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Strategoes
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Posted: 09 Dec 2007 at 21:14 \| IP Logged

For those of you who can not find an accounting job anywhere and are left with no choice but to look to temp agencies for work assignments, heres my advice as well as experience in working as a temp for the past 6 months.

1) How do I find or they find me?:

Most temp agencies find your resume on Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, and if you posted or sent your resume to their staffing manager/recruiter (their job titles are irrelevant as they are essentially the same job). So lets say you posted your resume on what is probably the most popular recruiter for the accounting industry: Robert Half International. Well, then you would get a call sometime between when you posted your resume and 3-4 weeks later (depending on how stellar they think your resume is) from Robert Half's accounting temps division: Accountemps.

2) The Interview (popularly known as the sniff test) process:

They'll have you come in for a scheduled interview with the staffing manager. But first you'll have to fill out the usual paperwork, i.e W-4 forms, job application, etc. Afterwards, you'll have to take a computer based exam on a popular accounting software like QuickBooks and MS Excel. The exam should take about 2.5-3 hours depending if you take a break or not. The exam consists of multiple choice questions and simulation tasks of the functions of QuickBooks and MS Excel (it could be a different program depending on what you have down on your resume). Then you will finally meet your staffing manager and sit down for the actual interview as well as going over your exam results. They ask you a bunch of questions regarding your job application and what kind of work you would be comfortable doing.

3) Sizing you up:

After the actual interview (which should take around 15-20 minutes), your staffing manager will give you a breakdown of how you will get paid and what they think you can get in the market (pay rate range). Then they will tell you they have nothing available right now and to sit and wait till next week then maybe they'll have something open up. Don't call them, they'll call you.

4) "The" Wait:

This is the point where you wait for their helper monkeys, uhhh staffing assistants to call you with a job assignment if you choose to accept it! If not it will self destruct in 5 seconds...just kidding, it'll probably be offered to someone else (I think they pick the names out of a hat). They tell you about the position and why you would be a great fit. They run down the job title, responsibilities, length of the assignment, full time or part time, the pay rate they're offering, and industry of the company you'll be temping for. If you're new to the temp agency and have little to no experience, the pay rate is usually not negotiable but hey it never hurts to ask!

5) Finally an assignment!....right?:

After you accept the assignment, the staffing assistant will call you back later in the day or the next day to confer with the hiring company and confirm the job with you. They'll give you the name of your supervisor, hours you will be working, days (if part time) you are assigned, and location of the company.

6) On the job:

Here are some basic rules and procedures you should follow while on an assignment as a temp accountant:

1) Do not handle cash or make deposits for the client company
2) Do not perform any physical labor on the job
3) If you're going to miss time due to emergency or illness, call your staffing manager and not the client

You will be introduced to the entire office and go straight into work!

7) My experience being a temp:

As I said, I was working on a temp assignment for the past 6 months. My take on it is: Temping is not for me.

The good:

The only reason I became a temp was not because I couldn't find a "real" job. It was because temping gave me flexibility with no strings attached. Kind of like having a one night stand with some girl you met at a bar. If you want to leave an assignment, just call the agency and tell them you're going in another direction or you found something else (This is really for those of you who just want to get 6-8 months of experience and get out of a company without having to go through the entire process). Temping allowed me time to study and sit for the CPA exam while gaining accounting experience (although my assignment was for a private company).

You could come back and say I could have gotten a part time job at some company on my own. Well, you'd be competing for that job with other individuals; also, who knows when or if they will call you back or even offer you the part time position. Too many uncertainties, at least with temping the job assignment is offered and its yours if you want it.

The bad:

1) You get no benefits as a temp unless you pay for them out of your own pocket.
2) The salary you get is usually lower than what you can receive if you looked on your own.
3) The client company can have you doing work that wasn't part of your job description or is someone else's duties This would apply more to smaller companies. Its not a big deal; but if they're having you perform work outside of what they hired you for, you should be compensated accordingly.
4) If you call your agency and complain, they'll check with their supervisor and never get back to you or if they do its usually very late.
5) Some of your co-workers won't like you because you're a temp. Since you probably won't be at this company long, they don't feel the need to be nice to you. (Of course this only applies to a few, maybe..)
6) The company thinks that because you're a temp you don't need to be trained because they hired you as a trained professional (So THATS why you took that exam at the agency's office).

I know I'm leaving a lot of information off and someone else's temping experience may differ from my own. I would not consider my personal experience with my particular temp agency as the standard nor would I consider it the exception. This was written to be somewhat helpful to those of you looking at temp accounting work whether by choice or not.

Good luck to you and God be with you!

Edited by Strategoes on 10 Dec 2007 at 11:23

freshstart
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Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 10:21 \| IP Logged

Thanks - that was helpful.

bear2099
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Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 15:37 \| IP Logged

Strategoes:

I think your take on temp agencies is about as accurate as they come.

I used them to a get PT job while I was out of work studying for the CPA exam (I've since landed a job with a mid-sized accounting firm before recently transferring to the Big Four).

Let's just say my opinion of temp & employment agencies are a little bit higher than my opinion of the paparazzi (they're both useless vultures who leech off the work of others but temp agencies at least do not try to take compromising pictures of you).

Although I sincerely feel for those who are in situations where temp agencies seem to be the only viable alternative; my sincere advice is to try at all costs to apply for jobs on your own (even in the "hard to get" public accounting sector).

For public accounting firms, it's best to try to apply after November when everyone waits to get their bonuses before leaving (but you should apply before the start of the busy season in January when they actually need a lot of people).

This is also good because you may avoid the onrush competition of a lot of the May grads who will surely be applying a few months before graduation (that's if they didn't already get early offers in which case those job positions would not be available to begin with). This is just my personal opinion.

Strategoes is absolutely correct in that you spent hours of time going through the employment/temp agencies' rigorous screening process with relatively little chance of a decent pay-off.

Also, Monster.com is the worst job website ever. Once you post your resume there, you will forever be getting spam's from a whole bunch of knuckleheads trying to sell you on their most recent "get rich" schemes. I get about 10-11 daily and I curse the day I ever heard about Monster.com. They probably have that devil mascot for a reason.

If anyone has trouble getting jobs on their own, maybe they can volunteer at some accounting-related organization (although I know this is much easier than it sounds since people have to pay bills). However, you can always get an additional side job to help pay bills while volunteering for a little while (which will at least help build up your resume as well as help you network & make connections for real jobs).

However, if temp agencies are your only choice, please heed Strategoes' advice & take precautions as well as get out of that "temp trap" as soon as possible. To put it in perspective, the longer you deal with temp agencies, the worse it will be for your career.

A whole bunch of ST projects with many different companies will not be as good on a resume as a stable employment record with just a few good reputable companies. Temp agencies are just what their name says, temporary ST solutions that will never be good LT.

Edited by bear2099 on 10 Dec 2007 at 15:41

Strategoes
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Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 19:48 \| IP Logged

Thank you bear2099. I'm interested in knowing how you found that mid-sized accounting firm. I am starting to look for a position in a public accounting firm but have few leads. I am positive many on this board are in the same boat. Please share your insight with us.

You are right on target about volunteering at an accounting-related organization. Those of you on this forum who are having trouble finding a job in public accounting because of lack of experience should seek help from your local CPA society. There are many benefits you would receive once you become a member such as being a part of club for those who share the same interests and love of accounting. Also, you can join committees in order to gain experience and network with local CPAs.

Also, bear2099 is right about applying for positions around this time of year till the end of January as tax season is starting to gear up as well as beating those May grads.

Good luck to you and share some of your experiences!

asdf334
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Posted: 10 Dec 2007 at 23:25 \| IP Logged

bear2099 wrote:

bear2099,

I am curious about your take on this. I am currently looking for an entry level position in public accounting. Unfortunately, I have not really been seeing very many of these jobs when I go to company websites and such over the past couple of months. Obviously many of these positions will be filled through college grads, but surely there are ways for others to get their foot in the door! Am I just looking in the wrong place, or is the time frame off? (I tend to see many staff II and senior positions, but this isn't something I'm eligible for. I have a degree in accounting, but don't have any actual accounting experience.) Thanks for any insights that you can give me, and thank you for sharing your experiences!

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