[Scared-cpa]

Hey, everyone!

I know this isn’t CPA related, but I thought you guys could help me more than anyone else! I just finished my MBA degree (finalized July 29th, yay!) and am working on my last section of these exams. However, I am getting AUD score back this week and then REG and BEC in September so I don’t know exactly when I will be done. However, I also am not going to get a job until I finish these exams. I feel like it will be easier that way, to focus on one thing at a time and hopefully power through these exams, plus I think it may make me more unique compared to other candidates fresh out of college as well.

I feel like my biggest problem is the fact that I have never held a job, ever. I am 23 years old and have been a full-time college student since I graduated high school back in 2012. My first couple years of undergrad, I was in my school’s honor program so I had to do some volunteer work, but other than that, I haven’t done any work. The biggest reasons for not having worked is (1) I’ve been lucky enough to have the financial support that keeps me from having to actually earn money and (2) my father became ill shortly after I began college and he is now completely bedbound, unable to take care of himself. I finished my last two years of undergrad plus my MBA living at home taking care of him during the day while my mom works full-time to support them. So technically I guess I did have a job of taking care of him, but that doesn’t matter to employers.

So what do I put on my resume since I have no work experience? I can tell them my sob story above in an interview, but I have to actually get to the interview first! I feel like only having education experience on my resume is way too bland and useless to be appealing to a recruiter. So what should I do? How big of a turn off is it to an employer that I’ve never, ever had a job before?

Thanks everyone for reading my post 🙂

[lam2848]

I would suggest applying for some internships first. I think they're a great way to figure out what field you want to go into! Depending on where you went to school, a lot of the major accounting firms often recruit through colleges. I found my internship through my school during my sophomore year and I started interning for them during my junior year (tax intern). I then interned for them again the next year and they gave me full time employment after that.

[Scared-cpa]

That sounds like a good idea. Either that or trying to find a part-time job. If I am not finished with these exams by Q4, I'm thinking about picking up a part-time job while continuing to study because I think that would be easier to find than a FT job with no prior experience.

[Anonymous]

Take advantage of your school's career services. They will have resume workshops and practice interviews to help with your job search. Also try to get involved with your school's accounting society because they will usually already be in touch with the recruiters and people you need to know to get your foot in the door at both the local and larger accounting firms.

[Scared-cpa]

I completely forgot about school career services! I will definitely have to give that a go! The only problem is that my university is about an hour and a half away from where I live, so I wonder if they'd have any opportunities in this area, but it wouldn't hurt to ask!

What exactly do you guys prescribe I do for my physical resume? How can I make it look presentable without too sparse caused by the lack of job history?

[Anonymous]

Were you apart of any clubs/organizations in HS or college? or volunteer work? You could put those down and describe what you were responsible for

[M123]

First off, huge commendations for taking care of your family. There are a few routes you might consider.

– Since you have your MBA, many large companies have MBA graduate programs. Select a target company and search “company mba careers”. I'm thinking with some finesse you'll be able to dovetail that into accounting.

– Internship as mentioned. You can tailor time more and get a recommendation – you need this on your resume (and in background screen) more than a litany of experience. Word of mouth from someone whose words matter will be beneficial, such as a successful CPA office, etc.

– Volunteer – you can do VITA for tax and many larger churches if you are of a faith will often times have financial counseling. Any time you can connect the dots from philanthropy to your career is a good thing. You may already have great insight from your family experience that may be worth sharing.

Bottom line – if you find something and do it with passion – opportunities will follow. That one interaction with someone who sees you as a bright light will not care what's on your resume. Also – consider that since you have been a “professional student” for some time – it may take some adjustment to get to work. There may be meetup groups or other professional support groups or simply your university's networking events that will help with the transition. Just don't do it alone.

[maxb]

As far as Resume, everyone's first resume sorta sucks, for most people it's a lot of filler. That being said you can still word it in a way that someone at the firm can relate to. Talk about how you may have multitasked. Give some detail on how you tackled your classes, how you stay organized etc… how can those classes benefit the firm moving forward. What leadership skills have you shown? from my experience don't be afraid to go into some detail for each bullet point. Like 2 or 3 sentences per bullet. I would include GPA since it's your first resume unless its lower then a 3. Mayb list out some of your classes and how they could relate to your potential role. Think outside the box! Everyone joins BS clubs and likes to play sports and watch movies for fun. Your resume needs to catch someone's attention. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Get a job, preferably one which will count towards your required experience hours for the CPA. Don't the Big 4 and other public accounting firms hire fresh graduates every single day of the year? If you were an ‘A' student in school, they would probably want you immediately. But anyway, once you have your required hours and your 4 passed parts of the CPA, you will never have to worry about your job situation again because you will (I dare say) never be unemployed. But, it is time to get some kind of respectable job. Just my $0.02 worth. As far as the resume, you need to focus on things you have accomplished. Skills should be included, but employers LOVE to see how you improved a process or changed it for the better or whatever. Or, if you saved the company money as a result of your efforts. Also, listing that you are a CPA candidate is a good thing. Even if you have taken 4 parts and failed all four, you can still list “Have taken all 4 parts of the CPA exam.” It looks good, trust me. I just got hired at a company and got a great compensation package and in the interview, they expressed approval about my pursuing the CPA…even though I'm not one yet.

[Scared-cpa]

Thanks, everyone!

As part of Honor's Program in college, I was required to do volunteer work since they paid my tuition. I did a few different things like work at the local Senior Citizens Center, tutored students in math, and helped schedule charity events for a local animal rescue.

I graduated undergrad Cum Laude and finished my MBA with a 3.9 GPA (only one B, which really sucks!).

I do have a friend who is a branch manager at a bank that says he is friends with a CPA who he may be able to hook me up with. I live in a small town and will be for the next year or so, so I'm hoping I can find someone who knows someone that can help me!

There are Big 4 firms in the city I will be moving to in 2019, but that's not really possible until then.; However, I do want to get a job that will count for my work experience toward the CPA exam.

How do I go about putting the candidacy for the CPA exam on my resume without it seeming tacky? And are there any general formats for a resume that are preferred? I don't want to use a template from Word!

[rlarivee01]

Your GPA is 3.9, you'll be okay.

Network, network, network.

My girl got a sweet gig at a top 10 public firm, and they personally reached out to her to tell her they were making an offer. She had these things counting against her:

-Not a US citizen, so she requires sponsorship… very few companies will offer that entry level.
-They require 150 hours. She has just a bachelors.
-Not only does she not have the hours, she isn't even able to take the CPA exam because she needs auditing and info system classes.

She had all that going against her, and through reaching out (sometimes excessively) through LinkedIn and email, as well as asking every professor if they could refer her, and one finally did. He was a former partner at the company and everyone loved him. They enjoyed her personality in interviews and the rest is history.

They interviewed me, and turned me down despite currently sitting for the CPA and having four years experience.

[ashl07]

I would look into your State's CPA Society. If they are like CT at all they have Career Fairs and Young Professional networking opportunities. You could also try emailing a local firm and give a brief explanation of your situation. They may consider taking on an intern or know someone who is looking for an intern or Jr. staff accountant.

[Author]

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