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lakersgo
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Joined: 13 Feb 2006
Location: United States
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Posts: 121
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| Posted: 17 Nov 2011 at 12:12 | IP Logged
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Hi All,
This is just getting a bit frustrating. I've been
applying at the big 4's regularly but have not hear any
feedback at all. I am a CPA with 3 years of accounting
experiences. I realize that I am lacking public
accounting experience but the skills acquired are still
very relevant and should enable me to learn things
quickly.
I was hoping the recruiter would think along the same
line but apparently not. I've refrained from submitting
more application now. I simply don't want to overwhelm
the recruiters. But can anyone tell me if they only look
for candidate with previous public accounting experiences
from reputable CPA firm for the Senior position? I really
don't have a preference as to audit or tax. I just want
public accounting.
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db729
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| Posted: 17 Nov 2011 at 12:48 | IP Logged
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I'm going to speak from the audit side (although I imagine tax is the same), but for the senior position, they ONLY hire people with previous senior experience at a public accounting firm. Coming from industry, you understand GAAP, but you don't understand audit methodology, how to manage the team dynamics, run engagements, etc. Very little skills are transferable in order to fulfill the responsibilities of a senior. Being an auditor and being an accountant are very different. Even coming from non-Big 4 firm, a lot of times you get bumped down a year from the level you were at your previous firm to get acclimated for Big 4 environment. I've seen seniors at their old firms come in as experienced associates and get promoted after one busy season.
Honestly, I rarely hear about someone coming into Big 4 without either 1) being recruited from undergrad/MAcc or 2) have previous public accounting experience at a lower tier firm. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two instances. One person was referred by a retired partner that she had a good relationship with. Another person was recruited because she spoke a language that was highly sought after since our firm is trying to build up that niche market.
If you really want public accounting experience, the easiest way is going through MAcc if that's an option. There are plenty of people that have years of experience that go through MAcc and get recruited into Big 4 and other public accounting firms.
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Ellipsis123
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| Posted: 17 Nov 2011 at 19:49 | IP Logged
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In order to get in as experienced hire your experience has to match the experience that they are looking for. If your experience doesn't match what they're looking for in the job posting than of course you're not going to get any interviews. They often look for specialized public accounting experience within a certain industry. With that being said if you are an internal auditor or work in the corporate tax department for a private company, you may have a shot depending on if your actual experience matches that specialized experience that they're looking for.
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cluv8484
Newbie
Joined: 18 Nov 2011
Location: United States
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Posts: 3
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| Posted: 18 Nov 2011 at 13:08 | IP Logged
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Hey man...I just landed a gig with Deloitte after months
of interviews for other big 4 and corporate positions,
which is extremely tough to do when your already working
50+ hrs a week. I have worked at a regional public
accounting firm for a little over 3 years, with mostly a
gov't, non-profit, benefit plan client base. This seemed
to be a big deal when interviewing with Crowe, PWC, and
Ernst and Young as they focused on my past experiences
and seemed to be weary of what I could do going forward.
However, Deloitte seems to allow auditors to work on a
broad client base and were very open to me. But again I
did have public experience, so perhaps that is the issue
your having....but I would say keep it up, cause I never
thought I'd get my foot in the door but it finally
happened.....
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soc09
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Joined: 08 Oct 2009
Location: United States
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Posts: 178
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| Posted: 18 Nov 2011 at 17:55 | IP Logged
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GOOD JOB, cluv8484.
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Topic: Experienced hire at a disadvantage?
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