<p>I'm a senior at a non-flagship state school with a 3.8 GPA in Accounting. I am graduating in May 2012.</p>
<p>I have gotten 4 first round interviews, 1 final round interview and zero offers so far.</p>
<p>I always thought getting a good GPA in this major would be enough to find a job, but I am not so sure about that now. What is the best way to find a job in this economy?</p>
<p>Hopefully you have already had an intern somewhere; that should help. If not, volunteer somewhere, just to get some experience. </p>
<p>You <em>should</em> have no problem getting a job doing entry-level accounting. However, be sure to look where the jobs are. If you’re looking in a place that has a nasty unemployment rate, look elsewhere. I would think your best prospects are in medium-to-large size cities. </p>
<p>Also, keep looking; it’s still early. And if you have to take tests to get to certain level or to get a certificate, be sure to do that too.</p>
<p>You are on the right track, keep doing what you are doing.</p>
<p>Just keep looking and fully use your school’s Career Services. Continue to apply through your school’s job postings and companies’ web site. The recruiting season is still on going so do not give up hope and stay active. Also cast your net wide and apply to as many jobs that you are allow to apply. Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>You have a great college record. Keep applying.
It is discouraging to have gotten several interviews and no offers, I know.
Our DS this last year went through similar process. It was not looking good.
But he did end up with a wonderful job later in the timeline than he wanted but it has worked out beautifully.</p>
<p>Just keep throwing that net out there. Use each interview as a learning experience.
I bet you’ll land something soon.</p>
<p>There are employers who recruit at colleges during the early part of the academic year to line up employees who will start the next summer. Usually, these are companies who know in advance that they need a certain number of entry-level employees each year.</p>
<p>Then there are other employers who recruit only to fill jobs that have opened up at their companies. These companies usually want to fill the job promptly, with the person starting within weeks of being hired. Companies in this situation may use on-campus recruiting at local schools, or they may advertise in local newspapers (and their online job boards) or on national job boards. </p>
<p>For example, I just looked at the local job board of the newspaper in the major city nearest me. I searched under “accounting” and “entry level” and found 14 jobs. Right now, you could not apply to any of them because you wouldn’t be available soon enough. But in March or April, the situation would be different.</p>
<p>So if you don’t find a job through on-campus recruiting in the early part of the year, you can continue to search in the spring semester, using other resources as well as your on-campus recruiting system.</p>
<p>My kids are both out of college and have good jobs (where “good job” is defined as “a job that has some relationship to your career aspirations and pays enough to live on”). One got the job through on-campus recruiting months in advance; the other answered an ad on a job board shortly before graduation and got a job that started less than a month later. So I know that both approaches can be successful.</p>
<p>Make sure everyone in your circle (and your parents’ circle) knows you’re looking for an accounting job. You never know where some piece of information that leads to a job resides. A young accountant I know just got a job because his therapist knew the accountant who works in the same building and introduced the two. You just never know…</p>
<p>Agree with Marian that you need to investigate off campus resources after the New Year…</p>
<p>Are you only looking at public accounting with the Big 4? If so, you need to expand your search to regional or local accounting firms and consider a position in corporate accounting at a large company. </p>
<p>I also agree you should look for a part-time accounting job with a company that might lead to full-time employment after graduation. I was in your place in the Midwest in the early 80s. Lousy local economy and tough job market. Got a job working in bank, which led to a full-time job after graduation in the Controller’s department. Not my dream job, but it paid the bills and a year later, I posted to an internal position that was more to my liking.</p>
<p>Very good advice. At this point, at most locations, the Big 4 is done for the year. Will you be doing your fifth year for your CPA? Looking part-time or full-time? There seem to be plenty of accounting jobs out there, just not Big 4. And location matters.</p>
<p>If the economy is bad in your state, go to a state with a lower unemployment rate.</p>
<p>Such as North Dakota.</p>
<p>I know it might not be the sexiest place to move to, but there are jobs there.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for all the advice.</p>
<p>I will not be staying in school for a fifth year because I already have enough credits to sit for the CPA exam here in Virginia.</p>
<p>I will expand my search to include part time jobs and look at local newspaper websites to see if I can find something.</p>
<p>If you aren’t on LinkedIn yet, create an account out there and link to anyone you have had professional contact with (internship, any other jobs – even if not accounting jobs, older students who have graduated and already working that you know, classmates you may want to keep in touch with professionally, parents of friends who work in business, etc.). You can’t just wait for companies to come to campus and interview you. Note that LinkedIn is NOT like FaceBook. It is okay to link with people you wouldn’t dream of seeing socially – it is about professional connections.</p>
<p>The good news for you is that Virginia does not require public accounting experience to become a CPA (they are one of a few states that accept a broader range of accounting experiences). Be sure you understand those parameters well, and broaden your seach to include those types of companies. Make a list of target companies, and start watching their websites for job postings. </p>
<p>Obviously you want to keep interviewing with any relevant company who comes to campus, but don’t count on that as your only way to contact companies. If you can’t get on the interview schedule at school for someone you want to talk to (too full, a common problem at some colleges), stop by the interviewer’s room 5 minutes before the lunch break in the schedule is over and drop off a resume & cover letter. Just let them know you couldn’t get on the interview schedule because it was full, but you are interested in their firm and would like to provide a resume. Don’t take a lot of time (you don’t want to make them run behind schedule), but it makes an impression that you went to the trouble to do that. If you can’t find them, get their name from the interview schedule and send them a letter at their office with your resume (I got a job doing that one time at one of the big consulting firms).</p>
<p>Are you wearing a suit that fits, polished shoes, decent tie for interviews? This is accounting, I would make sure you are well dressed. Even if they are more casually dressed in the office than they used to be at some firms, this is still a good idea for the interview. It also can give you confidence. Make sure your personal hygiene is good (tidy haircut, clean/trimmed nails, showered recently…). :)</p>
<p>Make sure you have a few questions to ask about the company when you go for an interview. Not super obvious ones that you can tell from the website. If you really can’t think of any, ask the interviewer some more generic questions (what do they like or not like about working there, what do they see as the biggest challenges for their company in the next few years, what qualities do they think are most important for new employees to be successful).</p>
<p>Have you had a chance to do any “mock interviews” or videotaped interviews at your college career office? Do it if you haven’t yet.</p>
<p>One final suggestion is to start treating your job search like another class at college. Set aside time every day to work on your job search. When I am looking for a new client (I am an independent consultant), I set the goal of trying to do 3 things every day toward my job search. Things like working on my spreadsheet of contacts/possibilities don’t count, I mean 3 things that bring me into contact with someone who might help me. For example, you could count going to a pizza/beer event put on by a company on campus as one of your three. :)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>