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Understood, but the public accounting world has a more competitive and judgemental mindset than the corporate accounting world. In public accounting, you are the product being sold (to some extent). Without the accounting degree or CPA license, most firms will not take you (except ones that are about to go out of business). Not being judgemental here myself - just giving you the advice you asked for.
Look into getting an inverview through on-campus recruiting at your school. I know you live out of state, but if you can get the interview scheduled in advance, it may be worth traveling there.This is the easiest way to meet decision makers face-to-face. And if its a national firm, you can let them know you are looking to work in another city. If you don't have auditing experience, you will have to start out as an entry level auditor, no matter what other expeience you have. And most firms go looking for entry level auditors on campus - not at the local chamber of commerce meetings. Contact your school's accounting dept. or your professors and see what advice they have to offer. This is the type of advice they normally give to undergrads all the time. You are paying tuition; and counseling and job placement is part of the service you are paying for! But you have to ask.
I've worked in an audit position for a CPA firm for about a year and a half (counting an internship) and seen three busy seasons with that firm, so I'll share some of my thoughts and experiences.
Bad news first. To be clear, it is a tough time to get an entry-level job at any accounting firm right now. It is, by nature, a high-turnover business when times are good, simply because most people (counting me) don't want to do busy season more than a few times. However, times are not good, so more people are hanging onto the jobs they have rather than facing the prospect of job hunting in this economy. That's not to say there are no positions available, just that less spots are opening up. That means they need less people to keep the pipeline full than they did, say, three years ago when I was going through the recruiting process as an undergrad. Additionally, it's almost impossible to find a job right now as busy season lets up and there's a lot less work to be done.
Not all is lost, though. To echo Suncc49's suggestion, you would do well to find some kind of accounting job while you finish your master's. You said you have four more classes, which would mean you'll be finishing in December, right? If so, that not only gives you time to get some part-time experience to pitch while you're searching, but it also means you'll be finishing up just when firms need people the most (January through March for audit, February through April for tax). If, on the other hand, you meant you're taking those four classes right now and will be done in a few weeks, you could also look for temp work when you're done (Accountemps is a good place to start). Recruiting season is in September and October, so if you're able to land some temp work in the months before, that'll go a long way.
Alternatively, we've had a couple of accounting students come to the firm in a part-time administrative position. That works out well because the student can spend a few months getting familiar with the office, then when busy season rolls around, it's one less intern the firm has to find. The last guy who did that was an admin for probably a year and a half (not that you have to do it for that long for this to work), interned with us last year, then finished his master's over the summer and got a full-time job with a different firm right after. I'm not sure why he didn't stay with us, but it does go to show that the experience will impress other firms.
Another possibility that people don't usually consider is the State Auditor. Whether you want to work for them long-term or not, they're unique in that they tend to hire several interns over the summer, whereas accounting firms usually don't because business is slow. I cold called them for an internship the summer after I finished my undergrad. I'm not exactly good at interviewing, but I still managed to get it fairly easily. I don't mean to brag, but it was one of the easier times I've had in finding a job. Things might be tighter now since that was just before everything came crashing down, but it's definitely worth a shot. Chances are you'd have to go to Raleigh for that since most of their offices are up there, but they do have a branch here in Charlotte so you might be able to work something out (for example, one guy did work in Greensboro that summer). If you were to end up in Raleigh for the summer, it's easy to sublease an apartment nearby from an NC State student, so finding a place to live shouldn't be too big of a concern.
A couple more things to consider - don't be afraid to take an internship if that's all you can find this fall. It's basically a tryout with no strings attached for either side, but if you do a good job, in all likelihood you're going to get a full-time offer. Even if you don't, they still pay well (you can expect something in the range of $20-25/hour, plus time and a half for overtime), and the money you have leftover at the end will help you weather the storm as you find something full-time.
Also, most intern and entry-level candidates look about the same on paper. They've studied accounting and hopefully have a decent GPA, but don't have a whole lot of real-world accounting experience. Those that do definitely have a leg up, but it's not the end of the world if you don't. In the end, what it comes down to (for both sides) is people and personalities. If you hit it off with the interviewer, you'll probably be invited for an office visit. Different firms do office visits different ways, but that's where most firms will decide whether they're going to give you an offer. And if you're fortunate enough to get more than one offer, go to the place with the people you like the best.
I know this has been a long post, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!
Last edited by bushpilotwannabe; 03-26-2011 at 04:17 PM..
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). Not being judgemental here myself - just giving you the advice you asked for.
