you to have experiences but none of them want to give you a chance to start, guess they just think you can just get your experiences from…idk, magic?

Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) 12/17/2014

BEC 76 (10/3/14)
FAR 75 (10/24/14)
REG 83 (4/6/15)
AUD 75 (4/20/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2016

CMA part 1 passed (6/15/15)
CMA part 2 Passed (9/4/15)
Anticipated Licensure: August 2017

[Mayo]

“I truly cringe when someone posts “a recruiter told me………..” PLEASE think critically think about what a recruiter is and does.

They are SALESPEOPLE, not accountants (for the most part). They work on commission. “

Can we sticky this bit please? Feel like it should be immortalized some way or another. Maybe a tattoo? 😛

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

“It is funny that all those firms expect you to have experiences but none of them want to give you a chance to start, guess they just think you can just get your experiences from…idk, magic?”

Firms are looking for people that fit their requirements; not looking to expend the experience of the US accounting workforce. There are plenty of people with the experience they are looking for. If they price the position adequately they'll have their pick of the litter. How is this a weird concept?

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Author]

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