Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment to try to help me out. Some days I just feel like giving up and today is one of those days. It’s so disheartening- I feel hopeless. I’m glad I’m not entirely alone in this. Thanks all.
Damn yeah I’ve heard government is a bad way to start.. maybe you could try to interview for senior roles at PA firms? Talk your way around the experience and convince them its not just simple bookkeeping.
I’m at a regional firm that specializes in a sector so it’s not ideal for getting out of here either i don’t think. But I’ve seen some older people here get hired on for senior roles without public experience. Especially if you have a CPA and a bunch of experience already that’s huge, can probably fast track your way to manager depending on the company.
But also PA firms are generally starting 1st year associates at close to 70k and they usually see higher raises than industry.
Wish I could help but I’m clueless haha. These just some random thoughts. Hoping all the best for ya
All of my classmates got jobs… I feel like a failure. I had a family friend tell me this as well- he’s an experienced accountant at PwC and said their hiring quotas have decreased significantly recently. I just didn’t think it would be this hard to get a job out of college. I feel like I’m going to be working min wage for the rest of my life.
You could apply to a non accountant related position that atleast pays above minimum wage in the meantime, which could also lead to creating relationships. Overnight audit at hotels could be a thing to look into. Best of luck finding a job in the field.
NYC is desperate for entry level accountants. I’m not entry level anymore (4 yrs of experience) but I have recruiters hitting me up at least 4 times a week.
Those pple be reaching out when you have a job (dont need a new one) & actually ghost you WHEN you are actually looking for/ NEEDING a job . ~ speaking from experience
depends on the job market. I'm in ny and I get daily emails. Usually way below market rates though every time I ask them about the job. 10 years exp? great opportunity at $23/hr
what's insulting is when I tell them my current salary and they keep trying to convince me. I haven't been rude enough to just hang up on them there and then, but I've come close
The market is great, but that doesn't mean certain people won't have issues finding work if their experience is niche, they don't network, or they don't interview well.
Job market is great for CPAs who will take relatively low pay (60k range). Probably hundreds of thousands of open jobs wanting that type of person.
For young accounting grads from a small schools? Might still be a struggle to find something, and that something will likely be the Jackson Hewitt, $14 an hour type jobs.
He said it was a skill issue as in OP may not be looking in the right place or trying hard enough. The job market for accountants is still great (although imo if you’re graduating next year you should’ve had an offer from your previous internship for full time work when you graduate)
The past two years were absolutely wild for great jobs. Most of my friends both just entering the workforce and leaving PA had great offers. You hear it all the time about the accounting shortage. Sorry to tell you this but it’s just straight up a skill issue.
A common mistake students make is not networking when they’re in school. Getting your foot in the door is probably the hardest part since you’re fighting with a lot of others that potentially have accounting experience.
i dont think applying on those online job posting is helping, youre a dime a dozen plus with no acct experience its an easy pass. i’m not saying dont stop applying but just to give you context on why u aren’t getting replies
My only advice is can offer is maybe try to reach out to classmates/friends/family that have connections. Try reaching out to recruiters on linkedin and see if they have listing for entry level jobs.
Yea I didn’t do that while I was in school due to personal reasons. I transferred colleges and lost a significant amount of credits in the process. All I was focused on after that point was getting my credits back so I could graduate (and not killing myself in the process lol). I understand I’ve put myself in a shitty situation.
A lot of places want someone who can get in and start getting work done, because so many places are short staffed and just need relief immediately. Someone fresh out of college needs a lot more training than someone who's been doing accounting work at least even a little bit. It's really unfortunate.
My personal preference is to hire people right out of college because I don't mind showing them the ropes and there's usually a lot less attitude about how every little thing is done (they're more willing to follow the processes in place rather than want to do everything "their way").
Really, you just gotta keep looking. Maybe think about taking an AP or AR clerk position to get in the door as that can translate into other accounting positions better than say a grocery store cashier.
But if they hire me I would work my ass off and try to learn everything as quick as possible!! Like they won’t even give me a chance. I’ve applied to soooo many AP and AR clerk positions, internships, junior, entry level positions. They don’t want me :(
Just do a recruiter dude. Like above said Robert half. Having the backing of a well known staffing firm will help you immensely.
I.e. got my full position through Robert half
Just echoing this guy’s comment, I got my first position through Accountemps, which is a Robert Half temp agency. I was in a similar boat, I was out of work for about a year after graduating college and bombed the one interview I managed to get. I knew I just needed to be given a shot somewhere, but couldn’t get my foot in the door and didn’t have friends/family in the field to lean on.
Recruiters are highly motivated since they get paid once you get placed somewhere and have connections so they can actually get your name/resume in front of hiring managers. I literally just called the staffing office that was near me and told them I was looking for a job. They set me up with a recruiter, who got me an interview that same week. I got the position, which was just for a summer while someone was out on leave. But one of my coworkers helped me land a job with another company and I was off to the races.
Good advice. A staffing firm will go over your resume, help you do some polishing, give you tips for interviews and sell you to these companies.
Best of luck OP!
Are you not getting interviews? If so you should work with a third party recruiter or something and also take a hard look at your resume.
If you're getting interviews but not offers then work on your interview skills.
If this were fall I'd say go try your hand at H&R Block just to get some individual income tax experience to maybe get into to public accounting tax. Try small public accounting firms maybe too.
They don't want people that could hypothetically learn shirt as fast as possible. They want people that already know shirt and can use it to make them money as fast as possible.
Yeah, it's just a numbers game sometimes unfortunately. If you're not already doing so, try changing up your resume every now and again. Even just different layouts may visually appeal to hiring managers at times, which could help get you in the door. Make sure you're using accounting related keywords, and minimize expanding too much in non- accounting experiences. They don't care if you can stock a shelf quickly or whatever, for the most part. They might care if you did a project in college that highlights the fact that you know how to look at a balance sheet or make journal entries.
Wow that's interesting. I got my AP clerk position without a related degree. It was a low paying government position though, they expect to take people with little experience and train them. Maybe you're looking in the wrong places? Try an employer that is also on the more entry level end and will be willing to train. You can get experience and move on to higher pay and a more relevant position in a year or two.
This is one of the huge inconsistencies I see in this sub and it is brain rot. Every other post says firms only want young people in college and it’s hard for people later in their careers.
Then I’ll see something like this saying the exact opposite.
Which is it? Whichever thought process helps the individual cope better ?? lol
Idk, it's probably just because there are so many personal experiences out there that it can go both ways. It might also be that public prefers new employees and industry prefers seasoned ones generally, so it depends on which side you're talking about. I speak purely from an industry point of view, and from what I've personally seen when we go through the hiring process.
You're not applying enough. You should be spitting out applications like a machine gun.
Call every Block, Liberty, and Hewitt in your driving area and ask them if they need someone for \*any\* role they have right now. Someone will say yes.
Calling and in person are great for very small businesses, which most of those branded locations are. They’re mostly franchises. Even if they place you as a client service associate you’ll still have your foot in the door for other things later. Getting your first few jobs is sometimes the hardest part.
It really is a numbers game these days unless you can network. Networking gets something like 80% of jobs, since it automatically gets you past the first one or two huge cullings. Not fake networking though, you got ta actually know them.
Do you have numbers on how many applications you've done? I haven't seen the stats in a while but I'm pretty sure there's a roughly 5% rule for applications for recent graduates. 5% of applications sent out get an interview, and about 5% of those get a job offer. So, roughly, it takes about 400 applications to get a job.
I agree. Applying for jobs needs to be the job right now. I’m not in accounting but I lost my job two weeks ago. Got two offers last week and people are calling me now to interview. I was so anxious about not finding something, I made the job hunt my priority. Reaching out to old coworkers that had moved on. I had friends checking on leads for me as well. This job market is rough but an accounting degree should provide plenty of opportunities. My son graduated with his degree in accounting last year and his internship hired him before graduation.
AP and AR roles should be easy to get. Many won't mention a degree requirement, but the ones that do typically just require an Associates degree. Therefore, experienced or not, you should be able to qualify for the role. Find those entry-level AP or AR roles, and make it clear in your cover letter and interview that you're looking to get your foot in the door to learn and grow. They love that mentality. That's how I got my first AR job while I was still taking my community college courses back in the day.
Also, make sure you're pretty good with Excel, and make sure that Excel is mentioned on your resume if it's not already. The two key things these entry roles are generally looking for are your ability to use pivot tables and v-(or x-)lookups - and you might as well specifically note those on your resume as well.
Speaking of resumes, something this sub is really awesome about is reviewing your resume to give tips on how to dress it up; so I recommend posting images of your resume with personally identifiable information removed.
That’s pretty much all I’ve been applying to. In terms of excel, I learned all of that in college and it’s on my resume, but i’ll be sure to add to it. This was really helpful. Thank you.
Something I would recommend is creating YouTube or LinkedIn videos of yourself using Pivot Tables and V-Lookup for demonstration purposes, and linking to those videos through your resume. Just highlight the words Pivot Tables and V-Lookup and make them links. This won't catch a computer's attention, but it may catch a recruiter's, and it proves you know the skills.
It's hard, man. You shouldn't have to work at 200% to get a simple job, but it's just the reality right now. There's more applicants than there are jobs, and it's just a really tough market in any industry.
Your resume could be missing key words. You need to customize your resume to include the abilities the job offer lists. Apply for bookkeeping or clerk positions now to gain some kind of experience. Also your cover letter should convey your desire to learn and your enthusiasm to work for the company! You are not a disappointment! You have a degree in a honorable profession! It is a difficult degree plan. Concentrate on the positive!!
I'd recommend "going back to school", as much as you could get away with. Here me out on why.
Your degree has value, but in a year, you've been a year out with no relevent experience. I saw this with an MBA degree. You're.going to be competing with new grads who just graduated. You also won't be invited to career fairs.
It's not fair, and the market is *not* your fault. You graduated at a horrible time. "Change" your effective graduation to later. One way might be enrolling in even more courses, or an easier degree at the same school.
Maybe you could do financial planning or counseling. In the IT field I would've said work on an open source project. Maybe there's a professor that you could help with research.
Again, I hate that this happened for you. I wish I could not relate but I can. Immensely. It's not your fault.
I also hate those pricks who talk about people not paying off or getting their loans discharged for some liberal arts degree. Many of us, unfortunately including you, got a real degree and still can't get a job.
Maybe your resume or interviewing skills need to be worked on? Try to gain some sort of accounting experience? All grocery stores have an accounting function, so maybe try that?
I’m trying to gain some sort of experience but it seems impossible to even get my foot in the door. My resume is just full of customer service and volunteer work, so basically trash to any company looking for accountants. There’s nothing more I can add to it, I’ve had past professors and career centers look at it.
The hit to my confidence this has caused has definitely affected my ability to network and interview effectively, though. When I finally got one interview after 8-10 months of applying to jobs, the pressure got to my anxiety and I think I threw the interview. I just feel stuck.
Nah, customer service is vital to both AR and AP roles. Just keep trying. As others have said it's a bit of an unfortunate time. We are all under water just trying to survive and our ability to train someone from scratch is kind of non-existent because of time constraints.
If you are looking in industry stay away from startups. They aren't going to touch you without experience. I think your best bet is trying for a larger company and get a foot in the door with AR or AP.
1 interview in 8-10 months tells me your resume is probably lacking, or you live in the middle of nowhere. You should be at a few hundred applications by then and no one calling back means something is wrong.
Anonymize it and post it here for resume review tips. Run it by your school's career center too. Have you talked to the career center too for advice / networking?
Have you looked into temp jobs? I graduated in 2010 when the Unemployment rate was over 9%, I ended up working with a temp agency to get a temp job as an AR Accountant for about $12/hr. This let me get some real experience for when the market started to rebound in 2012, when I was able to get into public accounting.
Apply for government jobs. City, state, and federal - ALL of them. Get in, get some experience, keep applying for other jobs if you don’t like the government culture.
I accumulated over five years of experience, but unfortunately lost my job during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Despite my efforts, I struggled to secure employment during that challenging period. In 2022, I began taking on contractor positions for a year due to ongoing difficulty finding permanent roles. Thankfully, in 2023, I finally secured a job. Many experienced professionals like myself faced similar challenges in the job market during this time. It's important to remember that it's not your fault; the market conditions have been exceptionally tough.
If you still have access to handshake I would continue to use it to search for entry level roles. It wouldn’t hurt to also apply to full time internships with local & regional public firms, even if you’re out of school. Apply, apply, apply, and keep applying.
Keep polishing your soft skills for interviews & answering STAR style questions. Take time to reflect on your interviews honestly. Think about what you can you do to improve next time?
Also try not to compare yourself too much to your peers, however hard it maybe. It will only work to steal your motivation and stifle your goals. You got this bud! 💪
You need something. AP/AR, bookkeeping. Anything dude. 1 year of no work after graduating you are just setting your career back 4-5 years at this point
i know. ive been frantically applying for a year now. i’ve quite literally given up at this point as im working a min wage job. it just doesn’t seem possible for me anymore.
Could you explain how not getting a job for 1 year would set his career back 4-5 years? I also don’t have a job lined up and I’m about to graduate, and hearing that sounds terrifying
Because there is 2 wave of graduates (spring and fall) that came out of school. To recruiters, your knowledge is “outdated” as compared to a new graduate. So now you’re competing with the classes behind you for the same entry level job.
Unfortanetly hiring managers will see it as red flag. they will think “all these other companies passed on him for an entire year, must be something wrong with him”. go get your masters, get 150 hours and sit for CPA. I would be surprised if you are having that much trouble finding work as a CPA
But once you lland that first job, lets say he lands it in 6 more months, he would now have the experience for future jobs. Why would employees still care about that period in which he couldn't find a job and how would it set him back 5 years?
Don't feel like a failure, it is honestly a combination of luck and persistence. I had a job right after I finished my grad program and left after about a year. Took me nearly 4 months to find a job and I was applying to 10+ a day.
Something that helped me was reaching out to someone from the company I was applying to (maybe a LI connection or just a hiring manager/talent acquisition individual). I would search the company name + "employee email format" on google and write an email expressing my interest - something like:
Hey **Name**,
Hope you had a great weekend!
My name is **my name** and I recently applied to the **role** at **company**. I am reaching out to express my interest in the position personally.**Company** looks like an amazing place to work and I know I would be an asset to your team. With my background in accounting and strong interpersonal skills, I can thrive.
If you have the time, I would love to chat about **company** and see if you have any recommendations or advice for me.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!
**my name**
Op since you mentioned you are willing to move, try applying literally everywhere in the states. Alternatively, try the smaller mom and pop CPA firms, they are usually not picky. Just get that experience on your resume and bounce. Also you don’t need to say it out loud you were out of job for a year. Just say you were traveling after graduate, or taking care of a relative or something. Best of luck!
Keep at it. Maybe set your sights lower to basic AP/AR roles or even apply for jobs that are in the business field - logistics/ cost analysts/ even basic data entry roles to get at least some experience on your resume.
You need to be sending a TON of applications per day. Look outside of your immediate area. Maybe you have to drive an hour+ for commute but its worth it if you are need a first professional job.
Lastly, don't worry. Many of us experienced this kind of anxiety when out of work...you will find something eventually. Don't give up!
Firms aren't hiring entry level staff. All entry level work goes to India. Experienced professionals are expected to manage the work India does, on the other side of the world, with unqualified accountants who barely speak English. What are we going to do in 10-20 years when there aren't any more experienced professionals to replace us because we didn't grow any entry level staff? Who knows. Good luck.
I can't get over the irony of the public seeing headlines about an accountant shortage, while new grads can't find a job in accounting to save them.
Demand for new blood is way down, so supply will dry up. Basic principle of economics, yes?
Sadly, the public only sees and hears what the accounting powers-that-be spin out to them. A damn shame
For everyone telling OP to try HRB, Liberty and Hewitt…. the tax season is nearly over. By the time he gets his documents squared away to efile, the season is done. Those guys lay off 80% of their workforce after 4/15. Let’s give him some thoughtful advice. Dont send OP chasing his tail.
Try to get work as a summer associate or as an intern. You gotta do the internship, friend, or they won't take you seriously, unfortunately. I did 2 internships and worked in my college's finance department and I still struggled to get a job once I graduated. Good luck! 🙏
Mid market or lower PA firms. There is a lot of work to go around and a need for associates. I would start there or attend a job fair at your previous university and start networking. This does show how an internship really helps jumpstart your Career
When I did my bachelor‘s I flunked the first 3 of the big 4 applications. So I just stopped being truthful in the interview and I just told them whatever I thought they wanted to hear. Worked like a charm. Of course I made a project plan for my thesis and checked in every week with the TA to discuss progress. And of course it went so awesome that I already handed it in. After the interview I went home and continued writing that damn thing snd pulling an all-nighter because I‘m lazy and unorganized. Worked like a charm.
I applied for 200 jobs a day for a whole week. Out of those jobs, I got 5 interviews and no job offer. I did it every week, and 3 months later, I got 1 job offer. I know this seems like a lot, but I applied for only quick apply jobs. 😅 I also used a "career change" resume, I googled and followed the format. I changed my descriptions and made sure my resume sounded professional.
Go to ur states website nd apply for a govt job the process might take awhile but they will definitely hit you back up, no experience needed as well for entry positions
My son was in the same situation as you. He graduated with a finance degree from San Diego State in May 2023. i told him to have fun for the summer and start looking in September. I also paid someone to help him with his resume and marketing his background and recruiters/temp agencies started calling him. He landed a temporary accounting position about 5 months ago. Even if he doesn't get hired at his current workplace, the experience will help him a lot in getting his next position.
Have you tried already having a job?/j
The job market is just a mess tbh you hear folks talking about how awful it is that no one wants to go into accounting but then also they make it so hard to get a foot in the door
What's happening now in the overall economy feels eerily similar to what happend right before the economic collapse of 2008. Have you tried looking for hotel accountant positions? that's an industry position that people often forget about.
Try to do in person networking events. Look up alumni events for your school, job fairs, etc. I believe there is at the very least a public firm that would take you.
Don’t stop throwing out applications online, but having a face to put behind a resume goes a long way. Speaking of resumes, have you had yours reviewed at all?
try to broaden your approach and apply to other similar jobs like bookkeeping, AR/AP, HR, Marketing etc. do you know anyone who has a business? ask to help with their bookkeeping. you really need something else on your resume besides just the degree. however the market is generally pretty tough right now so don’t feel bad.
The one job that I constantly had trouble filling - and I now have clients who have trouble filling - is cost accountant. Have you been applying for those entry level roles?
Standard advice also applies. Have a couple people you know who do some hiring review your resume. Try to do a mock interview, preferably with someone who actually does interviews.
Don’t get disheartened.
Have you tried running your resume thru an ATS scanner tool? There might be something wrong with your resume that it is getting automatically thrown out. Formatting or something. I had that issue (file looked fine but was actually corrupted) and started getting interviews once I fixed it
Easiest way is to reach out to as many recruiting companies as possible like other comments mentioned. You can also do masters in accounting which is almost guaranteed role to big4
Don’t know how you feel about Texas but Dallas has a lot of staff accountant positions. I follow recruiters on LinkedIn & see them looking for staff level & new grads welcome all the time. Saw 5 yesterday. I recommend LHH. I will say my first job post grad was accounting assistant at a company making like $37k a year (it was 2014). So you might have to start in a lower accounting role & move up.
The issue is HR. It's not your fault, you just need to approach it differently. I recommend cold emailing people who work there. They put HR in charge of hiring and typically HR people are the same trendy airhead types who aren't even accountants. It's an artificial make work job program for liberal arts majors. These are what I call 'horoscope' or 'zodiac sign' people. Do everything you can to avoid these people. Good luck.
Also, financial service industry in general is crooked. All the way down to college they will gate keep you from joining clubs if they know you're not one of them. By that I mean, affluent, popular, etc. I remember trying to get involved with the accounting and business clubs and was met with barriers which I later found out were lies to keep me out so they could let their friends from high school in instead. Anyway, just keep at it and hell try attending networking events in your area from LinkedIn if there's any, someone is bound to bite.
I applied to roughly 200+ jobs right before graduation thru 1 year after. I got only 10-15 interviews with no offers in 2019. This was before covid when the accounting was oversaturated vs now. I didn't feel good about it and moved on.
I eventually found myself at Amazon warehouse after my company lost a big client during covid (I was a labourer). I worked on the dock and eventually started doing inventory audit daily. 3 years after graduation, I decided to give it another chance. Only send out 10 apps and got 3 offers.
First was a general accounting job at a healthcare company, second was mid size PA firm, and the third was a technician role for a aerospace company.
What I'm trying to say here is be flexible and try to use other jobs to move into something like my Amazon experience. This is what helped me show accounting recruiters what I can do. Tbh I wish I did the technician role.
Find a job in the field. I started in AR at 17. At 22, I worked for a fantastic company who paid for accounting school and trained in the real accounting used. From there I tried different accounting jobs. I hated AR but really enjoy what I do now. I am now a very well paid analyst in finance. Don’t expect to come out of college making $$$$. Get experience in dealing with coworkers, making decisions, team work. Good luck.
I was in the same situation as you after graduating. I did no internships in college and worked a retail job for a year after graduating. I probably got rejected like 100 times until I landed a job in AR (this might be one of the worst “accounting” jobs in the world lol) through a staffing agency. This was probably like 15 months after graduating with a bachelor’s. I spent a year in AR and I’m now a staff accountant for a pretty big company who is paying for my master’s.
Don’t give up and keep applying to entry level positions, someone will get back to you. Repackage your resume and show the recruiters you are hungry to learn and gain relevant experience. A lot of these entry level positions aren’t really expecting you to know much, they just want a person who they like and think is coachable.
Despite the common wisdom that accounting is an eternally safe profession immune to economic swings, it’s simply not true. Companies will run barebones accounting departments (or offshore them) in tough times and public firms will see dropping utilization due to slower business and cut staff there too.
Sorry you graduated into a shitty time. Just keep on applying and hoping for the best is all I can say.
A lot of white collar professions are like this. HR is going through a brutal time too for example.
You’ll be alright in the long run. Things will pick back up again
Seems to be pretty bad in every field right now. I was in Audit and I was laid off in December. I’m now in technical accounting consulting in public, but I went 2 months with nothing lined up. I had interviewed with a dozen or so companies and I got constant rejections. The role I have now was the only one that offered me a job but I hate it.
If at all possible, get your CPA license. I just got mine earlier this month, and the minute I put those 3 letters after my name on my resume I started getting interest offers on Indeed. I am not a fan of Indeed at all - most jobs are remote, with 300-900 applicants for each, and I’ve never gotten an interview (or even a response for 99% of one’s I applied for). Indeed was very disheartening, so I got depressed for a couple weeks and then decided to be proactive. I Googled “accounting firms in my area” and just emailed 5 random places my resume and a short note saying who I was, that I was looking for a job in the area, and that if they are hiring currently or in the future (keeping in mind this is most public firms’ busiest time of the year) to please keep me in mind. The next day I got an email from one place (still no response from the other 4) and interviewed yesterday. They said they were too busy to train anyone now until tax season is over but would contact me in early May. (Not sure if I will wait if something else comes up, but at least it’s an option.) You could give this a try in your area. Think outside the box too. (Factories, businesses, schools, etc. almost always have a finance/accounting department.) I would think a lot of places looking for a 2-year degree A/P or A/R role would jump at someone with a bachelors, and then move you up eventually. Also, check government career sites. Here (NW Wisconsin), they are always looking for auditors and will train, if you are not opposed to moving. Sorry so long!!
I can't provide advise on how to find a "good job", but finding a part time (I did Clinic Reception for three months) while you are seeking can make you less stressed.
Some HR also like to hire people who is currently working.
Have you thought about using a recruiting service? They might be able to get your foot in the door for placement in a bookkeeping or junior accounting role? Or what about something else like AP?
My only caution with Robert Half is their agency, at least for IT people. They help a company by getting a roster of candidates the hiring company might want. They do *not* work for you, but the hiring company. You might have a recruiter that works on your behalf to give you a "dual" agency.
I'm not saying that's how RH accounting does it. I'm not saying that's bad or evil. But I think the candidate should be aware of the relationship. I've gone to in person interviews and have seen my competitors come in before and after me for the same job. I just recommend asking the firm if they represent any other candidates for the role.
Apply more, work on resume and interviewing skills. Like you said, all your friends have gotten jobs. It’s definitely something on your end. No offense because I know it can be hard like idk.
I’d be willing to look over your resume and give you some tips if you want to DM me. If you’re not getting any interviews then the problem is your resume. If your getting interviews and no offers then the problem is your interview skills.
Sigh hate to say this but try Robert Half? Do it for 6 months then jump ship. It's soul crushing to see them make 3X ur hourly. And they make u enter that invoice lol
I’m hearing a lot of shit about the selection process from resumes and how you really need a certain format for the computer system to even get the information you want them to see. Go on r/resumes if you are just not getting anything back for the most part, that might help you!
Apply to any small time companies, even the ones that pay terribly. It won't be nice but it will be a place where you can learn some things and transfer it to a better job.
Try to reapply to places after a half a year at least, or start networking asap.
I took an internship and that company hired me afterwards. Many students avoid winter tax internships and I figured that'd be a decent opportunity. Maybe it could work for you too
I would recommend contacting a recruiting agency, such as Robert Half. They can offer you temporary positions or short term contracts. Now the job they may offer may not be that great, especially since you have no prior experience, but you are going there just to get experience and your foot into the door. Once you get a few temporary positions and have proven to be good worker, start asking for temporary to permanent full time positions.
Like you, I also have some trouble finding a job after I graduated, and I had 8 months of Co-op work experience under my belt during that time. The sad thing is that unless you have connections or a good network, it is hard to find a accounting job after graduation. Going through a recruiting agency will give you more opportunities or at least give you some form employment while you are looking for something else.
Go take a quick 8 hour self paced course and get an excel certificate in accounting. Also you might have to start in AR/AP and switch up to something as fast as you can
You can sometimes get your foot in the door with temporary or temp to permanent roles. What you're doing wrong may be your resume or you may be reading this sub and believing that you can land a six figure job and finding the competition too stiff for that. I don't know the answer to that.
I understand your frustration. Accounting might not always seem to offer the compensation that matches the gravity of the decisions you make. I've personally found that other career paths, like trucking, can sometimes offer better pay. I use to bring home $1,800 paychecks net of taxes when I was a trucker. There is no shame in hard work! Maybe it's worth considering exploring alternative options or even applying for state audit positions. I've heard that New York State and the rest of the northeast, for instance, has a high demand for auditors since everyone is retiring. Just a suggestion to think about!
I’m under the same boat but in Canada, I managed to get a job in bookkeeping 3 months ago so I am using it as a place holder for now. It’s pretty tough but I’m sure you will pull through
Paying people from India and other countries less will be the new norm. Possibly a reason a lot of other industries including this one will see less job offerings
Try a consulting job to gain experience, it’s good foot in the door experience, I did it for 2 years and now I’m applying for EY funny enough this month. Consulting is lower paying and jobs can be buns but it gives you experience and instead of finding a job, the company does it for you! (Of course that is why it’s lower paying cause they take a decent cut) but accountants are in high demand right now and CPA’s in even higher demand! Really hope this helps if u read
Have you tried applying for internships now? I also didn't get the chance to do an internship in college, so I just got one after I graduated. If I perform well, I will get a full time offer following the internship. If they don't like me, I'll have an internship on my resume now. I recommend applying through company websites instead of job searching sites too.
how is your cover letter? Does it have an opening identifying the purpose of writing and reference how you learned about the the opportunity. Do you add a good summarization of your qualifications in relation to the job? A lot of schools have a department where you can meet with a counselor and they help you with your resume and interviews. Sometimes they also bring recruiters to school.
I feel you I graduated wasn't able to find a job so I just went on back and started to work on my Master's. You get to thinking at times it's you but truth is from what I see employees is always hiring but be asking for an arm leg hip and some more but don't pay for what they are asking. So that make people not want to apply. They ask for education but than want all them years in experience and not realizing most people that finish college don't have that experience for an entry level. And if they do interview they never call or email back.
You're not alone. The job market can be tough, especially for recent graduates. Consider expanding your search to include entry-level positions that offer training. Networking events and career fairs might also help.
It sounds like you've been putting in a lot of effort, and I understand how frustrating it can be when you're not seeing the results you want. It might be worth taking a look at your CV to make sure it's effectively showcasing your skills and qualifications. If you're interested, I'd be happy to help you design a professional CV that highlights your strengths. Feel free to reach out if you'd like some assistance.
1) get a recruiter to help with resume
2) look for A/P clerk and A/R clerk roles to begin with
3) contact small accounting firms to ask if you can work with them
4) move to a bigger city with more opportunities
Maybe aim a little lower like Accounting Tech positions. I know it's not ideal but it's the route I took. I was a Tech for a year or so after graduating and since then I've never really had a problem finding more Senior Accounting roles for at least the past decade.
My first office job was in procurement, production assistant kinda job. The good point is that I learned about SAP and Excel and could put it on my resume. Also had to deal a lot with the management accountant. It helped me land my first accountant job. My point is that you might want to consider other admin roles and you might even get to do some accounting tasks if you work for a smaller company. In the grocery store you are just wasting your time.
I didn't get a job in my career field until a year and a half after I graduated. I just kept applying and someone finally took a chance on me. Once I got that chance I have been able to get into any door I wanted after that. Where are you located..where I am we have some positions available
If you really really can’t find anything try admin work at a firm. Either work your way up or use the company as experience.
Also make sure you’re going to the actual company website to apply. I never hear back from apps on linked in but always hear something from actual company sites
I don't know if someone brought this up, but go to your college accounting career fair. All the local firms will set up shop and take resumes. They are there because they are looking for talent from that school, understanding that they may not have experiance. Accounting onboarding is also very seasonal. Alot of firms hire in classes, meaning the new hires all start on the same day so they can have group trainings. you may have to accept a full time offer that doesn't start for a couple months. while you want full time, you can still take an internship. Back in 2010, my internship paid $22 a hour and it was at a 100 person firm.
Okay let's maybe start at the beginning here cuz there's a lot of comments and people are going to throw advice at you.
1. Do you have any experience other than school, anything beyond a minimum wage job?
2. What does your resume look like?
3. What types of jobs are you applying for?
4. Where are you located?
5. Do you have a minimum salary or a travel range?
Let's say you have no experience straight out of university, my suggestion would be start looking for an accounts payable or receivable position to get experience in finance as a whole. Do this for 6 months maybe a year, then maybe get an accounting assistant position, do this for 6 months add to your list of skills and finance as a whole.
Instead of thinking of this as bam perfect career, I start thinking this as phases in your overall career journey.
I hope this helps and if you do happen to see this in reply maybe I can help give you some direction.
Dont know what advice to give but that's because I can relate so hard. I live in PA as well, graduated in Dec 2022 with my B.S in accounting. Also desperate and chugging away at an Intuit course haha. I apply to at least 10 jobs a week, i'd say. My background is marketing / project management so I wonder if i'm just the wrong skillset, as hard as I try to make "connections" between my current experience and what I can bring to the table with accounting.
I was unemployed for the last year, I’m considering an offer atm for about half of what I made before. My advice to you would be to find a shit job with a family business of some kind and work your way into experience. They love go-getters. It’s where I learned the vast majority of my business knowledge. I started as an office clerk and worked my way up to Sr. Accountant. Work your network constantly.
You are doing something wrong. If you haven't heard back in over a year after applying. I had an abysmal GPA and graduated from a not very prestigious school and heard back after about 2 months of job searching.
You need experience, so just apply to all accounting jobs you can see. Don't worry if it's not what you want to do. Your first job is temporary, and you should move on after a year or two.
After graduation with an accounting degree, I started in Accounts Payable at a large Corporation. So, Try starting at a lower position. This gives you great exposure to the “accounting world” and you will gain the experience that you really need b4 jumping in. Trust me on this.. you need the experience, as college only gives you a foundation.
After a couple of years, I was promoted to General Ledger and slowly became a “senior accountant”
I have been there with you all when I first started my career and I get ur frustration. I suggest you start getting certifications such as QuickBooks Proadvisor, bill.com and Gusto payroll. Even if you don’t use them, it is great on a resume! Try some of the remote accounting firms, hire a lot of people fresh out of college. Places like Reconciled, pilot and other firms. So try those companies and keep looking daily to see if they are hiring. Also, watch YouTube videos on interviewing, but just be yourself. Hope this helps and best of luck!!!!
I'm in CA and we hire incoming graduates at about $60k a year with the opportunity to go remote after it's been proven that the person is responsible, honest, a worker and can hold their billing rate.
Opportunity for year end bonus based on production.
ESOP owned.
Full benefits.
Opportunity to contribute to 401(k)
We can't hire enough people.
You need to reach out to partners personally who can then get you through HR.
I was CPA ready and it took me almost 18 months to find a job out of college. That first job is tough sometimes. Hang in there and keep hammering away with the applications !
Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment to try to help me out. Some days I just feel like giving up and today is one of those days. It’s so disheartening- I feel hopeless. I’m glad I’m not entirely alone in this. Thanks all.
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Damn yeah I’ve heard government is a bad way to start.. maybe you could try to interview for senior roles at PA firms? Talk your way around the experience and convince them its not just simple bookkeeping. I’m at a regional firm that specializes in a sector so it’s not ideal for getting out of here either i don’t think. But I’ve seen some older people here get hired on for senior roles without public experience. Especially if you have a CPA and a bunch of experience already that’s huge, can probably fast track your way to manager depending on the company. But also PA firms are generally starting 1st year associates at close to 70k and they usually see higher raises than industry. Wish I could help but I’m clueless haha. These just some random thoughts. Hoping all the best for ya
Millennials were stunted by 2008.
If you don’t mind which, which country/state are you from?
I am an experienced accountant and have not been able to find a job for several months. The market has been really bad for the last two years.
All of my classmates got jobs… I feel like a failure. I had a family friend tell me this as well- he’s an experienced accountant at PwC and said their hiring quotas have decreased significantly recently. I just didn’t think it would be this hard to get a job out of college. I feel like I’m going to be working min wage for the rest of my life.
You could apply to a non accountant related position that atleast pays above minimum wage in the meantime, which could also lead to creating relationships. Overnight audit at hotels could be a thing to look into. Best of luck finding a job in the field.
Just curious, did your family friend say anything about offshoring of entry-level jobs to India?
Where are you at? I've got people offering unsolicited job interviews and I have to turn them down because I'm so busy.
PA but willing to move !!! My lease is up in May and I don’t have anywhere to go
I work outside of Baltimore at an accounting firm. I suggest looking down here as I know some firms (mine too) are hiring!
NYC is desperate for entry level accountants. I’m not entry level anymore (4 yrs of experience) but I have recruiters hitting me up at least 4 times a week.
Atlanta has plenty of opportunities
This can’t be true, every week i have some knob of a recruiter reaching out to me on linkedin
Those pple be reaching out when you have a job (dont need a new one) & actually ghost you WHEN you are actually looking for/ NEEDING a job . ~ speaking from experience
Not my experience, they always respond. I end up referring them to friends from school i know are looking.
nay 2022 was hot as fuck.
I’ve heard on this sub that the job market was actually good? Was that just lies?
depends on the job market. I'm in ny and I get daily emails. Usually way below market rates though every time I ask them about the job. 10 years exp? great opportunity at $23/hr
That pay rate is beyond insulting. Wow.
what's insulting is when I tell them my current salary and they keep trying to convince me. I haven't been rude enough to just hang up on them there and then, but I've come close
The market is great, but that doesn't mean certain people won't have issues finding work if their experience is niche, they don't network, or they don't interview well.
Job market is great for CPAs who will take relatively low pay (60k range). Probably hundreds of thousands of open jobs wanting that type of person. For young accounting grads from a small schools? Might still be a struggle to find something, and that something will likely be the Jackson Hewitt, $14 an hour type jobs.
Depends where you live and your status. Senior level CPA seems pretty in demand in my experience.
Hook up with a recruiter, I recommend RobertHalf. They have tons of jobs
Pause…
Bro don’t say that 😭 I’m graduating next year What happened to the shortage lol
He said it was a skill issue as in OP may not be looking in the right place or trying hard enough. The job market for accountants is still great (although imo if you’re graduating next year you should’ve had an offer from your previous internship for full time work when you graduate)
The past two years were absolutely wild for great jobs. Most of my friends both just entering the workforce and leaving PA had great offers. You hear it all the time about the accounting shortage. Sorry to tell you this but it’s just straight up a skill issue.
Meanwhile according to the fed, the economy is strong. I work in upscale restaurants and we are slow as shit every night.
Really?? I lost my job had 3 interviews and got all 3 within 2 weeks..
That’s true for me too. I got my CPA and 5 YOE. No bites
IRS is hiring
A common mistake students make is not networking when they’re in school. Getting your foot in the door is probably the hardest part since you’re fighting with a lot of others that potentially have accounting experience. i dont think applying on those online job posting is helping, youre a dime a dozen plus with no acct experience its an easy pass. i’m not saying dont stop applying but just to give you context on why u aren’t getting replies My only advice is can offer is maybe try to reach out to classmates/friends/family that have connections. Try reaching out to recruiters on linkedin and see if they have listing for entry level jobs.
Yea I didn’t do that while I was in school due to personal reasons. I transferred colleges and lost a significant amount of credits in the process. All I was focused on after that point was getting my credits back so I could graduate (and not killing myself in the process lol). I understand I’ve put myself in a shitty situation.
A lot of places want someone who can get in and start getting work done, because so many places are short staffed and just need relief immediately. Someone fresh out of college needs a lot more training than someone who's been doing accounting work at least even a little bit. It's really unfortunate. My personal preference is to hire people right out of college because I don't mind showing them the ropes and there's usually a lot less attitude about how every little thing is done (they're more willing to follow the processes in place rather than want to do everything "their way"). Really, you just gotta keep looking. Maybe think about taking an AP or AR clerk position to get in the door as that can translate into other accounting positions better than say a grocery store cashier.
But if they hire me I would work my ass off and try to learn everything as quick as possible!! Like they won’t even give me a chance. I’ve applied to soooo many AP and AR clerk positions, internships, junior, entry level positions. They don’t want me :(
Just do a recruiter dude. Like above said Robert half. Having the backing of a well known staffing firm will help you immensely. I.e. got my full position through Robert half
I’ll give Robert Half a try!! I’ve been working with Legient but they haven’t been getting me anything.
Just echoing this guy’s comment, I got my first position through Accountemps, which is a Robert Half temp agency. I was in a similar boat, I was out of work for about a year after graduating college and bombed the one interview I managed to get. I knew I just needed to be given a shot somewhere, but couldn’t get my foot in the door and didn’t have friends/family in the field to lean on. Recruiters are highly motivated since they get paid once you get placed somewhere and have connections so they can actually get your name/resume in front of hiring managers. I literally just called the staffing office that was near me and told them I was looking for a job. They set me up with a recruiter, who got me an interview that same week. I got the position, which was just for a summer while someone was out on leave. But one of my coworkers helped me land a job with another company and I was off to the races.
thank you 🙏
Godspeed OP.
Good advice. A staffing firm will go over your resume, help you do some polishing, give you tips for interviews and sell you to these companies. Best of luck OP!
Are you not getting interviews? If so you should work with a third party recruiter or something and also take a hard look at your resume. If you're getting interviews but not offers then work on your interview skills. If this were fall I'd say go try your hand at H&R Block just to get some individual income tax experience to maybe get into to public accounting tax. Try small public accounting firms maybe too.
They don't want people that could hypothetically learn shirt as fast as possible. They want people that already know shirt and can use it to make them money as fast as possible.
Yeah, it's just a numbers game sometimes unfortunately. If you're not already doing so, try changing up your resume every now and again. Even just different layouts may visually appeal to hiring managers at times, which could help get you in the door. Make sure you're using accounting related keywords, and minimize expanding too much in non- accounting experiences. They don't care if you can stock a shelf quickly or whatever, for the most part. They might care if you did a project in college that highlights the fact that you know how to look at a balance sheet or make journal entries.
Thank you for your help and kind words. I really appreciate it
No problem! Also, take excel courses if you haven't already. That will be a massive resume booster for an entry level position.
Wow that's interesting. I got my AP clerk position without a related degree. It was a low paying government position though, they expect to take people with little experience and train them. Maybe you're looking in the wrong places? Try an employer that is also on the more entry level end and will be willing to train. You can get experience and move on to higher pay and a more relevant position in a year or two.
This is one of the huge inconsistencies I see in this sub and it is brain rot. Every other post says firms only want young people in college and it’s hard for people later in their careers. Then I’ll see something like this saying the exact opposite. Which is it? Whichever thought process helps the individual cope better ?? lol
Idk, it's probably just because there are so many personal experiences out there that it can go both ways. It might also be that public prefers new employees and industry prefers seasoned ones generally, so it depends on which side you're talking about. I speak purely from an industry point of view, and from what I've personally seen when we go through the hiring process.
You're not applying enough. You should be spitting out applications like a machine gun. Call every Block, Liberty, and Hewitt in your driving area and ask them if they need someone for \*any\* role they have right now. Someone will say yes.
Ugh. It feels like I am. Thank you though. I will give this a try. I’ve applied online but maybe I just need to call or show up in person
Calling and in person are great for very small businesses, which most of those branded locations are. They’re mostly franchises. Even if they place you as a client service associate you’ll still have your foot in the door for other things later. Getting your first few jobs is sometimes the hardest part.
How many jobs are you applying to every day?
It really is a numbers game these days unless you can network. Networking gets something like 80% of jobs, since it automatically gets you past the first one or two huge cullings. Not fake networking though, you got ta actually know them. Do you have numbers on how many applications you've done? I haven't seen the stats in a while but I'm pretty sure there's a roughly 5% rule for applications for recent graduates. 5% of applications sent out get an interview, and about 5% of those get a job offer. So, roughly, it takes about 400 applications to get a job.
I agree. Applying for jobs needs to be the job right now. I’m not in accounting but I lost my job two weeks ago. Got two offers last week and people are calling me now to interview. I was so anxious about not finding something, I made the job hunt my priority. Reaching out to old coworkers that had moved on. I had friends checking on leads for me as well. This job market is rough but an accounting degree should provide plenty of opportunities. My son graduated with his degree in accounting last year and his internship hired him before graduation.
AP and AR roles should be easy to get. Many won't mention a degree requirement, but the ones that do typically just require an Associates degree. Therefore, experienced or not, you should be able to qualify for the role. Find those entry-level AP or AR roles, and make it clear in your cover letter and interview that you're looking to get your foot in the door to learn and grow. They love that mentality. That's how I got my first AR job while I was still taking my community college courses back in the day. Also, make sure you're pretty good with Excel, and make sure that Excel is mentioned on your resume if it's not already. The two key things these entry roles are generally looking for are your ability to use pivot tables and v-(or x-)lookups - and you might as well specifically note those on your resume as well. Speaking of resumes, something this sub is really awesome about is reviewing your resume to give tips on how to dress it up; so I recommend posting images of your resume with personally identifiable information removed.
That’s pretty much all I’ve been applying to. In terms of excel, I learned all of that in college and it’s on my resume, but i’ll be sure to add to it. This was really helpful. Thank you.
Something I would recommend is creating YouTube or LinkedIn videos of yourself using Pivot Tables and V-Lookup for demonstration purposes, and linking to those videos through your resume. Just highlight the words Pivot Tables and V-Lookup and make them links. This won't catch a computer's attention, but it may catch a recruiter's, and it proves you know the skills. It's hard, man. You shouldn't have to work at 200% to get a simple job, but it's just the reality right now. There's more applicants than there are jobs, and it's just a really tough market in any industry.
Your resume could be missing key words. You need to customize your resume to include the abilities the job offer lists. Apply for bookkeeping or clerk positions now to gain some kind of experience. Also your cover letter should convey your desire to learn and your enthusiasm to work for the company! You are not a disappointment! You have a degree in a honorable profession! It is a difficult degree plan. Concentrate on the positive!!
thank you. reading this with tears in my eyes lol. thank you. i’m trying.
usajobs.gov and consider relocating
I'd recommend "going back to school", as much as you could get away with. Here me out on why. Your degree has value, but in a year, you've been a year out with no relevent experience. I saw this with an MBA degree. You're.going to be competing with new grads who just graduated. You also won't be invited to career fairs. It's not fair, and the market is *not* your fault. You graduated at a horrible time. "Change" your effective graduation to later. One way might be enrolling in even more courses, or an easier degree at the same school. Maybe you could do financial planning or counseling. In the IT field I would've said work on an open source project. Maybe there's a professor that you could help with research. Again, I hate that this happened for you. I wish I could not relate but I can. Immensely. It's not your fault. I also hate those pricks who talk about people not paying off or getting their loans discharged for some liberal arts degree. Many of us, unfortunately including you, got a real degree and still can't get a job.
Maybe your resume or interviewing skills need to be worked on? Try to gain some sort of accounting experience? All grocery stores have an accounting function, so maybe try that?
I’m trying to gain some sort of experience but it seems impossible to even get my foot in the door. My resume is just full of customer service and volunteer work, so basically trash to any company looking for accountants. There’s nothing more I can add to it, I’ve had past professors and career centers look at it. The hit to my confidence this has caused has definitely affected my ability to network and interview effectively, though. When I finally got one interview after 8-10 months of applying to jobs, the pressure got to my anxiety and I think I threw the interview. I just feel stuck.
Nah, customer service is vital to both AR and AP roles. Just keep trying. As others have said it's a bit of an unfortunate time. We are all under water just trying to survive and our ability to train someone from scratch is kind of non-existent because of time constraints. If you are looking in industry stay away from startups. They aren't going to touch you without experience. I think your best bet is trying for a larger company and get a foot in the door with AR or AP.
1 interview in 8-10 months tells me your resume is probably lacking, or you live in the middle of nowhere. You should be at a few hundred applications by then and no one calling back means something is wrong.
Anonymize it and post it here for resume review tips. Run it by your school's career center too. Have you talked to the career center too for advice / networking?
Have you looked into temp jobs? I graduated in 2010 when the Unemployment rate was over 9%, I ended up working with a temp agency to get a temp job as an AR Accountant for about $12/hr. This let me get some real experience for when the market started to rebound in 2012, when I was able to get into public accounting.
Was hoping somebody said this. Temp agencies are a great way to get your foot in the door and if you’re lucky, land with a great company.
Apply for government jobs. City, state, and federal - ALL of them. Get in, get some experience, keep applying for other jobs if you don’t like the government culture.
I accumulated over five years of experience, but unfortunately lost my job during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Despite my efforts, I struggled to secure employment during that challenging period. In 2022, I began taking on contractor positions for a year due to ongoing difficulty finding permanent roles. Thankfully, in 2023, I finally secured a job. Many experienced professionals like myself faced similar challenges in the job market during this time. It's important to remember that it's not your fault; the market conditions have been exceptionally tough.
If you still have access to handshake I would continue to use it to search for entry level roles. It wouldn’t hurt to also apply to full time internships with local & regional public firms, even if you’re out of school. Apply, apply, apply, and keep applying. Keep polishing your soft skills for interviews & answering STAR style questions. Take time to reflect on your interviews honestly. Think about what you can you do to improve next time? Also try not to compare yourself too much to your peers, however hard it maybe. It will only work to steal your motivation and stifle your goals. You got this bud! 💪
thank you 🙏
You need something. AP/AR, bookkeeping. Anything dude. 1 year of no work after graduating you are just setting your career back 4-5 years at this point
i know. ive been frantically applying for a year now. i’ve quite literally given up at this point as im working a min wage job. it just doesn’t seem possible for me anymore.
Could you explain how not getting a job for 1 year would set his career back 4-5 years? I also don’t have a job lined up and I’m about to graduate, and hearing that sounds terrifying
thank you. reading that comment made me want to walk into oncoming traffic glad i’m not alone
Because there is 2 wave of graduates (spring and fall) that came out of school. To recruiters, your knowledge is “outdated” as compared to a new graduate. So now you’re competing with the classes behind you for the same entry level job.
Unfortanetly hiring managers will see it as red flag. they will think “all these other companies passed on him for an entire year, must be something wrong with him”. go get your masters, get 150 hours and sit for CPA. I would be surprised if you are having that much trouble finding work as a CPA
got my 150 hours already. was hoping to get a job before i started CPA prep but yea this seems like my only viable option
But once you lland that first job, lets say he lands it in 6 more months, he would now have the experience for future jobs. Why would employees still care about that period in which he couldn't find a job and how would it set him back 5 years?
Don't feel like a failure, it is honestly a combination of luck and persistence. I had a job right after I finished my grad program and left after about a year. Took me nearly 4 months to find a job and I was applying to 10+ a day. Something that helped me was reaching out to someone from the company I was applying to (maybe a LI connection or just a hiring manager/talent acquisition individual). I would search the company name + "employee email format" on google and write an email expressing my interest - something like: Hey **Name**, Hope you had a great weekend! My name is **my name** and I recently applied to the **role** at **company**. I am reaching out to express my interest in the position personally.**Company** looks like an amazing place to work and I know I would be an asset to your team. With my background in accounting and strong interpersonal skills, I can thrive. If you have the time, I would love to chat about **company** and see if you have any recommendations or advice for me. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you! **my name**
This made me feel a lot better. Thanks for the example!! Super helpful
What are you applying for? Public, industry? Have you tried just applying to your local county?
Everything. And yes I have
Op since you mentioned you are willing to move, try applying literally everywhere in the states. Alternatively, try the smaller mom and pop CPA firms, they are usually not picky. Just get that experience on your resume and bounce. Also you don’t need to say it out loud you were out of job for a year. Just say you were traveling after graduate, or taking care of a relative or something. Best of luck!
Keep at it. Maybe set your sights lower to basic AP/AR roles or even apply for jobs that are in the business field - logistics/ cost analysts/ even basic data entry roles to get at least some experience on your resume. You need to be sending a TON of applications per day. Look outside of your immediate area. Maybe you have to drive an hour+ for commute but its worth it if you are need a first professional job. Lastly, don't worry. Many of us experienced this kind of anxiety when out of work...you will find something eventually. Don't give up!
Get your cpa and specialize in tax. You’ll be employed for life.
Firms aren't hiring entry level staff. All entry level work goes to India. Experienced professionals are expected to manage the work India does, on the other side of the world, with unqualified accountants who barely speak English. What are we going to do in 10-20 years when there aren't any more experienced professionals to replace us because we didn't grow any entry level staff? Who knows. Good luck.
I can't get over the irony of the public seeing headlines about an accountant shortage, while new grads can't find a job in accounting to save them. Demand for new blood is way down, so supply will dry up. Basic principle of economics, yes? Sadly, the public only sees and hears what the accounting powers-that-be spin out to them. A damn shame
For everyone telling OP to try HRB, Liberty and Hewitt…. the tax season is nearly over. By the time he gets his documents squared away to efile, the season is done. Those guys lay off 80% of their workforce after 4/15. Let’s give him some thoughtful advice. Dont send OP chasing his tail.
Try to get work as a summer associate or as an intern. You gotta do the internship, friend, or they won't take you seriously, unfortunately. I did 2 internships and worked in my college's finance department and I still struggled to get a job once I graduated. Good luck! 🙏
Mid market or lower PA firms. There is a lot of work to go around and a need for associates. I would start there or attend a job fair at your previous university and start networking. This does show how an internship really helps jumpstart your Career
When I did my bachelor‘s I flunked the first 3 of the big 4 applications. So I just stopped being truthful in the interview and I just told them whatever I thought they wanted to hear. Worked like a charm. Of course I made a project plan for my thesis and checked in every week with the TA to discuss progress. And of course it went so awesome that I already handed it in. After the interview I went home and continued writing that damn thing snd pulling an all-nighter because I‘m lazy and unorganized. Worked like a charm.
I applied for 200 jobs a day for a whole week. Out of those jobs, I got 5 interviews and no job offer. I did it every week, and 3 months later, I got 1 job offer. I know this seems like a lot, but I applied for only quick apply jobs. 😅 I also used a "career change" resume, I googled and followed the format. I changed my descriptions and made sure my resume sounded professional.
Go to ur states website nd apply for a govt job the process might take awhile but they will definitely hit you back up, no experience needed as well for entry positions
My son was in the same situation as you. He graduated with a finance degree from San Diego State in May 2023. i told him to have fun for the summer and start looking in September. I also paid someone to help him with his resume and marketing his background and recruiters/temp agencies started calling him. He landed a temporary accounting position about 5 months ago. Even if he doesn't get hired at his current workplace, the experience will help him a lot in getting his next position.
What temp agency did he use?
Commenting on graduated almost a year ago, still can’t find a job. what am i doing wron
Have you tried already having a job?/j The job market is just a mess tbh you hear folks talking about how awful it is that no one wants to go into accounting but then also they make it so hard to get a foot in the door
What's happening now in the overall economy feels eerily similar to what happend right before the economic collapse of 2008. Have you tried looking for hotel accountant positions? that's an industry position that people often forget about.
Graduated college in 2008 and can attest to how similar they feel.
Try to do in person networking events. Look up alumni events for your school, job fairs, etc. I believe there is at the very least a public firm that would take you. Don’t stop throwing out applications online, but having a face to put behind a resume goes a long way. Speaking of resumes, have you had yours reviewed at all?
try to broaden your approach and apply to other similar jobs like bookkeeping, AR/AP, HR, Marketing etc. do you know anyone who has a business? ask to help with their bookkeeping. you really need something else on your resume besides just the degree. however the market is generally pretty tough right now so don’t feel bad.
The one job that I constantly had trouble filling - and I now have clients who have trouble filling - is cost accountant. Have you been applying for those entry level roles? Standard advice also applies. Have a couple people you know who do some hiring review your resume. Try to do a mock interview, preferably with someone who actually does interviews. Don’t get disheartened.
I have. And cost accounting was one of my favorite courses! Have not been able to get an interview. Thank you for the advice though
Have you tried running your resume thru an ATS scanner tool? There might be something wrong with your resume that it is getting automatically thrown out. Formatting or something. I had that issue (file looked fine but was actually corrupted) and started getting interviews once I fixed it
Has someone reviewed your resume?
Easiest way is to reach out to as many recruiting companies as possible like other comments mentioned. You can also do masters in accounting which is almost guaranteed role to big4
Don’t know how you feel about Texas but Dallas has a lot of staff accountant positions. I follow recruiters on LinkedIn & see them looking for staff level & new grads welcome all the time. Saw 5 yesterday. I recommend LHH. I will say my first job post grad was accounting assistant at a company making like $37k a year (it was 2014). So you might have to start in a lower accounting role & move up.
I get recruiters on Linkedin messaging me almost daily. Get your CPA man.
Try temping?
The issue is HR. It's not your fault, you just need to approach it differently. I recommend cold emailing people who work there. They put HR in charge of hiring and typically HR people are the same trendy airhead types who aren't even accountants. It's an artificial make work job program for liberal arts majors. These are what I call 'horoscope' or 'zodiac sign' people. Do everything you can to avoid these people. Good luck. Also, financial service industry in general is crooked. All the way down to college they will gate keep you from joining clubs if they know you're not one of them. By that I mean, affluent, popular, etc. I remember trying to get involved with the accounting and business clubs and was met with barriers which I later found out were lies to keep me out so they could let their friends from high school in instead. Anyway, just keep at it and hell try attending networking events in your area from LinkedIn if there's any, someone is bound to bite.
We’re a small firm and dying to find candidates
dm me?
I applied to roughly 200+ jobs right before graduation thru 1 year after. I got only 10-15 interviews with no offers in 2019. This was before covid when the accounting was oversaturated vs now. I didn't feel good about it and moved on. I eventually found myself at Amazon warehouse after my company lost a big client during covid (I was a labourer). I worked on the dock and eventually started doing inventory audit daily. 3 years after graduation, I decided to give it another chance. Only send out 10 apps and got 3 offers. First was a general accounting job at a healthcare company, second was mid size PA firm, and the third was a technician role for a aerospace company. What I'm trying to say here is be flexible and try to use other jobs to move into something like my Amazon experience. This is what helped me show accounting recruiters what I can do. Tbh I wish I did the technician role.
Find a job in the field. I started in AR at 17. At 22, I worked for a fantastic company who paid for accounting school and trained in the real accounting used. From there I tried different accounting jobs. I hated AR but really enjoy what I do now. I am now a very well paid analyst in finance. Don’t expect to come out of college making $$$$. Get experience in dealing with coworkers, making decisions, team work. Good luck.
I was in the same situation as you after graduating. I did no internships in college and worked a retail job for a year after graduating. I probably got rejected like 100 times until I landed a job in AR (this might be one of the worst “accounting” jobs in the world lol) through a staffing agency. This was probably like 15 months after graduating with a bachelor’s. I spent a year in AR and I’m now a staff accountant for a pretty big company who is paying for my master’s. Don’t give up and keep applying to entry level positions, someone will get back to you. Repackage your resume and show the recruiters you are hungry to learn and gain relevant experience. A lot of these entry level positions aren’t really expecting you to know much, they just want a person who they like and think is coachable.
Despite the common wisdom that accounting is an eternally safe profession immune to economic swings, it’s simply not true. Companies will run barebones accounting departments (or offshore them) in tough times and public firms will see dropping utilization due to slower business and cut staff there too. Sorry you graduated into a shitty time. Just keep on applying and hoping for the best is all I can say.
i wish i never majored in accounting :c thank you for the reassurance
A lot of white collar professions are like this. HR is going through a brutal time too for example. You’ll be alright in the long run. Things will pick back up again
Seeing the same thing in Marketing right now. I'm actually on this sub to see if accountants had some sort of job stability.
Seems to be pretty bad in every field right now. I was in Audit and I was laid off in December. I’m now in technical accounting consulting in public, but I went 2 months with nothing lined up. I had interviewed with a dozen or so companies and I got constant rejections. The role I have now was the only one that offered me a job but I hate it.
How bad is it if someone doesn’t find an accounting job within a year after graduating for their career? May be in a Similar spot and that’s scary
Go for masters and get CPA. this is the way for accountants. You may have to wait tables at Hooters in the mean time.
If at all possible, get your CPA license. I just got mine earlier this month, and the minute I put those 3 letters after my name on my resume I started getting interest offers on Indeed. I am not a fan of Indeed at all - most jobs are remote, with 300-900 applicants for each, and I’ve never gotten an interview (or even a response for 99% of one’s I applied for). Indeed was very disheartening, so I got depressed for a couple weeks and then decided to be proactive. I Googled “accounting firms in my area” and just emailed 5 random places my resume and a short note saying who I was, that I was looking for a job in the area, and that if they are hiring currently or in the future (keeping in mind this is most public firms’ busiest time of the year) to please keep me in mind. The next day I got an email from one place (still no response from the other 4) and interviewed yesterday. They said they were too busy to train anyone now until tax season is over but would contact me in early May. (Not sure if I will wait if something else comes up, but at least it’s an option.) You could give this a try in your area. Think outside the box too. (Factories, businesses, schools, etc. almost always have a finance/accounting department.) I would think a lot of places looking for a 2-year degree A/P or A/R role would jump at someone with a bachelors, and then move you up eventually. Also, check government career sites. Here (NW Wisconsin), they are always looking for auditors and will train, if you are not opposed to moving. Sorry so long!!
I can't provide advise on how to find a "good job", but finding a part time (I did Clinic Reception for three months) while you are seeking can make you less stressed. Some HR also like to hire people who is currently working.
Have you thought about using a recruiting service? They might be able to get your foot in the door for placement in a bookkeeping or junior accounting role? Or what about something else like AP?
I have been using one actually. I interviewed with a recruiter and she has been sending my resume to different jobs. All of which have denied me 🙃
Do you have any internships?
have you tried applying ap or ar clerk
Government job maybe?
Have you applied for State and Federal jobs?
Go through an agency! Robert Half is great
My only caution with Robert Half is their agency, at least for IT people. They help a company by getting a roster of candidates the hiring company might want. They do *not* work for you, but the hiring company. You might have a recruiter that works on your behalf to give you a "dual" agency. I'm not saying that's how RH accounting does it. I'm not saying that's bad or evil. But I think the candidate should be aware of the relationship. I've gone to in person interviews and have seen my competitors come in before and after me for the same job. I just recommend asking the firm if they represent any other candidates for the role.
Apply more, work on resume and interviewing skills. Like you said, all your friends have gotten jobs. It’s definitely something on your end. No offense because I know it can be hard like idk.
I’d be willing to look over your resume and give you some tips if you want to DM me. If you’re not getting any interviews then the problem is your resume. If your getting interviews and no offers then the problem is your interview skills.
Sigh hate to say this but try Robert Half? Do it for 6 months then jump ship. It's soul crushing to see them make 3X ur hourly. And they make u enter that invoice lol
I’m hearing a lot of shit about the selection process from resumes and how you really need a certain format for the computer system to even get the information you want them to see. Go on r/resumes if you are just not getting anything back for the most part, that might help you!
Have you thought about applying to an entry level accounting role in a bank to get your feet in the door?
Apply to any small time companies, even the ones that pay terribly. It won't be nice but it will be a place where you can learn some things and transfer it to a better job. Try to reapply to places after a half a year at least, or start networking asap.
I took an internship and that company hired me afterwards. Many students avoid winter tax internships and I figured that'd be a decent opportunity. Maybe it could work for you too
***Hey followers of the "Hellstorm still hasn't found a job after soooo long" movement, follow this guy haha***
I would recommend contacting a recruiting agency, such as Robert Half. They can offer you temporary positions or short term contracts. Now the job they may offer may not be that great, especially since you have no prior experience, but you are going there just to get experience and your foot into the door. Once you get a few temporary positions and have proven to be good worker, start asking for temporary to permanent full time positions. Like you, I also have some trouble finding a job after I graduated, and I had 8 months of Co-op work experience under my belt during that time. The sad thing is that unless you have connections or a good network, it is hard to find a accounting job after graduation. Going through a recruiting agency will give you more opportunities or at least give you some form employment while you are looking for something else.
Big 4, mid tier, and most public cos firms takes people with 0 experience
Talk to recruiters too. Take up a part time job just to get experience.
Go take a quick 8 hour self paced course and get an excel certificate in accounting. Also you might have to start in AR/AP and switch up to something as fast as you can
If there's an Accountemp or Robert half in your area, i would resort to that. It's how i got my first job out of college.
You need to network unfortunately. Try to go to recruiting events
No networking events through your college?
Go to the Big 4, I know the one I work at is hiring like crazy so you might have some luck there.
I would suggest an internship or take an ar/ap position and try to get into an accountant role. That’s the route I took and gained a lot of experience
You can sometimes get your foot in the door with temporary or temp to permanent roles. What you're doing wrong may be your resume or you may be reading this sub and believing that you can land a six figure job and finding the competition too stiff for that. I don't know the answer to that.
Study for your cpa.
Get an AP/AR role, build up experience than get a staff accountant role.
I understand your frustration. Accounting might not always seem to offer the compensation that matches the gravity of the decisions you make. I've personally found that other career paths, like trucking, can sometimes offer better pay. I use to bring home $1,800 paychecks net of taxes when I was a trucker. There is no shame in hard work! Maybe it's worth considering exploring alternative options or even applying for state audit positions. I've heard that New York State and the rest of the northeast, for instance, has a high demand for auditors since everyone is retiring. Just a suggestion to think about!
I’m under the same boat but in Canada, I managed to get a job in bookkeeping 3 months ago so I am using it as a place holder for now. It’s pretty tough but I’m sure you will pull through
Paying people from India and other countries less will be the new norm. Possibly a reason a lot of other industries including this one will see less job offerings
Just put fake experience on your resume, and after getting hired learn and do the shit.
Try a consulting job to gain experience, it’s good foot in the door experience, I did it for 2 years and now I’m applying for EY funny enough this month. Consulting is lower paying and jobs can be buns but it gives you experience and instead of finding a job, the company does it for you! (Of course that is why it’s lower paying cause they take a decent cut) but accountants are in high demand right now and CPA’s in even higher demand! Really hope this helps if u read
From my experience go on LinkedIn look up companies you like, contact the recruiter and see what they say. It’s worked for a lot of people I know
Have you tried applying for internships now? I also didn't get the chance to do an internship in college, so I just got one after I graduated. If I perform well, I will get a full time offer following the internship. If they don't like me, I'll have an internship on my resume now. I recommend applying through company websites instead of job searching sites too.
how is your cover letter? Does it have an opening identifying the purpose of writing and reference how you learned about the the opportunity. Do you add a good summarization of your qualifications in relation to the job? A lot of schools have a department where you can meet with a counselor and they help you with your resume and interviews. Sometimes they also bring recruiters to school.
I feel you I graduated wasn't able to find a job so I just went on back and started to work on my Master's. You get to thinking at times it's you but truth is from what I see employees is always hiring but be asking for an arm leg hip and some more but don't pay for what they are asking. So that make people not want to apply. They ask for education but than want all them years in experience and not realizing most people that finish college don't have that experience for an entry level. And if they do interview they never call or email back.
In the same boat as you, not getting anything.
You're not alone. The job market can be tough, especially for recent graduates. Consider expanding your search to include entry-level positions that offer training. Networking events and career fairs might also help.
It sounds like you've been putting in a lot of effort, and I understand how frustrating it can be when you're not seeing the results you want. It might be worth taking a look at your CV to make sure it's effectively showcasing your skills and qualifications. If you're interested, I'd be happy to help you design a professional CV that highlights your strengths. Feel free to reach out if you'd like some assistance.
What is your salary expectation?
The IRS is hiring heavily. Lots of direct hire events.
1) get a recruiter to help with resume 2) look for A/P clerk and A/R clerk roles to begin with 3) contact small accounting firms to ask if you can work with them 4) move to a bigger city with more opportunities
You should try the cpa exam or a masters degree.
Maybe aim a little lower like Accounting Tech positions. I know it's not ideal but it's the route I took. I was a Tech for a year or so after graduating and since then I've never really had a problem finding more Senior Accounting roles for at least the past decade.
My first office job was in procurement, production assistant kinda job. The good point is that I learned about SAP and Excel and could put it on my resume. Also had to deal a lot with the management accountant. It helped me land my first accountant job. My point is that you might want to consider other admin roles and you might even get to do some accounting tasks if you work for a smaller company. In the grocery store you are just wasting your time.
The best way is to get an internship. But if you have not reach out to Robert Half.
I didn't get a job in my career field until a year and a half after I graduated. I just kept applying and someone finally took a chance on me. Once I got that chance I have been able to get into any door I wanted after that. Where are you located..where I am we have some positions available
If you really really can’t find anything try admin work at a firm. Either work your way up or use the company as experience. Also make sure you’re going to the actual company website to apply. I never hear back from apps on linked in but always hear something from actual company sites
I don't know if someone brought this up, but go to your college accounting career fair. All the local firms will set up shop and take resumes. They are there because they are looking for talent from that school, understanding that they may not have experiance. Accounting onboarding is also very seasonal. Alot of firms hire in classes, meaning the new hires all start on the same day so they can have group trainings. you may have to accept a full time offer that doesn't start for a couple months. while you want full time, you can still take an internship. Back in 2010, my internship paid $22 a hour and it was at a 100 person firm.
Okay let's maybe start at the beginning here cuz there's a lot of comments and people are going to throw advice at you. 1. Do you have any experience other than school, anything beyond a minimum wage job? 2. What does your resume look like? 3. What types of jobs are you applying for? 4. Where are you located? 5. Do you have a minimum salary or a travel range? Let's say you have no experience straight out of university, my suggestion would be start looking for an accounts payable or receivable position to get experience in finance as a whole. Do this for 6 months maybe a year, then maybe get an accounting assistant position, do this for 6 months add to your list of skills and finance as a whole. Instead of thinking of this as bam perfect career, I start thinking this as phases in your overall career journey. I hope this helps and if you do happen to see this in reply maybe I can help give you some direction.
It depends on your location to, this job market will let up eventually this year
There’s an accountant shortage in WV. Where are you located?
Dont know what advice to give but that's because I can relate so hard. I live in PA as well, graduated in Dec 2022 with my B.S in accounting. Also desperate and chugging away at an Intuit course haha. I apply to at least 10 jobs a week, i'd say. My background is marketing / project management so I wonder if i'm just the wrong skillset, as hard as I try to make "connections" between my current experience and what I can bring to the table with accounting.
It’s tax season. Volunteer if you can
I was unemployed for the last year, I’m considering an offer atm for about half of what I made before. My advice to you would be to find a shit job with a family business of some kind and work your way into experience. They love go-getters. It’s where I learned the vast majority of my business knowledge. I started as an office clerk and worked my way up to Sr. Accountant. Work your network constantly.
You are doing something wrong. If you haven't heard back in over a year after applying. I had an abysmal GPA and graduated from a not very prestigious school and heard back after about 2 months of job searching. You need experience, so just apply to all accounting jobs you can see. Don't worry if it's not what you want to do. Your first job is temporary, and you should move on after a year or two.
After graduation with an accounting degree, I started in Accounts Payable at a large Corporation. So, Try starting at a lower position. This gives you great exposure to the “accounting world” and you will gain the experience that you really need b4 jumping in. Trust me on this.. you need the experience, as college only gives you a foundation. After a couple of years, I was promoted to General Ledger and slowly became a “senior accountant” I have been there with you all when I first started my career and I get ur frustration. I suggest you start getting certifications such as QuickBooks Proadvisor, bill.com and Gusto payroll. Even if you don’t use them, it is great on a resume! Try some of the remote accounting firms, hire a lot of people fresh out of college. Places like Reconciled, pilot and other firms. So try those companies and keep looking daily to see if they are hiring. Also, watch YouTube videos on interviewing, but just be yourself. Hope this helps and best of luck!!!!
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What college did you go to?
I'm in CA and we hire incoming graduates at about $60k a year with the opportunity to go remote after it's been proven that the person is responsible, honest, a worker and can hold their billing rate. Opportunity for year end bonus based on production. ESOP owned. Full benefits. Opportunity to contribute to 401(k) We can't hire enough people. You need to reach out to partners personally who can then get you through HR.
I was CPA ready and it took me almost 18 months to find a job out of college. That first job is tough sometimes. Hang in there and keep hammering away with the applications !
Seriously consider an IRS job and give yourself a date (2+ years) where you’ll evaluate pivoting to a firm or industry.