I am currently a senior in college, Graduating in May with an an undergraduate degree in Finance. As for my career goals I am wanting to work in accounting (public or corporate) and have been working as a staff accounting since December of 2018 doing tax returns for corporations, individuals, as well as compilations of financials for businesses comparing balance sheets, etc you know all the boring accounting work. Yes, I do technically have a job now but it is at a very small local firm and I am wanting to work at a bigger company where I could get compensated more and receive benefits and all that good stuff. I have applied to 149 accounting jobs all looking for 2020 graduates (which I am) where all the requirements were an undergrad in accounting or finance and I have been turned down by all of them. It should also be mentioned that I only got invited to do one phone interview. At this point I'm not sure what I'm missing, degree + actual real life work experience for over a year I feel like is a good combo but maybe not?
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Your current approach is obviously not working, so it's time to reevaluate. Two things to look at:
1) When's the last time you had someone review your resume and cover letter? Cold applying to jobs will always have a lower hit rate, but 0-149 probably means you need a second set of eyes on what you're doing. Take your materials to your career center and get a second opinion, then show it to someone you trust at your current accounting firm and get a third opinion, etc, etc. 2) You make no mention of any networking efforts, which means, by the laws of WSO, you get no sympathy for your struggles. If you're not reaching out to people trying to meet for informal, informational interviews before you apply, then you're not trying hard enough. Ask your career center for referrals to alumni in jobs you want. Use Linkedin to find other alumni, or friends of friends, etc. Email them and ask for 15 minutes to ask them more about what they do over coffee or over the phone. End the meeting asking about how you could pursue your interest in their company, and who else you should talk to. This is how most people land jobs in finance.
post your resume with revealing info redacted
Typical of a person interested in accounting to not network.
Accounting jobs will always favor accounting majors. Don't take this bad, but your post was poorly written. Is your resume/outreach efforts similar?
A lot of these entry level jobs are sourced from a handful of universities. If you don't go to one of those, you'll need to get creative.
At a glance your story is surprising given a decent job market (some would say strong, but at least decent) and given that you have some experience and a real major.
Something must be missing here. Bad GPA? Maybe applying for jobs that are looking for more experience?
Sounds like a low GPA as it wasn't even mentioned.
Are you applying to PA firms? The accounting market is so hot, they're practically hiring people off the streets.
Are you applying for tax or auditing jobs? Maybe try internships.
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