re: This Job Market Stinks

The problem with the Big 4 is that if you didn't get in right out of school, it's hard to get in at all. They operate on an up or out model so career trajectory is something they look at when screening. Is some of your 7 years of experience prior to getting your degree?

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This is unequivocally false. America has the the most job openings ever (12-month trailing average) and we're damn near full employment. Any accountant worth their salt would know how to read these numbers. Maybe that's why you're struggling to find work in your field. I'm sorry if this hurts your feelings, but it's not the job market; the market is incredibly robust as a whole. It's why the FED dots are showing 3 rate hikes for the year...

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The accounting job market is VERY dependent on location and types of position. People with their CPA and 5-7 years experience can get a job anywhere. Younger/less experienced people, it's easy in the really big cities and hard everywhere else.

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I think anyone with an accounting degree and a pulse can go to work in public accounting pretty much anywher

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If they are willing to relocate, yes.

If they have their license, yes.

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Eh it depends. If you've been out of public too long sometimes you just aren't attractive to public accounting firms. It also depends on where your area of expertise is.

I've been in industry for 5 years and focus almost exclusively on international outbound tax for corporations.
Can I find work in Miami? Definitely. Would a firm in Louisville, KY have clientele that really need my skill set? Not too many MNC's headquartered in Kentucky.

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this guy gets it

We see this a lot when we are hiring experienced people. You get people from Big Four or the large nationals who are very, very good at a specific complex tax situation - they are very smart and it's great. But I have NO clients that have that situation and I'd likely not ever be able to get enough clients in that situation to make it worthwhile to get someone like that.

Yet, try to find someone who can take a crappy set of quickbooks and get it in shape to give me a trial balance, and then do an M-1? I could look for a year and not be able to hire anyone... cause everytime someone pops up they have 8 offers to choose from.

Then don't move to Kentucky and make it purposefully difficult on yourself?

That says more about the O&G industry than it does about the overall job market.

Ah, yes, getting into public isn't a given especially once you have experience. Generally, the B4 want to take fresh Top accounting grads and mold them.

I saw people struggle moving from GT, BDOs of the world to get into the B4.

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We see this a lot when we are hiring experienced people. You get people from Big Four or the large nationals who are very, very good at a specific complex tax situation - they are very smart and it's great. But I have NO clients that have that situation and I'd likely not ever be able to get enough clients in that situation to make it worthwhile to get someone like that.

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I don't mean this disrespectfully, and I'm not in a position of making hiring decisions, but this attitude just stinks to me. If they're smart enough to get a firm grasp of complex tax situations, odds are they're intelligent enough to quickly learn other concepts, whether that be GAAP accounting, or tax situations. Of course, the flip side of that is if they worked everyday with complex tax situations, pulling trial balances from Quickbooks and doing 1120s returns for small businesses with $2 million in revenue would probably get boring really quick.

And I understand once you get to a certain level, the amount of training companies are willing to provide quickly diminishes. Companies want someone that can come in and hit the ground running. But I also think companies miss out on a lot of quality candidates with that thinking. Then they complain about how hard it is to find qualified people.

I mean, I do get your overall point, and hiring is always a bit of a gamble. Just speaking as someone that's been in the job hunt in accounting, it can be frustrating to hear companies complain about the lack of qualified candidates.

I have six years sales experience
Six years transportation experience
1 year media/marketing experience

Was passed over by a marketing company that sales recruiting/marketing material to trucking companies. They hired a kid fresh out of college for a sales role.

They called me back a month later and asked if I wanted to come back for another interview.

Nah. I'd already accepted a better paying job in the trucking industry. I just laughed and said thanks but no thanks.

The corporate America HR/recruiting system is completely broken and needs an overhaul. Right now it's all about "cheap labor" for most corporations.

Ok maybe I should rephrase it.

A lot of large companies that once hired experienced industry professionals that could come in and add value immediately are now looking for young cheap talent that they can groom (or turn and burn them).