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CPA Candidates: Talk / Help / Tips
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Subject Topic: Any advice for a science major?? (Topic Closed Topic Closed) Post ReplyPost New Topic
  
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clips2007
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Posted: 29 Dec 2008 at 20:22 | IP Logged  

heavydutysg135 wrote:

Your situation sounds very similar to my own and that of several friends of mine so I decided to register for the forum to comment here. I ended up completing the UCLA Extension Certificate in Accounting and got job offers from PWC, E&Y, and GT; I will be starting with PWC in January and will be completing the last section of the CPA exam on January 3rd (REG). Throughout the last year and a half I have learned a lot of lessons from people willing to take the time to help me as well as from my own experience and would like to help you if I can. I would rather talk on the phone because it is less time consuming than typing and more interactive so if you would like to talk then send me an email at heavydutyesp135@hotmail.com and I will forward you my phone number. Good luck in whatever path you decide!

David 



how did you get an interview with these Firms? I have done the UCLA ext. thing and they don't have career placement. I had to go to get my masters in tax just to get an interview.
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heavydutysg135
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 14:22 | IP Logged  

Networking was the only way for my friend and I to get interviews from the program and ultimately jobs at Big 4 firms. For me it was always a "friend of a friend" thing to get someone to look at my resume, you really must be pro-active and persistent. If you expect the Big 4 Firms to come to you then you are going to be disappointed because it probably is not going to happen unless you go to a school that they heavily recruit at and are among the top of your class. In my experience, if you want someone with decision making power from recruiting to actually look at your resume it has to be given to them by someone that they trust. Then your resume has to be good enough to get you the interview (high grades and relevant experience) and your interview skills, confidence, and personality match must be good enough to make it through several rounds of interviews to get the job.

You can either complain about the process of getting a job or accept it and move forward. The year before I made it to the final round of interviews at the firm that I wanted and unfortunately did not get the job. It hurt but I stayed positive, took a job with a smaller CPA firm, and was determined to try again the next year. As I said in one of my previous posts, this year I received job offers from all the Big Firms that I interviewed at and chose the one that I thought was the best fit.

"The only thing you deserve is what you earn."

-Tom Brands

 



Edited by heavydutysg135 on 30 Dec 2008 at 14:31
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heavydutysg135
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 15:18 | IP Logged  

Another action that you can take is to contact the person in charge of your program (for the UCLA Extension it is Yvette De La Cruz) and ask them about the next Meet the Firms Night that Becker is hosting. UCLA Extension students can attend these and network with many different sized firms from several different sectors, I attended two of these and there were always at least 3 out of 4 of the Big 4 Firms there as well as the other Top-Tier (GT, BDO, etc.) This is a great opportunity to get to network in person so that the recruiters can put a face and personality to your resume and cover letter (which you will drop off in person). Students come from very far away to attend these events and both that I went to were right in the heart of Los Angeles (I think the Wilshire Grand Hotel).  
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clips2007
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 18:10 | IP Logged  

I'm okay now. Ive had interviews with virtually all big firms after I entered a pretty reputable accounting program as a grad student. I did not get any offers from these big ones but landed at job at a smaller one. I'm pushing back my grad date in my masters program in order to get another shot at an offer next year. I truly believe there is more to be done i.e. leadership roles, beta alpha psi, community service, interviewing skills. I think my undergrad GPA was weak, so I need to take several more grad courses to show I'm serious about improving. One thing I noticed about a lot of students at my school who got an offers, they all had work experience of some sort.

Thanks for sharing your experience.       
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