Job Hunt Info/Help -- entry level accountant -- relocating from IN to Dallas (Denton: to rent)

[CRStrom]

Hello! I have been lurking here for quite some time and have found tons of useful information. I'm hoping y'all can help me with some information.

Some background: My husband and I are in our mid-30s with 3 kids who will be in 3rd, 4th and 6th grade in the fall. We live in Indiana right now. My mom lives and works in Denton and we fell in love with Dallas when we visited the first time a few years ago so we decided to move to the Dallas area when I finished my BS in Accounting.

My husband is in management at Costco and sees no problem transferring into one of the DFW stores. I am graduating next month and we would love to move to Dallas this summer. We would want to rent for a year to become familiar with the area and then buy again. We are putting our current house on the market soon.

I figure I can't really look at where to live or anything like that until I have a job. I have been doing some applying online without success. I have a trip planned to visit my mom at the end of May. Does anyone have any advice for getting an entry level accounting job in the DFW area? I don't have any actual accounting experience. Internships are few and far between where I live. I do have office work experience and I run my own gourmet cupcake business from home. I was a stay at home mom for 3 years before becoming a full time student so I haven't been in the actual workforce for 7 years. I have a 3.82/4.0 GPA and will be graduating with highest distinction.

I've been told to meet with some headhunters/employment agencies such as Parker & Lynch and Robert Half. I plan to make appointments to meet with them while I'm in TX next month.

Does anyone have any other advice?

[Restrain]

Get in touch head hunters, Monster.com, post your résumé on-line. Check out the accounting professional organization websites and look for jobs offered. Look on-line for job offerings. Finally, as you love Denton, send your resume to the local accounting firms.

We have lived here in Denton for 25 years, but are getting ready to sell and retire to FL, ready for that warm beach and a piña colida. It a great place with great schools ( but watch the elementary schools carefully -some schools are heavily impacted by Mexican immigrants and can affect the education since schools teach to the lowest denominator).
Good luck

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by Restrain

Get in touch head hunters, Monster.com, post your résumé on-line. Check out the accounting professional organization websites and look for jobs offered. Look on-line for job offerings. Finally, as you love Denton, send your resume to the local accounting firms.

We have lived here in Denton for 25 years, but are getting ready to sell and retire to FL, ready for that warm beach and a piña colida. It a great place with great schools ( but watch the elementary schools carefully -some schools are heavily impacted by Mexican immigrants and can affect the education since schools teach to the lowest denominator).
Good luck

Honestly, I wouldnt waste time with the head hunters. They will make you drive in to "interview" but in reality once you leave your resume will be dumped in the trash. Head hunters want those candidates that they can make money on (which they wont with you being entry level), or they would have a difficult time placing you (since most companies can afford to hold out for experienced candidates).

That being said, I definitely agree with posting your resume online. Also if you have a particular field you want to work in (healthcare, oil/gas, etc) then look up some of the companies here in the metroplex close to you and check out their careers section. A lot of times they wont post their jobs on careerbuilder/monster.

With your great gpa, not sure how you feel about audit? It's a lot of travel/horrible working hours for half the year, but the big 4 and even mid level audit firms will take fresh out of college grads. Wont work if you have kids/value family time.

[move4ward]

Look for other accounting alumni in Dallas. Reach out to them for informational interview. Don't confuse it with a job interview. You are asking other students from your college were able to find entry level accounting positions. They can give you the inside scoop on some of the companies that were open to hiring them.

[CRStrom]

Thanks for the advice. I have posted my resume at a number of job sites such as indeed, careerbuilder and monster. I have been applying for jobs online for a couple of months but I dug in deeper and also started going directly to corporations and firms websites to submit my resume. I also sent my resume to the Big 4 firms as well as some other top 10 accounting firms. And I reached out to a few of the employment agencies in the area.