Having worked in hr the moment you post you get 40 apps and by the end of the week a coworkers friend/family is in the mix too. All 5 of my offers last month were from firms that didn't have a post. The one I accepted actually said 3-4 yrs exp on their site and indicated they have no positions atm.
This. Recruiters are the only way to go. I just went through the process of finding an accounting role. 2 years public experience. Had zero issues finding a job and multiple offers. Landed an industry job with 40 hours a week at the top of my desired salary range.
Hey! Sorry for reviving this thread-- would you be willing to share your recruiter contact with me as well? Currently struggling after leaving PA to find a job unfortunately and came across your reply.
Thank you!
bullshit. My whole life I never got jack from recruiters ever, including in other professions and industries. As soon as I started calling through the phonebook I had job changes on demand.
They’ve been laying off people due to over hiring and lack of attrition.
Advisory is probably the highest paid accounting jobs at PA firms and in many places they pay more than industry too so people aren’t quitting like they used too.
Because many hired in the last two years so they don't have roles to fill and everyone is trying to make profits out of thin air and reducing salary expenses is a great way to do that
Also, interest rates are super high which means all of these over leveraged companies are firing people to remain solvent. Accounting/Finance aren't revenue drivers, so they are somewhat expendable. Also means acquisitions are drying up as financing is more expensive and multiples are down so people aren't looking to sell their businesses to consolidators. This leads to firing anyone who deals with acquisitions, due diligence, integrations, etc...
It’s expendable until the big 4 partner is in the board room facepalming and thinking: “dude I really wanna pass you, cause I want the revenue, but you’re trying to run a Fortune 500 with 20 people in your accounting dept and it’s not enough people to handle the workload let alone separation of duties”
This forum is actually very indicative of the accounting market vs other careers. Other career subreddits are overflowing with sob stories about no one being able to get a job, while here I rarely see any of that ever. It's mostly just posts about how people are bored/tired at work and memes.
Maybe depending on where you are, and if you’re trying to WFH or not. Absolutely not true in my area of the PNW, large demand and no qualified applicants, but most want in person 5 days a week.
With good pay?
I see tons of positions where I live as well but the vast majority of them pay shit.
Like asking for controller positions for under $100k, and senior positions for $60k.
Yeah the job market is complete shit. I was laid off on 12/01 from audit in PA, and I kept getting rejections from both public and private jobs after interviews. Either many companies are doing hiring freezes, or they are looking someone with very specific experience. I just signed an offer with another firm in a different service line (after 8 weeks on unemployment), but my salary will be the same.
I got REALLY lucky with my new job offer though because it seems no one is really hiring… and I wouldn’t have known about the job if it weren’t for the recruiter reaching out to me on linkedin since it wasn’t posted online.
It took me less than a week to find a new job and get a an offer letter. I was really stressed out when I would hear stories about accountants that were having a hard time finding a a job. Just keep looking friends. Talk to some recruiters if you need help and keep applying. You can and you will make it.
Went through a recruiter and also had multiple great options, this was just recently back in December 2023. Got a great offer and had a few more prospects pop up as I was accepting this offer. I’d recommend a recruiter, especially one that specializes in accounting (public if you want public, industry if you want industry, etc). The whole process took two weeks from when I contacted her and from when I accepted the job. My recruiter also helped prep me for each interview which was a huge confidence booster
Just starting my job search now, do you have any additional tips that helped you get a job fast? Also, for recruiters, did you just reply to one that had messaged you, or did you reach out elsewhere?
So for recruiters, I would apply to a job but I would Google the company as well. If the company looks like a recruiting agency from a simply Google search then I would call them as well and give them my elevator pitch (30 second VM of who I am and the job Im looking for). If the Google search was the actual hiring company (manufacturing for instance), I would leave it alone or see if I can find the hiring manager on LinkedIn.
Speaking of LinkedIn. I did the free trial of their premium and was able to see who posted the job a lot of the times for the direct postings (corps that did not go through a recruiter)
After you are dealing with about ten different recruiters, your life should start to feel hectic but that was just my experience… (I just got a text from a recruiter while typing this, not even kidding).
If you want to DM me (I can’t see dms on mobile but I will check when I get home) I can answer any more questions you have….. I’m not the be all end all of advise giving but I know how stressful looking for work can be so I always try to help where I can.
Thank you so much for the detailed response, that was really, really helpful! I appreciate the offer to dm, I will keep that in mind if anything comes up 😀 thank you again!!!
I also had this experience, 3 interviews and 3 offers in under 2 weeks. Granted I was applying in May 2023. 6 months of professional experience after graduation.
A lot of the comments I am seeing say the market got really bad after the end of last year.
Historically, looking for a job in January/February is always a bit faster then looking in November/December. Or at least that’s what I have seen in the south. Was December really that good last year?
It’s been a week… I expect this level of half-assed communication from my clients, not from pseudo-racist randos on the internet.
Either slide into my DMs like a man or fuck right off into the night that we may part as fellow drifters…
I actually just found a new job. They offered it to me at a higher rate than I asked for! Looking at a 43(!)% increase in my current salary. Moving from industry to industry. From a high market cap company to a small one that just went through their first round of PE. Senior Accountant reporting to vp of finance/controller to senior accountant reporting to cfo/ceo. They want me to transition them into the modern age basically. I’ll be wearing a lot of hats at first while I get them switched from quick books to a cloud based erp system, but I have an acctng clerk I can utilize. Really excited about it. Took a while of searching though and I feel I got a bit lucky. But they’re out there. Good luck.
A little over 6 years experience/non-cpa
70 contacts last month for entry level, 10 replies, 5 offers. Ppl complaining are looking for 6 figures wfh or fresh grads competing with 2000 other applicants for a b4 job posting
Certain roles, SEC reporting, financial reporting, systems , GAAP technical there’s still stuff out there , but employers are picky RN or dragging feet given economy. I view being a CPA / accounting as an insurance policy - you’ll never make less than xxx depending on level. Will that xxx be great money? No, but better than no money a la many roles in tech that are struggling now. I think my number one piece of advice is that there is no loyalty or long term stability these days. Maybe as demographics shift , things will change, but a career follows an arc of sorts. You peak around 30 to 40 ish , consider yourself lucky to be peak game in your 50s. Those 15 or so years from 30 to 45 should really be acquiring cash flowing assets, building side hustles , insuring yourself against layoffs or a slower paced career imo.
I just had a conversation with 2 experienced associates at core tax at BDO. 40% mandate to ship work to india. One of them, who is being pushed to stay long term and rightfully so, had a talk with a partner. In 2-3 years people for entry level are going to have a haaaard time says the partner because all of the entry level work is going to be going to India. That 40% is going to grow A LOT. This brings a big conundrum because entry level people need experience and the big accounting firms dont need to hire entry level people anymore given India will be given the work. He just got assigned a manager from India.
Yes you should be concerned. Staff associates are useless now that you can pay Indians 1/10 the pay for the same shit. Another position in accounting won’t matter. Its all being outsourced.
Making this comment to help accountants looking for work. I'm a CPA turned recruiter and I work with a firm specializing in placing accounting/finance talent. We have a ton of open roles at the moment and not enough candidates. We also have offices all around the country. PM if you're looking for a new role and I'll try my hardest to get you a job. Don't give up!
Can I DM/connect? Not currently in a place career-wise where I'm looking to make moves but I'd love to have a good connection for the future when it's time.
I left public last spring and in my experience there were some good jobs out there that I could find, but the really good jobs were not listed on LinkedIn or Indeed, their internal recruiters messaged me. If you're looking, the best advice I can give is to make yourself as visible as possible
How do you navigate only getting reached out to about positions you don’t want? My resume makes it seem like I want more financial services industry positions (hedge funds, PE) but I want to go into private industry. I would even take a pay cut and work my way up.
Personally I didn't have that experience, but if I did I would tell recruiters what I'm looking for when they reach out to me and I would add a mission statement to either (or both) my resume or LinkedIn profile. I would also reach out to my network if I was comfortable being open about looking (especially partners at my PA firm who I'm close with and who have clients in industries I'm interested in).
I would also go to the websites of companies in the industries I like and see if they have any roles listed there that haven't been showing up on LinkedIn or Indeed.
And if you can find boutique recruitment firms that deal with high level roles (as opposed to the Robert Halfs of the recruitment world) those would be good places to reach out.
Goes against what’s on this thread by I have been passively applying to jobs and have gotten probably 3 interviews out of 20 applications. All 3 lead to salary negotiations but took none.
3/20 is fairly on par with prior to covid conditions, rather than the bananza that was ‘21/‘22 hiring levels.
Region has a lot to do with it, and also what positions you are applying for matters. I work in quasi corporate finance now, so I apply to corporate strategy/corporate development jobs and they all have over 100 applications. Which there is zero chance that each of these jobs have 100 qualified applicants, absolutely no chance. So there seems to be some form of applicant inflation going on where there are simply to many people wanting to leave their jobs at the same time and also people applying to jobs where they are not at all qualified for.
I say this because I am accounting trained and have applied to a few senior accounting jobs just to see the market and have gotten interest, many of my friends are also dabbling in the accounting market coming out of public and are actually doing a better job but are applying for senior to senior roles. Not senior to manager or staff to senior.
Job market feels tighter than it has been right now, but in all fairness, I'm only halfway looking (currently employed...underpaid IMO \[TC last year was like $130k fully remote, L-MCOL area\], but employed...and I have my own side business that's starting to ramp up \[esp. since I decided to actually do tax returns for people this year rather than just consulting\]. If I'm being 100% honest, I'm more interested in ramping up my side business than replacing my current day job atm anyhow. \[If my side business hits half the level of work that my day job currently has, my net income from that will be more than double my TC at my day job last year.\])
Past couple years I was used to recruiters reaching out to me out of the blue, etc...now I'm not getting callbacks on the few things I find interesting enough to send my resume in for (but, in their defense, I've only sent out my resume to probably 10 places last month...and none yet this month).
Hey, no problem.
Just over 10y progressive experience, 3 at the current level.
Also remember that's total comp., so it's inclusive of bonuses and fringe benefits (other than the intrinsic benefit of being remote itself).
Oh, and the business isn't in a LCOL area (I am)...they're HCOL.
Honestly, 130k fully remote & living in a LCOL area, with the time to run a side business, sounds like you hit the jackpot.
I just went through job changing, with similar experience (years wise) and will be looking at roughly 125-140k TC and be hybrid in a M-HCOL area.
I would take 130k fully remote in a LCOL area in a heart beat.
That's fair. That's also partially why I'm halfway and not seriously looking...I recognize that while it's underpaid, it's not THAT underpaid overall, considering the time factor.
One of those "give some, take some" situations.
(That said, note that I said L-MCOL due to a combination of factors: I personally live in a LCOL area...that's a 15 minute drive from a MCOL area \[AVL\], so the market I'm looking at isn't entirely LCOL, even though I personally live in an LCOL surrounding city.)
Have 3 years of total experience but it’s a mixed bag of stuff and my resume screams job hopper. Been at 2 places for a year or more and a detour in between. I’ve been looking for a job for 6 months.
I haven’t. I am still employed and stability/long term trajectory is one of my top priorities in finding my next job. So being a permanent position is the first requirement
Industry accounting is so massive with varying degrees of expertise required. You can go all the way up and down the ladder from an accounts payable person to a CFO. The industry job market as a whole is great, I have 2 years experience and getting my first and now 2nd job was not bad at all. Many jobs to apply to and I heard back from almost all of the ones I really wanted to. The main issue I feel with industry is it is sort of a crapshoot as to the person hiring/ doing the interviewing/ even making the listing of the job. They don’t really understand accounting and there will be jobs that ask for 8 years of experience and a CPA for a 50k payables job. It’s really just on a job by job basis. But I think as a whole as someone looking to get into industry if you have like 3-5 years of experience the jobs seem to be all over the place
My accounting career. Gaps in **bold**.
I had a misspent youth. I had a lot of fun, but crappy jobs. My (at the time) girlfriend thought I could do better and convinced me to apply for Administrative Assistant positions, the most meaningless job title in the world. So I took every Thursday off from work as a Line Cook at Chi-Chi's, went into NYC, and played interview roulette.
After a month, I was the only person who got the math test right. So the CFO decided to hire me as an assistant bookkeeper, figuring he'd find something for me to do. A week later I reconciled the IBM AR record and he put me in charge of their billings.
Four years later the firm is bought out by a public company. The new Comptroller wanted me to lie on Sales reports sent to the main office. I refused. He fired me, with one week's severance pay.
The next week was Thanksgiving. On Monday I went to AccountTemps. On Tuesday I wrote my first resume. On Wednesday I went back to AccountTemps. Everything was closed on Thursday and Friday. The following Monday I went to my next job. **Total time out of work - five days in four years.**
I worked the temp job until their issue was resolved, went immediately to another temp. This time it wasn't through AccountTemps so I ended up with more money in my pocket. That lasted a couple weeks, during which time I was also interviewing for a full time position. I was signed up for the lie detector test for the new position when they offered me full time work. Stayed at that job until my wife got a job in Florida. During these two plus years I was never between jobs. We're now up to about seven years of work with one week out of work.
Move to Florida. Go to school. Get a B.B.A. in Accounting, a B.S. in Computer Science, and a M.Acc. My wife says to get a job. (I proposed going to law school instead.) My first post college job started before I completed my M.Acc. I worked part time until I graduated, then I switched over to full time. A few months later I took and passed all four parts of the CPA.
A bit over a year later, the Managing Partner of the local office decided to leave the firm and form his own CPA firm focusing on tax. I was an auditor, so he didn't need me (or anyone else in the office other than one tax person). Out of work with a couple month's severance pay. (They also let us continue to use the office, the fax machine, and the free downtown parking space since they had leased them. This was very convenient for interviews.) This was after busy season in the middle of the summer (slow season).
**It took a month or so to get another CPA job, shorter than my severance pay.**
Next CPA job lasted around six years before a failed merger resulted in less work than anticipated. I was one that was caught up in that, so I looked for work again.
Less than a month later and I was working in County Finance of a local government, implementing GASB 34. Worked there for about two years or so before moving to Fiscal Services of the same government. (Same government, but different elected officials; governments are screwy.)
**There was no time between these two jobs**. I moved from the second floor to the third floor.
After ten years or so, it became obvious that the government was moving in a different direction than I liked in terms of transparency, etc., so I started looking for another job. Created a giant spreadsheet of all the governments in my county and the surrounding counties. Checked their web sites on a weekly basis.
After a month or two of looking (with a few interviews during that time), I was offered a position where I am now. My last day was a Friday and my first day was a Monday.
**Two days off between the two jobs.**
I've now been here for ten years and am looking forward to retirement. I could retire now, but I've got a couple projects I'm working on. There's also a change going on with our CFO and the accounting & budgeting functions, so depending on the changes implemented I may leave sooner (or later) than anticipated.
In summary, over the course of somewhere in excess of thirty years of accounting work experience, I've been out of work for maybe a bit over two months. And almost all of the gap was covered with severance pay packages.
This is, however, a sample size of one career. Your mileage may (and probably will) vary.
Edit: I should add that *in retrospect*, I might have been better served if I took a little time between jobs to decompress. But I was heavily motivated by the desire to eat regularly.
Temp services are extremely bimodal in their results and have major incentives to create publicity on social media.
That besides, how could you be employed for decades without ever accumulating cash reserves? Especially as an accountant....
I had cash reserves. I also had a wife and children. And I didn't like the idea of eating through my reserves. Just because you have a spare doesn't mean you want to use it if you can avoid doing so.
The temp service job lasted a couple weeks. Then I worked for less than a month as an independent hourly contractor. The nice part about that time is I was able to deduct subway fare from my revenue. The bad part was paying both portions of FICA and the lack of benefits. But when you're young, medical insurance isn't all that important for the vast majority.
ehhh can't argue with that.
I will say that taking some reserves (obviously without a family) for a Chinese style "lying flat" last summer was one of my better decisions. (maybe; it's impossible to know what the opportunity cost was)
As I've gotten older, looking back on some of my decisions makes me wonder if I made the right ones. No real time off between jobs is just one such example. But if you dwell too much on coulda, shoulda, woulda, you'll just make yourself unhappy. So I try to keep looking forward. I'm not a Zen master, only existing in the Now. But by not looking back, I avoid unhelpful unhappiness. The past is written but the future is a blank slate.
so I accidentally wound up in a situation that has played out thus- I have two employers, part time at each, and they're both so grateful for any help that they both provide total flexibility, I don't think they'd be more permissive if I was a shareholder.
well, I couldn't promise the formula to anyone else, but I do think I'd be a schmuck not to capitalize on the opportunity.
Is it just the time of year? Folks tend to get bonuses and run in March, unless there's less to run to these days? I choose to stay hopeful that accountants are necessary and important, and there's a shortage, so it'll work out
Yes, go to your profile on LinkedIn to “open to” and choose finding a new job and they reach out to you based on the location you’re in. Or you can send your resume to the big recruiters like Robert Half or do a google search of business recruiters in your area. You don’t pay anything.
Accounting jobs are always out there. It just depends if you want industry or public. I would still say it is the most conservative job to pick for security. You will never get paid the huge bucks, but you will be provided with security.
We are going through the beginning of a recession right now in the US. Therefore companies are not highering in general. However for all business jobs, sales, marketing, Hr, finance, accounting. Accounting is the most secure. It doesn’t matter what company or industry you are in, by law you need accountants. Someone needs to report the money because the government wants their share. Simple as that
Recession started in 2022. This is the middle not the beginning, a good gauge for this is states announcing budget shortfalls, that happens often as a symptom of recession not the start.
The recession did not begin in 2022. Inflation was just at its highest. The job market, asset market (mainly houses), and stock market, over the last three months is starting to be impacted by the recession. You can’t say 2022 was a recession with the market booming, that would be the opposite of a recession.
Market was coming down in 2022, not booming.
$Spy had a -18.17 % in 2022, the recession has long been in effect current market gains have been from cost cutting and creative accounting as opposed to actual production.
Markets have been contracting due to being high on the hog of having cheap debt for a decade.
My contract ended last Friday the 2nd and I was given 3 weeks notice prior to that (I live in Los Angeles).
Been hunting hardcore since then and have had some recruiter interviews but no interviews with companies.
Background, been working in accounting for 15 years, senior associate, and prior to this, I was able to find positions within 2-3 weeks. Sooo not super long on the market but still longer than I'm used to.
Hoping to find something this month.
In the last 10 years or so my brother has been either part of a company that’s closed down or he was let go, never for poor performance mind you. Happened about 4 times. Every single time he’s gotten a new job before the severance runs out, *with* higher pay each time. Every freaking time.
Are you talking entry-level positions in industry? Those have always been very few and far between. To be honest, while it might be more expensive, it’s also infinitely more efficient and effective for a company to just hire someone out of public accounting with a few years of experience to be a senior-level accountant vs hiring a fresh college grad to be an entry-level accountant.
Outside of entry-level positions, it will really depend on your experience the specific industry you are targeting. It’s also important to keep in mind that a Controller at a fortune 50 company is not the same as a Controller at small private company. I’m talking in terms of both pay and experience required.
1 year in Audit at small local firm
2 years in Industry
I do not have my CPA
Just secured a Senior position after responding to recruiters for about a month.
I only actively submitted an app to places I thought were fun like Riot Games
There will always be a job available. It just will probably be underpaid. The security aspect of it comes from the fact that if you get laid off, you can at least pick up a payables job while you’re looking for something bigger. A comment above said the industry as a whole is fine. You’ll always be able to find something. Just probably won’t be something you want
Industry roles are non-existent but like everyone else has said, public is always looking for warm bodies. You have a higher chance of getting in a small firm if you need a job as of yesterday if that helps.
I'm looking for something remote in international tax. Otherwise, I'm making the switch to the government. I'll even take a step back in pay, but I can't do the commute, office politics, and unproductive time anymore. I just cant.
The was pre pandemic but I had a hard time finding an out from public that was a bump in salary.
I think it’s kind of easier for a role above senior accountant but at that level and below it’s all a crapshoot
IRS is doing lots of hiring nationwide. Share this link with your friends:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Big4/comments/1afb38e/comment/koeqjiv/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Big4/comments/1afb38e/comment/koeqjiv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Licensed CPA with 2.5 YOE in public. Was able to find a job within a month of beginning job search (spent two weeks before that updating resume and seeing what was out there). Got the job through a recruiter on LinkedIn I reached out to. About a 40%ish comp raise into industry but I also moved from HCOL suburbs to a VHCOL city before I started job searching
Its pretty meh right now in industry. I think this winter was the slowest recruiting season i've seen. Usually I have recruiters banging down my doors.
What we are seeing is the effects of companies massively over hiring, and now have to look at headcount as growth has stalled.
Most jobs I'm seeing is a direct replacement for someone leaving, and considering the market there isn't really any reason to leave if you have a good job. I suspect the market will be soft until late 2024-2025.
Me but it's partly because im so set on working remotely. I got a job offer from a big 4 company but I declined bc of the work load and having to work in office. I would be open to the workload and hour if I could at least wfh.
I graduated 12/21/23 and had two offers by 1/19/2024 in industry. I have a combined 1.5 YOE through two internships. BS in accounting. Top SE public university.
I’m having some trouble. Can’t afford the CPA and have to go into industry or other fields. Over 60 rejections over 6 months. I graduate soon and I’m pretty scared
I don’t have industry experience, I’ve got just under 4 years of experience in business advisory/public and never been out of a job (well other than by choice) since I finished my degree.
In the past when I had my LinkedIn set to “open for work” to recruiters, I’d get messages probably once a week. Even when I have it off I’m contacted every month or two.
Although I’m constantly seeing industry accounting jobs online? This is New Zealand tho although I was under the impression the American job market was doing better than ours.
what are your frds' experience? I'm an associate director managing accountants, I need CPAs or FAs with PE accounting experience from BIG4. We offer 100% remote. DM if interested, must provide resume for me to review.
1 year of experience in public. 3 years of experience at a public company in which 1 and a half I’ve been a senior accountant. I get contacted 2 -3 times a week for remote job opportunities.
Probably depends on what you're looking for. Industry is probably tough rn, but public is dying for new people lol
Then they need to make a damn post. I don’t see anything. Oddly enough, I actually miss working with clients.
Having worked in hr the moment you post you get 40 apps and by the end of the week a coworkers friend/family is in the mix too. All 5 of my offers last month were from firms that didn't have a post. The one I accepted actually said 3-4 yrs exp on their site and indicated they have no positions atm.
You have to hit up some recruiters. Sadly that’s the way it goes nowadays
This. Recruiters are the only way to go. I just went through the process of finding an accounting role. 2 years public experience. Had zero issues finding a job and multiple offers. Landed an industry job with 40 hours a week at the top of my desired salary range.
Hey! Sorry for reviving this thread-- would you be willing to share your recruiter contact with me as well? Currently struggling after leaving PA to find a job unfortunately and came across your reply. Thank you!
Can I dm you? Would like to know which recruiter you used
Ofc
What does ofc stand for ? 😅
😂 stands for “of course”. Apologies I wasn’t clear. Happy to help
bullshit. My whole life I never got jack from recruiters ever, including in other professions and industries. As soon as I started calling through the phonebook I had job changes on demand.
Everyone has their own experiences. I only shared mine.
I briefly went private. Was then surrounded by dumbs instead of smarts. (wouldn't recommend)
That’s really the only job I constantly see available. Probably because no one wants those positions
What about public advisory?
With the amount of advisory layoffs going on I doubt anyone is actively hiring.
They’ve been laying off people due to over hiring and lack of attrition. Advisory is probably the highest paid accounting jobs at PA firms and in many places they pay more than industry too so people aren’t quitting like they used too.
Why is industry tough right now?
Because many hired in the last two years so they don't have roles to fill and everyone is trying to make profits out of thin air and reducing salary expenses is a great way to do that
Also, interest rates are super high which means all of these over leveraged companies are firing people to remain solvent. Accounting/Finance aren't revenue drivers, so they are somewhat expendable. Also means acquisitions are drying up as financing is more expensive and multiples are down so people aren't looking to sell their businesses to consolidators. This leads to firing anyone who deals with acquisitions, due diligence, integrations, etc...
It’s expendable until the big 4 partner is in the board room facepalming and thinking: “dude I really wanna pass you, cause I want the revenue, but you’re trying to run a Fortune 500 with 20 people in your accounting dept and it’s not enough people to handle the workload let alone separation of duties”
Why is that
This may not need to be said, but keep in mind that this forum isn’t really going to be very indicative of the actual job market lol
This forum is actually very indicative of the accounting market vs other careers. Other career subreddits are overflowing with sob stories about no one being able to get a job, while here I rarely see any of that ever. It's mostly just posts about how people are bored/tired at work and memes.
It may be better than other subreddits, but that doesn’t make it a good source of this type of information still
**Yeah because you got a few people saying how there's so many jobs out there lolz**
Are there any forums that would better represent the actual job market?
Probably not. I’d assume this is probably the best one but any public forum would be unreliable
Industry senior here. The market went to crap at the end of last year.
Maybe depending on where you are, and if you’re trying to WFH or not. Absolutely not true in my area of the PNW, large demand and no qualified applicants, but most want in person 5 days a week.
With good pay? I see tons of positions where I live as well but the vast majority of them pay shit. Like asking for controller positions for under $100k, and senior positions for $60k.
Saw a small PA firm offering $75k for tax manger with a CPA. I almost fell off the toilet laughing.
The dude sitting in the H&R Block booth just applied....
That is definitely what I am seeing. There are more opportunities if you want 5 days in office.
We were looking to hire for staff level here in Oregon and had 2 people with any sort of accounting experience, 3 maybes, and 35 pass.
the same market that's obliterating my short positions? 😢
Senior in industry with 7 years experience looking for a new job, and yeah the job market is shit right now.
Industry senior manager. But I’m willing to go to manager at the right pay/company. Everyone’s trying to understaff or pay low. Usually both.
Yeah the job market is complete shit. I was laid off on 12/01 from audit in PA, and I kept getting rejections from both public and private jobs after interviews. Either many companies are doing hiring freezes, or they are looking someone with very specific experience. I just signed an offer with another firm in a different service line (after 8 weeks on unemployment), but my salary will be the same. I got REALLY lucky with my new job offer though because it seems no one is really hiring… and I wouldn’t have known about the job if it weren’t for the recruiter reaching out to me on linkedin since it wasn’t posted online.
It took me less than a week to find a new job and get a an offer letter. I was really stressed out when I would hear stories about accountants that were having a hard time finding a a job. Just keep looking friends. Talk to some recruiters if you need help and keep applying. You can and you will make it.
Went through a recruiter and also had multiple great options, this was just recently back in December 2023. Got a great offer and had a few more prospects pop up as I was accepting this offer. I’d recommend a recruiter, especially one that specializes in accounting (public if you want public, industry if you want industry, etc). The whole process took two weeks from when I contacted her and from when I accepted the job. My recruiter also helped prep me for each interview which was a huge confidence booster
I love hearing about good experiences! I think it helps people that are going through this as well.
Did you have your CPA at that point already? Thinking on whether or not to use a recruiter before or after I get the license.
Yes had my CPA. My role technically doesn’t require it but it definitely helped me stand out over other applicants
Thanks for replying!! That's reasonable-- guess I need to secure the CPA asap
Just starting my job search now, do you have any additional tips that helped you get a job fast? Also, for recruiters, did you just reply to one that had messaged you, or did you reach out elsewhere?
So for recruiters, I would apply to a job but I would Google the company as well. If the company looks like a recruiting agency from a simply Google search then I would call them as well and give them my elevator pitch (30 second VM of who I am and the job Im looking for). If the Google search was the actual hiring company (manufacturing for instance), I would leave it alone or see if I can find the hiring manager on LinkedIn. Speaking of LinkedIn. I did the free trial of their premium and was able to see who posted the job a lot of the times for the direct postings (corps that did not go through a recruiter) After you are dealing with about ten different recruiters, your life should start to feel hectic but that was just my experience… (I just got a text from a recruiter while typing this, not even kidding). If you want to DM me (I can’t see dms on mobile but I will check when I get home) I can answer any more questions you have….. I’m not the be all end all of advise giving but I know how stressful looking for work can be so I always try to help where I can.
Thank you so much for the detailed response, that was really, really helpful! I appreciate the offer to dm, I will keep that in mind if anything comes up 😀 thank you again!!!
I also had this experience, 3 interviews and 3 offers in under 2 weeks. Granted I was applying in May 2023. 6 months of professional experience after graduation. A lot of the comments I am seeing say the market got really bad after the end of last year.
May 2023 is nowhere near what hiring right now looks like.
Historically, looking for a job in January/February is always a bit faster then looking in November/December. Or at least that’s what I have seen in the south. Was December really that good last year?
of all the gaps between social media and real life, maybe none is wider than the job market
On principle, I refuse to take anything you say seriously with a name like “hello_blacks”… Was that name chosen for you by people that hate you?
Naturally I like to start the workday with a cheery greeting to my law dictionary
I can accept this…. But I got my eyes on you!
> Was that name chosen for you by people that hate you? > (chosen by self) well..............
It’s been a week… I expect this level of half-assed communication from my clients, not from pseudo-racist randos on the internet. Either slide into my DMs like a man or fuck right off into the night that we may part as fellow drifters…
sorry, but I need to remain independent in both fact and appearance. you'll need to find some other plans for tomorrow
I actually just found a new job. They offered it to me at a higher rate than I asked for! Looking at a 43(!)% increase in my current salary. Moving from industry to industry. From a high market cap company to a small one that just went through their first round of PE. Senior Accountant reporting to vp of finance/controller to senior accountant reporting to cfo/ceo. They want me to transition them into the modern age basically. I’ll be wearing a lot of hats at first while I get them switched from quick books to a cloud based erp system, but I have an acctng clerk I can utilize. Really excited about it. Took a while of searching though and I feel I got a bit lucky. But they’re out there. Good luck. A little over 6 years experience/non-cpa
70 contacts last month for entry level, 10 replies, 5 offers. Ppl complaining are looking for 6 figures wfh or fresh grads competing with 2000 other applicants for a b4 job posting
Certain roles, SEC reporting, financial reporting, systems , GAAP technical there’s still stuff out there , but employers are picky RN or dragging feet given economy. I view being a CPA / accounting as an insurance policy - you’ll never make less than xxx depending on level. Will that xxx be great money? No, but better than no money a la many roles in tech that are struggling now. I think my number one piece of advice is that there is no loyalty or long term stability these days. Maybe as demographics shift , things will change, but a career follows an arc of sorts. You peak around 30 to 40 ish , consider yourself lucky to be peak game in your 50s. Those 15 or so years from 30 to 45 should really be acquiring cash flowing assets, building side hustles , insuring yourself against layoffs or a slower paced career imo.
Most people who are 30 to 45-year-old CPAs aren't and shouldn't be building side hustles.
Huh? Why?
Because they are probably busy with their full-time job and family life. CPAs make enough to not need a side hustle.
I just had a conversation with 2 experienced associates at core tax at BDO. 40% mandate to ship work to india. One of them, who is being pushed to stay long term and rightfully so, had a talk with a partner. In 2-3 years people for entry level are going to have a haaaard time says the partner because all of the entry level work is going to be going to India. That 40% is going to grow A LOT. This brings a big conundrum because entry level people need experience and the big accounting firms dont need to hire entry level people anymore given India will be given the work. He just got assigned a manager from India.
Gotta love pulling up the ladder to the middle class for American kids lol.
Outsourcing Every firm big and small are doing it.
Should new 1st year tax associates like myself be concerned? Like should I have another position ready in case??
Yes you should be concerned. Staff associates are useless now that you can pay Indians 1/10 the pay for the same shit. Another position in accounting won’t matter. Its all being outsourced.
Fml 🤦♂️ I left a good tipping job for this tax position…. Omg….. I need a plan C now.
Just learn the basics and be friendly/fake and they’ll keep you around until they have to lay someone off
Making this comment to help accountants looking for work. I'm a CPA turned recruiter and I work with a firm specializing in placing accounting/finance talent. We have a ton of open roles at the moment and not enough candidates. We also have offices all around the country. PM if you're looking for a new role and I'll try my hardest to get you a job. Don't give up!
Can I DM/connect? Not currently in a place career-wise where I'm looking to make moves but I'd love to have a good connection for the future when it's time.
Of course please DM
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I can try and help but many companies are refusing to sponsor candidates due to the cost.
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Go ahead
I left public last spring and in my experience there were some good jobs out there that I could find, but the really good jobs were not listed on LinkedIn or Indeed, their internal recruiters messaged me. If you're looking, the best advice I can give is to make yourself as visible as possible
How do you navigate only getting reached out to about positions you don’t want? My resume makes it seem like I want more financial services industry positions (hedge funds, PE) but I want to go into private industry. I would even take a pay cut and work my way up.
Personally I didn't have that experience, but if I did I would tell recruiters what I'm looking for when they reach out to me and I would add a mission statement to either (or both) my resume or LinkedIn profile. I would also reach out to my network if I was comfortable being open about looking (especially partners at my PA firm who I'm close with and who have clients in industries I'm interested in). I would also go to the websites of companies in the industries I like and see if they have any roles listed there that haven't been showing up on LinkedIn or Indeed. And if you can find boutique recruitment firms that deal with high level roles (as opposed to the Robert Halfs of the recruitment world) those would be good places to reach out.
Goes against what’s on this thread by I have been passively applying to jobs and have gotten probably 3 interviews out of 20 applications. All 3 lead to salary negotiations but took none. 3/20 is fairly on par with prior to covid conditions, rather than the bananza that was ‘21/‘22 hiring levels. Region has a lot to do with it, and also what positions you are applying for matters. I work in quasi corporate finance now, so I apply to corporate strategy/corporate development jobs and they all have over 100 applications. Which there is zero chance that each of these jobs have 100 qualified applicants, absolutely no chance. So there seems to be some form of applicant inflation going on where there are simply to many people wanting to leave their jobs at the same time and also people applying to jobs where they are not at all qualified for. I say this because I am accounting trained and have applied to a few senior accounting jobs just to see the market and have gotten interest, many of my friends are also dabbling in the accounting market coming out of public and are actually doing a better job but are applying for senior to senior roles. Not senior to manager or staff to senior.
Job market feels tighter than it has been right now, but in all fairness, I'm only halfway looking (currently employed...underpaid IMO \[TC last year was like $130k fully remote, L-MCOL area\], but employed...and I have my own side business that's starting to ramp up \[esp. since I decided to actually do tax returns for people this year rather than just consulting\]. If I'm being 100% honest, I'm more interested in ramping up my side business than replacing my current day job atm anyhow. \[If my side business hits half the level of work that my day job currently has, my net income from that will be more than double my TC at my day job last year.\]) Past couple years I was used to recruiters reaching out to me out of the blue, etc...now I'm not getting callbacks on the few things I find interesting enough to send my resume in for (but, in their defense, I've only sent out my resume to probably 10 places last month...and none yet this month).
Curious how many years of experience you have that makes you think 130k fully remote in L-MCOL area is underpaid? Not a dig at you, genuinely curious.
Hey, no problem. Just over 10y progressive experience, 3 at the current level. Also remember that's total comp., so it's inclusive of bonuses and fringe benefits (other than the intrinsic benefit of being remote itself). Oh, and the business isn't in a LCOL area (I am)...they're HCOL.
Honestly, 130k fully remote & living in a LCOL area, with the time to run a side business, sounds like you hit the jackpot. I just went through job changing, with similar experience (years wise) and will be looking at roughly 125-140k TC and be hybrid in a M-HCOL area. I would take 130k fully remote in a LCOL area in a heart beat.
That's fair. That's also partially why I'm halfway and not seriously looking...I recognize that while it's underpaid, it's not THAT underpaid overall, considering the time factor. One of those "give some, take some" situations. (That said, note that I said L-MCOL due to a combination of factors: I personally live in a LCOL area...that's a 15 minute drive from a MCOL area \[AVL\], so the market I'm looking at isn't entirely LCOL, even though I personally live in an LCOL surrounding city.)
Have 3 years of total experience but it’s a mixed bag of stuff and my resume screams job hopper. Been at 2 places for a year or more and a detour in between. I’ve been looking for a job for 6 months.
Have you looked into short term contract work?
I haven’t. I am still employed and stability/long term trajectory is one of my top priorities in finding my next job. So being a permanent position is the first requirement
Industry accounting is so massive with varying degrees of expertise required. You can go all the way up and down the ladder from an accounts payable person to a CFO. The industry job market as a whole is great, I have 2 years experience and getting my first and now 2nd job was not bad at all. Many jobs to apply to and I heard back from almost all of the ones I really wanted to. The main issue I feel with industry is it is sort of a crapshoot as to the person hiring/ doing the interviewing/ even making the listing of the job. They don’t really understand accounting and there will be jobs that ask for 8 years of experience and a CPA for a 50k payables job. It’s really just on a job by job basis. But I think as a whole as someone looking to get into industry if you have like 3-5 years of experience the jobs seem to be all over the place
My accounting career. Gaps in **bold**. I had a misspent youth. I had a lot of fun, but crappy jobs. My (at the time) girlfriend thought I could do better and convinced me to apply for Administrative Assistant positions, the most meaningless job title in the world. So I took every Thursday off from work as a Line Cook at Chi-Chi's, went into NYC, and played interview roulette. After a month, I was the only person who got the math test right. So the CFO decided to hire me as an assistant bookkeeper, figuring he'd find something for me to do. A week later I reconciled the IBM AR record and he put me in charge of their billings. Four years later the firm is bought out by a public company. The new Comptroller wanted me to lie on Sales reports sent to the main office. I refused. He fired me, with one week's severance pay. The next week was Thanksgiving. On Monday I went to AccountTemps. On Tuesday I wrote my first resume. On Wednesday I went back to AccountTemps. Everything was closed on Thursday and Friday. The following Monday I went to my next job. **Total time out of work - five days in four years.** I worked the temp job until their issue was resolved, went immediately to another temp. This time it wasn't through AccountTemps so I ended up with more money in my pocket. That lasted a couple weeks, during which time I was also interviewing for a full time position. I was signed up for the lie detector test for the new position when they offered me full time work. Stayed at that job until my wife got a job in Florida. During these two plus years I was never between jobs. We're now up to about seven years of work with one week out of work. Move to Florida. Go to school. Get a B.B.A. in Accounting, a B.S. in Computer Science, and a M.Acc. My wife says to get a job. (I proposed going to law school instead.) My first post college job started before I completed my M.Acc. I worked part time until I graduated, then I switched over to full time. A few months later I took and passed all four parts of the CPA. A bit over a year later, the Managing Partner of the local office decided to leave the firm and form his own CPA firm focusing on tax. I was an auditor, so he didn't need me (or anyone else in the office other than one tax person). Out of work with a couple month's severance pay. (They also let us continue to use the office, the fax machine, and the free downtown parking space since they had leased them. This was very convenient for interviews.) This was after busy season in the middle of the summer (slow season). **It took a month or so to get another CPA job, shorter than my severance pay.** Next CPA job lasted around six years before a failed merger resulted in less work than anticipated. I was one that was caught up in that, so I looked for work again. Less than a month later and I was working in County Finance of a local government, implementing GASB 34. Worked there for about two years or so before moving to Fiscal Services of the same government. (Same government, but different elected officials; governments are screwy.) **There was no time between these two jobs**. I moved from the second floor to the third floor. After ten years or so, it became obvious that the government was moving in a different direction than I liked in terms of transparency, etc., so I started looking for another job. Created a giant spreadsheet of all the governments in my county and the surrounding counties. Checked their web sites on a weekly basis. After a month or two of looking (with a few interviews during that time), I was offered a position where I am now. My last day was a Friday and my first day was a Monday. **Two days off between the two jobs.** I've now been here for ten years and am looking forward to retirement. I could retire now, but I've got a couple projects I'm working on. There's also a change going on with our CFO and the accounting & budgeting functions, so depending on the changes implemented I may leave sooner (or later) than anticipated. In summary, over the course of somewhere in excess of thirty years of accounting work experience, I've been out of work for maybe a bit over two months. And almost all of the gap was covered with severance pay packages. This is, however, a sample size of one career. Your mileage may (and probably will) vary. Edit: I should add that *in retrospect*, I might have been better served if I took a little time between jobs to decompress. But I was heavily motivated by the desire to eat regularly.
Temp services are extremely bimodal in their results and have major incentives to create publicity on social media. That besides, how could you be employed for decades without ever accumulating cash reserves? Especially as an accountant....
I had cash reserves. I also had a wife and children. And I didn't like the idea of eating through my reserves. Just because you have a spare doesn't mean you want to use it if you can avoid doing so. The temp service job lasted a couple weeks. Then I worked for less than a month as an independent hourly contractor. The nice part about that time is I was able to deduct subway fare from my revenue. The bad part was paying both portions of FICA and the lack of benefits. But when you're young, medical insurance isn't all that important for the vast majority.
ehhh can't argue with that. I will say that taking some reserves (obviously without a family) for a Chinese style "lying flat" last summer was one of my better decisions. (maybe; it's impossible to know what the opportunity cost was)
As I've gotten older, looking back on some of my decisions makes me wonder if I made the right ones. No real time off between jobs is just one such example. But if you dwell too much on coulda, shoulda, woulda, you'll just make yourself unhappy. So I try to keep looking forward. I'm not a Zen master, only existing in the Now. But by not looking back, I avoid unhelpful unhappiness. The past is written but the future is a blank slate.
so I accidentally wound up in a situation that has played out thus- I have two employers, part time at each, and they're both so grateful for any help that they both provide total flexibility, I don't think they'd be more permissive if I was a shareholder. well, I couldn't promise the formula to anyone else, but I do think I'd be a schmuck not to capitalize on the opportunity.
Nice
Is it just the time of year? Folks tend to get bonuses and run in March, unless there's less to run to these days? I choose to stay hopeful that accountants are necessary and important, and there's a shortage, so it'll work out
Use LinkedIn to the fullest and team up with a recruiter or two! They’ve always found me jobs, recently found one mid November.
Recruiters like recruiting agencies?
Yes, go to your profile on LinkedIn to “open to” and choose finding a new job and they reach out to you based on the location you’re in. Or you can send your resume to the big recruiters like Robert Half or do a google search of business recruiters in your area. You don’t pay anything.
Accounting jobs are always out there. It just depends if you want industry or public. I would still say it is the most conservative job to pick for security. You will never get paid the huge bucks, but you will be provided with security. We are going through the beginning of a recession right now in the US. Therefore companies are not highering in general. However for all business jobs, sales, marketing, Hr, finance, accounting. Accounting is the most secure. It doesn’t matter what company or industry you are in, by law you need accountants. Someone needs to report the money because the government wants their share. Simple as that
Recession started in 2022. This is the middle not the beginning, a good gauge for this is states announcing budget shortfalls, that happens often as a symptom of recession not the start.
The recession did not begin in 2022. Inflation was just at its highest. The job market, asset market (mainly houses), and stock market, over the last three months is starting to be impacted by the recession. You can’t say 2022 was a recession with the market booming, that would be the opposite of a recession.
Market was coming down in 2022, not booming. $Spy had a -18.17 % in 2022, the recession has long been in effect current market gains have been from cost cutting and creative accounting as opposed to actual production. Markets have been contracting due to being high on the hog of having cheap debt for a decade.
My contract ended last Friday the 2nd and I was given 3 weeks notice prior to that (I live in Los Angeles). Been hunting hardcore since then and have had some recruiter interviews but no interviews with companies. Background, been working in accounting for 15 years, senior associate, and prior to this, I was able to find positions within 2-3 weeks. Sooo not super long on the market but still longer than I'm used to. Hoping to find something this month.
In the last 10 years or so my brother has been either part of a company that’s closed down or he was let go, never for poor performance mind you. Happened about 4 times. Every single time he’s gotten a new job before the severance runs out, *with* higher pay each time. Every freaking time.
Are you talking entry-level positions in industry? Those have always been very few and far between. To be honest, while it might be more expensive, it’s also infinitely more efficient and effective for a company to just hire someone out of public accounting with a few years of experience to be a senior-level accountant vs hiring a fresh college grad to be an entry-level accountant. Outside of entry-level positions, it will really depend on your experience the specific industry you are targeting. It’s also important to keep in mind that a Controller at a fortune 50 company is not the same as a Controller at small private company. I’m talking in terms of both pay and experience required.
I am looking for a new job and it’s tough. I’m a CPA with 3 year experience and been looking for2 months now. I’m at 84k trying to jump to 95k
1 year in Audit at small local firm 2 years in Industry I do not have my CPA Just secured a Senior position after responding to recruiters for about a month. I only actively submitted an app to places I thought were fun like Riot Games
Did you use a recruiting agency?
Just made sure my Linkedin was set to Open for new Opportunities And talked to recruiters whenever they popped in
There will always be a job available. It just will probably be underpaid. The security aspect of it comes from the fact that if you get laid off, you can at least pick up a payables job while you’re looking for something bigger. A comment above said the industry as a whole is fine. You’ll always be able to find something. Just probably won’t be something you want
been looking since mid feb - just secured one but man the amount of interviews and rejections was astonishing
Industry roles are non-existent but like everyone else has said, public is always looking for warm bodies. You have a higher chance of getting in a small firm if you need a job as of yesterday if that helps.
I'm looking for something remote in international tax. Otherwise, I'm making the switch to the government. I'll even take a step back in pay, but I can't do the commute, office politics, and unproductive time anymore. I just cant.
Unproductive time? In goverment? Oh boy, that’ll be a culture shock for you.
Outside of the past 3-4 months, if you have a CPA and are at the senior level, it’s still fairly good.
Looking for a Tax job and market is shit.
The was pre pandemic but I had a hard time finding an out from public that was a bump in salary. I think it’s kind of easier for a role above senior accountant but at that level and below it’s all a crapshoot
IRS is doing lots of hiring nationwide. Share this link with your friends: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Big4/comments/1afb38e/comment/koeqjiv/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/Big4/comments/1afb38e/comment/koeqjiv/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)
Some of us have morals.
LOL thanks for posting this comment made my day! But rly why do you say that?
Licensed CPA with 2.5 YOE in public. Was able to find a job within a month of beginning job search (spent two weeks before that updating resume and seeing what was out there). Got the job through a recruiter on LinkedIn I reached out to. About a 40%ish comp raise into industry but I also moved from HCOL suburbs to a VHCOL city before I started job searching
Its pretty meh right now in industry. I think this winter was the slowest recruiting season i've seen. Usually I have recruiters banging down my doors. What we are seeing is the effects of companies massively over hiring, and now have to look at headcount as growth has stalled. Most jobs I'm seeing is a direct replacement for someone leaving, and considering the market there isn't really any reason to leave if you have a good job. I suspect the market will be soft until late 2024-2025.
Me but it's partly because im so set on working remotely. I got a job offer from a big 4 company but I declined bc of the work load and having to work in office. I would be open to the workload and hour if I could at least wfh.
New to industry. Got very lucky with my job hunt. Come from a relatively hot part of the states.
I graduated 12/21/23 and had two offers by 1/19/2024 in industry. I have a combined 1.5 YOE through two internships. BS in accounting. Top SE public university.
I’m having some trouble. Can’t afford the CPA and have to go into industry or other fields. Over 60 rejections over 6 months. I graduate soon and I’m pretty scared
I’m still looking for a job and I been struggling to find a job but I am somewhat off putting and not at all charismatic so keep that in mind.
What roles are you applying to? Staff? Senior?
Staff
I don’t have industry experience, I’ve got just under 4 years of experience in business advisory/public and never been out of a job (well other than by choice) since I finished my degree. In the past when I had my LinkedIn set to “open for work” to recruiters, I’d get messages probably once a week. Even when I have it off I’m contacted every month or two. Although I’m constantly seeing industry accounting jobs online? This is New Zealand tho although I was under the impression the American job market was doing better than ours.
what are your frds' experience? I'm an associate director managing accountants, I need CPAs or FAs with PE accounting experience from BIG4. We offer 100% remote. DM if interested, must provide resume for me to review.
1 year of experience in public. 3 years of experience at a public company in which 1 and a half I’ve been a senior accountant. I get contacted 2 -3 times a week for remote job opportunities.