Need some real career advice

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hi everyone I was wondering if I could get some advice here and how to go forward. About a year and a half ago I graduated college with my degree in accounting. I majored in accounting for one reason and one reason only and that was to hopefully be able to get a job because I kept being told that there were lots of jobs for it and in this very bad economy I thought I didn’t have a choice. Before I was an accounting major I was studying to be a history and an art teacher however again in this economy the jobs just weren’t there.

Fast forward a year and a half later I have had little success with this degree of mine, first off I don’t like the subject matter, second despite my best efforts when majoring in this my grades were not the best, my gpa was a 2.67 when I finally graduated ( yes I know that’s bad ) and third at this point from my understanding the field is now over-saturated like many other degrees are now by people trying to find work.

As of now I have been working minimum wage part time jobs and been sending out resumes, taking civil service tests that apply to me and really anything else however I’m now at a point that I’ve just about had it and really am now out of ammunition as far as what to do. My parents have no ideas to offer, the rest of my family has no ideas, friends don’t know what to say and are in the same boat as me.

I really don’t know what kind of options are left because it seems that the only kind of work that is out there are just dead end crap jobs that go nowhere in life. My parents have said that I should go back to college to try to get into another field and I would like to do but 1) I don’t know what I would go for and 2) right now our family is broke and the idea of taking out more students to add onto my already $30,000 burden just is not an option.

If anyone here has any suggestions about what to do I would really appreciate hearing it! Thank you all for your time

2

If you can be in a situation where you have a regular chunk of free time, consider volunteering or ‘interning’ at some place that could benefit from your accounting skills and an extra set of hands. If you make it a regular commitment, you will be greatly appreciated which is really nice for the soul. You can also have a chance to do more fulfilling work that you do like in addition to the accounting that you don’t particularly like. Work hard, and you can make good impressions on all sorts of people that you might meet, and it will not hurt your resume as far as I can imagine.

3

The civil service route seems like a good match if you can get hired on. There’s some associate degrees or 1 year training programs for in-demand jobs such as medical coders.

4

First off, know that this is totally normal. Nobody tells you that the first few years out of graduation are some of the hardest, but they are. Most people find their feet eventually, and a slightly late start isn’t going to mean much in your ultimate career. Things will be better sooner than later.

We can’t give any more advice without specifics. What do you love? What does your ideal life look like? What gets you fired up in the morning? Do you want to travel the world? Settle down in the suburbs? Retire at 50? Make art?

And where do you live? Big city? Small town? Are there any industries where you live? Are you willing to move?

5

I’m asking this question for informative purposes, not to make you feel bad: how many resumes have you sent out, how many interviews have you gotten, and how wide is your search net (in position, company, and location)?

I ask this because I have run across some people that say things like “I can’t get a job”, but when you dig into things they have only sent out half a dozen job applications in the past year, so it’s kinda hard to sympathize because they aren’t really trying. On the other hand if you’ve sent out 300 applications in the last year and a half, then that part isn’t the problem.

The next question is: assuming you sent out a ton of applications, how many turned into interviews? If more than 50% of your applications are turning into interviews, then the resume is NOT the problem. On the other hand, if less than 5% of your applications are turning into interviews, there’s probably something wrong with your resume (or cover letter, if accounting positions require those. My industry rarely uses cover letters). If you’re not getting the interviews, anonymize your resume and post it somewhere that gives resume advice. There are plenty of free places to do that online, no need to shell out hundreds of dollars for some scammy resume service.

If you’re getting the interviews but not getting the job, that’s a bit harder to determine without sitting in on the interview. Perhaps you can describe how the last couple of interviews went and we can give advice there?

Last, are you limiting yourself to just your hometown, or are you willing to relocate? Are you targeting certain companies or keeping an open mind? Are you looking for only ‘accountant’ positions or more for anything that requires a degree?

There’s a few career options that just want a degree but don’t care what it’s in. I think a lot of business sales positions are like that, and ‘analyst’ positions at insurance companies seem to only require a degree (I don’t know why, but I do remember, for example, Geico coming to every career fair I’ve been to with “All Majors Accepted”).

I’m going to echo what nani said and mention that sometimes, getting some volunteer experience with a charity can help bridge the resume gap, but my warning is that I know people that have said “Oh, it’s a volunteer position, but maybe they’ll hire me full-time when they get the budget”, and then they work basically a full-time job unpaid for a year before realizing they’ve been had. Don’t do that.

6

So do you only have a bachelors degree? Very few universities even offer a bachelor’s degree in accounting any more, because of the 150 hour requirement to sit for the CPA exam. Most companies and accounting firms only want to hire accounting majors that are eligible to sit for the CPA exam.

If you do only have a bachelor’s degree, you may want to consider getting your masters in accountancy or MBA. This will give you an opportunity to get your GPA up and improve your prospects in getting a job in your field of study.

If that’s not appealing to you, then get your teaching certificate and see if you can get a job teaching history at a middle school. Start out substituting and maybe they’ll hire you on full time eventually.

7

Have you considered signing on with an accounting temporary service? Most temp agencies are nationwide now and are no longer limited to whatever direct relationships they have in the immediate community. Temporary work has two benefits: a-it gives you boots-on-the-ground experience; b-you can use it as an extended job interview. Many times companies will find a permanent spot for a temporary worker they like who has proven to get the job done. If you are enthusiastic and show some initiative, oftentimes your on-the-job supervisor will help you get a spot with the company. Or if not, they will at least provide you with a solid reference you can offer to the next potential employer.

If you do go this route, don’t be discouraged if you have to do several assignments before anything really meaty comes up. Agencies will hesitate to send you out to their really important clients until you have proven yourself to them, so your early assignments may be short and uninteresting with little chance of a permanent berth. But again, work hard, be enthusiastic, and walk away with a good reference. Gradually you will build your resume, your references, and the agency’s trust in you and the better jobs will come your way.

Another side benefit to temping is that you may observe other jobs within the organization that seem like a better fit for you than accounting has been. You can see what those jobs look like in the ‘real world’ and can make a better decision as to what field you might wish to move into.

The very best of luck to you!

8

My son went from an accounting degree to a CPA. He has no trouble finding work and makes just under 6-figures at 33 YO.

9

You wanted to be a teacher.
See if you can get hired as a substitute teacher.

My niece has an accounting degree and could not find a job. In desperation she took the substitute teaching job and found out she loves it.

10

Can you look at your credits and see if another 6-8 hours would qualify for another degree?

My BA in Poli Sci didn’t do well (Law School didn’t work out) so I added a few CS courses and got an AS in CS - which opened doors.

11

If you have an accounting degree and cannot get a decent accounting related job *somewhere *despite a concerted effort, and are reduced to working minimum wage jobs …then I’m sorry, but there is a huge 747 sized hole in your story somewhere.

Every accountancy grad I know was making good money in just a few years and was readily hired. They networked their asses off, were flexible about relocating, polished up their interpersonal interviewing skills, and got (and in some cases paid for) professional help in crafting their resumes like most serious professionals looking for a job would do. Have you done all these things in a sustained and proactive manner?

If the story is more along the line of "I realize now I hate accounting, I’m depressed and I’m making only the most minimal, half hearted efforts to network and make myself flexible and attractive for employers then OK … we get it , choose another career path. If you’re showing up for interviews with a poorly suppressed “I hate this shit” vibe it’s going to be pretty obvious.

Occupational Outlook Handbook Business and Financial > Accountants and Auditors

12

He has a poor GPA.

13

I’ve run across the same; they moan and groan that they “can’t find a job,” yet they never seem to be looking for a job.

If you’re unemployed or underemployed, then looking for a job is your job. You need to get up early every morning and start looking (sending resumes, networking, emailing, etc.) until late afternoon.

I think the real reason the OP isn’t looking is because he doesn’t want to be an accountant. So figure out a way to go back to school and get a major in something you want to do…

14

A poor GPA accounts for not finding the best accounting job, but doesn’t really account for not being able to find a accounting job.

I agree with** Crafter_Man**; I think OP doesn’t want an accounting job and is either not looking very hard or that comes across in interviews.

I sorta wish OPs like this would come back to respond to other posters though.

15

I’m not a hiring manager and I don’t edit resumes for a living, but I agree that a lack of callbacks is almost certainly a resume problem. If you’re not tailoring every resume submission to the job you’re applying for, you’re doing it wrong. Further, a significant chunk of the resumes I’ve seen (from classmates, friends, and family members) range from mediocre to appallingly bad.

I think it’s absolutely worth paying someone to edit your resume if you’re not getting ANY interviews. And also, consider relocation. I found a great job but I moved halfway across the country to do it. You don’t have to go THAT far, but you might have to look outside your hometown.

16

I have to agree. A poor GPA will exclude you from, say, campus recruiting at Deloitte or any other Big-4. It shouldn’t exclude you from any job having to do with accounting whatsoever.

Accounting is a pretty broad skills set that should open a lot of doors in business in general.

17

I graduated with a 2.5 GPA in a less useful field. I went to law school and it worked out for me, but most of my classmates are still unemployed. So don’t do that.

18

Ok to respond to everything here yes I have more than 150 credits because remember I was majoring in something else before I changed to accounting. As far as the CPA exam goes that I have just given up on because I just don’t have the ability and the money to go after it, yes I am the only one to blame for that but it is what it is.

Yes I have literally sent out hundreds if not way over a thousand resumes and only a few interviews come from it.

I have had my resume looked at over and over by different people and for the most part they say it’s fine with a few minor alterations.

I have tried account temps and have gone on interviews through them but with very little success. I was sent on a temp job and after one day of working I was sent home because they wanted someone who was more knowledgeable for the programs they were using, Quickbooks etc.

19

In regards to the interviews themselves despite the fact that I hate this stuff I make sure to go in very pleasant with a smile on my face, I’m being honest when I say that.

20

Now besides the recent two civil service exams I took ( I’m still waiting to hear back my score for both ) and this program that NYC has called NYC Fellowship that I am also still waiting to hear back if I will be accepted or not I really am just out of bullets now.