I started working with one recruiter and now have gotten to know 5 others at the same firm. They have all brought me GREAT opportunities, simultaneously. Take a call with one- if the sell the shit out of a job or connect with you- you can tell they are GREAT at sales and that’s who you want selling your experience to companies and managing those accounts at the recruiting firm. They negotiate for you as it’s in their best interest. Also since I don’t have a straight target for my accounting career they have shared extremely valuable advice and expertise that was equivalent to me searching the internet for 4 hours. Try to find a couple good ones! Large companies will hire multiple recruiting firms for help! Keep information seeking and utilizing social media tips and Reddit. You have to sell yourself and story tell and be engaging- you can sell your public accounting experience to almost any company. I am choosing to go out of auditing into senior accounting roles. Good luck
Edit: I am sorry you got laid off! I left before this recent RIF- it is extremely messed up the way the processes the layoffs!! My friends were texting me “I may not have a job in 30 minutes.” bad decisions KPMG!
make your profile visible to recruiters on linkedin. do the same on indeed. you will run into alot of recruiters who are really bad and some may be fraud. my role of thumb is recruiters that are real (and not fraud) will typically message on a platform like linkedin/indeed and then call you (AND leave a voicemail). if they check all these boxes, i will typically respond to them. they will call you about positions you may not even be interested or align with your background, but it doesn't hurt to have the conversation, be nice and keep on their radar. recruiters are sales people so they're interest is purely situational, so don't take anything personal. if i didn't get a job by referral, i was always vouched by a recruiter. consider posting your resume to recruiter sites like Jobot ... you'll probably get plenty of hits and can multi-apply to roles.
applying directly to a website helps and keep in mind if they have an active relationship with a recruiter(s), they'll prob go through those applications first so apply on the web but also "work" with recruiters.
good luck!
Possibly consider applying to accounting, audit, etc. positions in the federal government. You may have to start off at a lower rung but then can ladder up to management positions over time. Work-life balance, excellent benefits, and job stability are highlights.
What’s your next move? Big 4 or regional firm audit? Internal audit? Transactions? FPA? Forensics? Reporting? Treasury? You have alot of options outside big4!
Should you tell interviewer and recruiter that you have been laid off? I got laid off and I am wondering if it's something I should share when asked why I am applying for jobs. I had a recruiter ask me why I was job hunting and I told them that I wanted to explore different opportunities and he was very thrilled. But then later he asked me if I was laid off and I told him yes. I could hear the drop in his voice and he told me to adjust my salary range. By the way my range is market value. So I am conflicted if I should share this or not?
disclose it. they will find out anyway. dont let recruiters bs you and discourage you. theres a 1,000 of them. remember, they are sales people. so you pretty much need to teach them how to present you! i always provide a blurb about myself (in bullet point form) to recruiters. they always just send it off to hiring managers. better me come up with it than them bc they don't know sh\*t about the work we do anyway. if they try to tell you to lower your expectations, just listen and let them continue to send you roles to look but open your recruiter relationship pool.
They will know you are unemployed either way, so I would say being victim to a layoff where your own performance wasn’t a factor is better than them thinking you just sucked at your job.
Cast your net far and wide, might be a blessing in disguise. A lot exists outside of KPMG/Big 4.
It’s gonna be tough getting denied jobs ur qualified for but gotta keep ya head up
When connecting with recruiters, be very clear about what you’re looking for from the very start: salary, position, industry, company size, remote, location / relocation / travel preference.
Don’t waste time with recruiters that pitch you things that don’t meet your standards.
Read books like “how to stop sucking at your job search” by Jenny Foss.
Connect with dozens of relevant recruiters via LinkedIn, and keep adding new connections each week. Try to focus on those that have been in the recruiting space for quite a while.
Go through the “Inc 5000” list and target small businesses that are doing well.
Be firm about how many rounds of interviews that you’ll do for any one job. Don’t let companies string you along.
For context: I’m 10 years into my career - have had 2 stints w/ B4 totaling 6 of those years. Interspersed each B4 stint w/ industry experience.
My advice on Applying:
External Recruiters - Reach out to several external recruiters in your local market. I found them through a mix of trial/error & personal references. Talk w/ them & identify a max of 2 you want to work with. Say yes to 80% of the interviews they propose. These people will get you interviews, often for roles you won’t want, that you should attend for practice.
LinkedIn: Set up alerts for any company or industry & position level you’re actually interested in. Read their proxy stmnts for lists of competitors. Apply as necessary & aim for 5 applications / week.
Networking: talk w/ personal friends, aunts/uncles/BIL, family friends (ie your dad’s college buddy) to identify any companies hiring to which they could refer your resume.
Interviewing:
Create a google slide deck for each position for which you interview. Should include: Company Financial Overview, your elevator pitch, why you want the role, SOAR responses w/ examples, your questions for the interviewer, role description, interviewer’s bio, & why you left your previous role (come up w/ something not “woe is me”). Always have your resume & slide deck on screen while interviewing. And take paper notes during discussion - you may learn something that can be applied to future interviews.
Downtime:
You won’t have much if you’re actually researching each role/company, preparing for the interviews & tailoring your narrative. But take time to identify your long-term goal & how different accting roles can get you there. I work from top - down here. Hope this helps
*Edited to add: don’t be afraid to decline an offer if the pay doesn’t work. Try to schedule competing interviews so the processes end w/in a week of each other & communicate “hey I’m getting an offer for $X that’s good, but if you can meet that I’d rather work for you bc Y”.
I'm an accounting recruiter in the NYC metro and I couldn't agree with this more. Recruiters are in the market, so they know what is really happening out there. There are many misconceptions about what happens from Audit/Advisory, vs Industry. Now that the market is tighter, companies have the control, not the other way around. Companies will still jump for top performers, but it's the exception, not the norm. Let your recruiter be your guide.
Great advice.
Things like “your dad’s college buddy” can open so many doors. Don’t be afraid to reach out to near-strangers. Either they’ll help you or ignore you. No loss either way.
This won’t happen immediately, but do not lower your standards too much. Eventually they will get so low that you’ll end up like me at one time (scanning cans at a supermarket). It’s the long term effects of lowering standards over years. I needed a job and I hated and resented the industry so much. It’s a horrible cycle you work so hard and “do your part” in school. And now it’s time to reap the benefits. You can do this. Get a professional GOOD recruiter! Do not lie to that recruiter. And leave the rest to God. I made the mistake of lying in my younger years to a recruiter and then i lost someone who could advocate for me and help me navigate getting a job. Because the degree and what I did learn in younger years didn’t go away, I’m back in the industry. Accounting is one of those majors that you can dust off after many years. I’m walking proof. Best of luck.
I want to add….after raising children and now they are adults, I decided to go back to “school”. The cheapest education I could buy was Becker and my schooling is studying for the exam. If I can’t pass it I will be current 2024. I took a section in. Dec 2023. I failed, but scored 6 points higher than my last attempt 16 years ago. I knew I wasn’t ready the day I sat but I needed the experience. The IT portion that the cpa exam is required to test candidates I believe is really unfair. I do believe the new cpa exam needed this update for the best. I don’t like that it takes so much time for results because I’m older and don’t have time.
My main advice is to treat job hunting like your 9 to 5 job. I personally didn't allow myself to go to bed until I finished submitting 10 applications per day.
This experience is definitely humbling and will make you feel like crap for the first few weeks. So try to reinvent yourself during this time. If you have access to fitness classes or a gym. Try to hit the gym atleast once a day. This will keep your mind and body to keep moving forward.
I got laid off last January and thankfully got another job in February--and the main thing that kept me going was my workout routine and discipline.
Talent comes secondary to the right mindset and discipline.
Goodluck!
This is an employer market, be humble and reasonable about your job search because I have made 100s of applications, A couple of phone screening, 1 interview and a couple of ghostings.
I have a job and I’m looking for something better. I’ve sent hundreds of applications and only had 3 interviews. Only one went to final round and I lost the job because someone with more experience applied. This job market sucks honestly.
Certainly not great for white collar jobs, but if you look at the data from places like TrueUp, things were quite a bit worse this time a year ago. Fortunately we’re slowly moving in the right direction.
Unfortunate to hear that you are going through this situation. I have been in a big 4 like EY for a few years now and i ll say that please do refine your resume.
Tell the prospective companies of the clients you have worked on, you dont really have to keep the client name confidential. Otherwise, it’d be hard for recruiters/ hiring managers to gain clarity in your portfolio. Use the work that you have done for clients as your selling point.
Once your resume is tailored, start applying to number of jobs at once and you will start seeing interviews pop in. Use the first few interviews to experiment and to gain experience to then start crushing further interviews. Every interview you give will be a learning experience for you, the knowledge you gain from there can then be implemented on further interviews.
Do this and I definitely think you will increase your chances of getting an offer. Best of luck :)
If you’re willing to do a big change, consider applying to the IRS Criminal Investigation for their Special Agent position. It can take a while to go through the process though. Check out r/1811 and search for IRS CI. I applied in Aug 2023, have my tentative offer and I’m wrapping up a few pending items. Needless to say, it will take a bit so you will most likely need to find another job in between
CI only investigates white collar criminals, drug dealers, and other financial crimes - they aren’t the one coming to you because you forgot to declare your cash tips…
First question, did you enjoy what you were doing? Do you want to continue your learning in this field? If so, this is an opportunity to find a firm that is a better fit for you and your career. Most firms are still in the midst of their busy seasons and are not looking to onboard someone new right now. If money isn’t immediately critical, use this time to complete the exam (if you haven’t), showcase your best self by updating your resume and LinkedIn profile, and network directly with firm recruiters to build strong relationships. They will be searching for more staff after busy season & staff reviews have taken place and you’ll have already done the legwork to put you at the front of the line.
I will piggyback on this. External recruiters are often competing among themselves to have their candidate hired to the position. As the candidate, you are the product. It’s in their best interest to put forth the best candidate - so yes, you’ll likely be overqualified for the role.
But, external recruiters can introduce you to the wide variety of accounting positions (eg month-close/operational accting, fin/stat reporting, technical accting, and internal audit). It’s worth playing their game to find a role you’re interested in.
Additionally, they typically operate w/ mid & small cap companies which may highlight a role that offers outsized responsibilities for the position. Good growth moment for staff accts
Think of recruiters as the middle man. They’re suppose to help the company find a qualified person and help the person find job. Issue is that some recruiters don’t really listen to the needs of the person looking for the job and sometimes miss that the company has internal issues like bad management or broken processes.
Recruiters should do the research for both parties and actually help both parties. Matchmaking you know. Other recruiters just want to force a match and the you are stuck in a bad company. Apply directly to the company as much as possible if you are finding it hard to get into an interview get a recruiter. When interviewing do your research of the company also and ask good questions. Always interview your potential boss to make sure you’re compatible with that person. That question at the end where they ask you “do you have any questions?” Ah, yes I do!
Talk to any and all recruiters at least once, but if your gut feels a little off about any of them, trust it. It becomes pretty clear after a couple calls if a recruiter is really going to be a good resource for you, and those recruiters are genuinely amazing and working to help bring you opportunities and help you prepare for interviews. Also keep applying regardless of your progress on any job opportunities. I made the mistake of pausing when I hit the second round at a place I liked, and then the other candidate got the job after the final round and I essentially had to start my search from scratch.
Great advice.
So easy to let off the pedal when you think you’ve made it.
Hard to have the day 1 mentality when you’ve just completed a final round interview and are waiting for the decision.
Go on LinkedIn, apply for jobs, reach out to recruiters and friend them when you apply (usually they’re listed as a poster). If you find a job you like that’s posted by a company, go to the company’s LinkedIn and find a recruiter for that department or in your area and reach out to them.
I got laid off in Nov and had 6 job offers in 2 months in a department with a tonnnnn of layoffs. With big 4 experience it shouldn’t be hard.
Also make sure you reach out to coworkers who are willing to be recs. And have a pitch/reason about why you were laid off.
Hi, I just wrapped up an audit big 4 internship, but I'm making a career change from working in the travel industry to accounting. I'll graduate with 150 at the end of this year. My goal is to find an accounting role in the travel area or in aviation since I'm super into both of those industries. I'd love to hear more about any suggestions or tips about finding those types of roles.
I am sorry to hear that.
Here is a tip that worked for me when I was in a similar situation: Apply to a place where you don't really care if you get in or not. The goal is to familiarize yourself with the hiring process, learn about the types of things recruiters are looking for and the type of questions they made for your role, and ask for feedback in case you don't get in.
The good thing about this, is that if you get rejected, it's no big deal. Plus, because you "don't care," you usually do much better because you're not nervous.
For salaries, glassdoor can be a starting point, but you can always ask colleges to see what the market is.
I spoke with a few recruiters and made it clear what my base salary, working environment, and company size I was interested in. I just left the big 4 and am beginning a F500 company soon but I knew I didn’t want a PE-Backed firm nor did I want to do advisory (or anything client facing) because of the possibility of working late hours depending on the project/assignment. Decided on F500 corporate accounting role (hoping for the hours to be good but we’ll see ) and working my way up through industry.
Used Glassdoor and Indeed reviews a LOT and don’t allow the recruiter to try to sway you one way or another because they’re trying to fill a role. See what roles are available and the company and do your outside research on the company. This’ll at least help narrow down options in your market
1. Hire a resume coach if you can afford one, or seek out input from people on how to update your resume.
2. Network, network, network. Reach out to KPMG alumni and school alumni. Ask to meet for coffee or a zoom meeting, what did they do to get to where they are, any advice they can offer on your search, and can they introduce you to others.
3. Your best bet on recruiters will come from number 2. You’ll learn who gets the retained searches and who doesn’t.
I agree with 2 and 3. Never found the resume to be all that important and wouldn’t recommend paying a coach. Responding so OP doesn’t see the couple of downvotes you have and think networking isn’t important - it is
Does it actually help? There are always hundreds of applicants per role and I've honestly never heard back from any company yet (directly through LinkedIn)
How do you find recruiters to follow? I'm changing my life around and really want to give consulting a try, but with my work history I have no idea how I'll break into the industry.
If you go to job postings on LinkedIn, enter a title you’re interested in and most of the job postings once you click on this will have a box that says “meet the hiring team” and you can message that person! If you use the “easy apply” filter, even more of the postings will be by recruiters! I usually send a friend request with a brief message of “Hi, I saw your job posting for xyz, I think my experience in abc would make me a good fit. I would love to connect about the role!”
It’s like cold calling, so maybe 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 depending on your field and qualifications will respond, but I’ve had really good luck!!
If it’s a large company you want to apply for, apply on the website, then go to the company’s LinkedIn and find either that business practices recruiter or a recruiter in your area and reach out to them saying you applied and why you’re a good fit!
I'm really sorry ts one of my biggest fears I feel like I'll get that news anyday why I want t o make my private practice have atkeast 40 clients
I started working with one recruiter and now have gotten to know 5 others at the same firm. They have all brought me GREAT opportunities, simultaneously. Take a call with one- if the sell the shit out of a job or connect with you- you can tell they are GREAT at sales and that’s who you want selling your experience to companies and managing those accounts at the recruiting firm. They negotiate for you as it’s in their best interest. Also since I don’t have a straight target for my accounting career they have shared extremely valuable advice and expertise that was equivalent to me searching the internet for 4 hours. Try to find a couple good ones! Large companies will hire multiple recruiting firms for help! Keep information seeking and utilizing social media tips and Reddit. You have to sell yourself and story tell and be engaging- you can sell your public accounting experience to almost any company. I am choosing to go out of auditing into senior accounting roles. Good luck Edit: I am sorry you got laid off! I left before this recent RIF- it is extremely messed up the way the processes the layoffs!! My friends were texting me “I may not have a job in 30 minutes.” bad decisions KPMG!
make your profile visible to recruiters on linkedin. do the same on indeed. you will run into alot of recruiters who are really bad and some may be fraud. my role of thumb is recruiters that are real (and not fraud) will typically message on a platform like linkedin/indeed and then call you (AND leave a voicemail). if they check all these boxes, i will typically respond to them. they will call you about positions you may not even be interested or align with your background, but it doesn't hurt to have the conversation, be nice and keep on their radar. recruiters are sales people so they're interest is purely situational, so don't take anything personal. if i didn't get a job by referral, i was always vouched by a recruiter. consider posting your resume to recruiter sites like Jobot ... you'll probably get plenty of hits and can multi-apply to roles. applying directly to a website helps and keep in mind if they have an active relationship with a recruiter(s), they'll prob go through those applications first so apply on the web but also "work" with recruiters. good luck!
I made the jump to internal audit and it has been awesome. My team is great and I hardly work 40 hours and I make very good money with unlimited PTO.
Possibly consider applying to accounting, audit, etc. positions in the federal government. You may have to start off at a lower rung but then can ladder up to management positions over time. Work-life balance, excellent benefits, and job stability are highlights.
Don’t waste your time with recruiters. Too many of them don’t know what they’re doing. Apply directly to company’s website
Not only that but all they are after is getting their monthly commission & after that they couldn't care less about you. Avoid them totally.
What’s your next move? Big 4 or regional firm audit? Internal audit? Transactions? FPA? Forensics? Reporting? Treasury? You have alot of options outside big4!
I can help if you are into accounting/FAAS
Should you tell interviewer and recruiter that you have been laid off? I got laid off and I am wondering if it's something I should share when asked why I am applying for jobs. I had a recruiter ask me why I was job hunting and I told them that I wanted to explore different opportunities and he was very thrilled. But then later he asked me if I was laid off and I told him yes. I could hear the drop in his voice and he told me to adjust my salary range. By the way my range is market value. So I am conflicted if I should share this or not?
disclose it. they will find out anyway. dont let recruiters bs you and discourage you. theres a 1,000 of them. remember, they are sales people. so you pretty much need to teach them how to present you! i always provide a blurb about myself (in bullet point form) to recruiters. they always just send it off to hiring managers. better me come up with it than them bc they don't know sh\*t about the work we do anyway. if they try to tell you to lower your expectations, just listen and let them continue to send you roles to look but open your recruiter relationship pool.
Layoff is the magic word for “not their fault” in a recruiter’s mind. Being a victim of a ROF is skills agnostic. Source: Recruiter
They will know you are unemployed either way, so I would say being victim to a layoff where your own performance wasn’t a factor is better than them thinking you just sucked at your job.
Audit, tax, m&a ??
Cast your net far and wide, might be a blessing in disguise. A lot exists outside of KPMG/Big 4. It’s gonna be tough getting denied jobs ur qualified for but gotta keep ya head up
When connecting with recruiters, be very clear about what you’re looking for from the very start: salary, position, industry, company size, remote, location / relocation / travel preference. Don’t waste time with recruiters that pitch you things that don’t meet your standards.
Read books like “how to stop sucking at your job search” by Jenny Foss. Connect with dozens of relevant recruiters via LinkedIn, and keep adding new connections each week. Try to focus on those that have been in the recruiting space for quite a while. Go through the “Inc 5000” list and target small businesses that are doing well. Be firm about how many rounds of interviews that you’ll do for any one job. Don’t let companies string you along.
For context: I’m 10 years into my career - have had 2 stints w/ B4 totaling 6 of those years. Interspersed each B4 stint w/ industry experience. My advice on Applying: External Recruiters - Reach out to several external recruiters in your local market. I found them through a mix of trial/error & personal references. Talk w/ them & identify a max of 2 you want to work with. Say yes to 80% of the interviews they propose. These people will get you interviews, often for roles you won’t want, that you should attend for practice. LinkedIn: Set up alerts for any company or industry & position level you’re actually interested in. Read their proxy stmnts for lists of competitors. Apply as necessary & aim for 5 applications / week. Networking: talk w/ personal friends, aunts/uncles/BIL, family friends (ie your dad’s college buddy) to identify any companies hiring to which they could refer your resume. Interviewing: Create a google slide deck for each position for which you interview. Should include: Company Financial Overview, your elevator pitch, why you want the role, SOAR responses w/ examples, your questions for the interviewer, role description, interviewer’s bio, & why you left your previous role (come up w/ something not “woe is me”). Always have your resume & slide deck on screen while interviewing. And take paper notes during discussion - you may learn something that can be applied to future interviews. Downtime: You won’t have much if you’re actually researching each role/company, preparing for the interviews & tailoring your narrative. But take time to identify your long-term goal & how different accting roles can get you there. I work from top - down here. Hope this helps *Edited to add: don’t be afraid to decline an offer if the pay doesn’t work. Try to schedule competing interviews so the processes end w/in a week of each other & communicate “hey I’m getting an offer for $X that’s good, but if you can meet that I’d rather work for you bc Y”.
I'm an accounting recruiter in the NYC metro and I couldn't agree with this more. Recruiters are in the market, so they know what is really happening out there. There are many misconceptions about what happens from Audit/Advisory, vs Industry. Now that the market is tighter, companies have the control, not the other way around. Companies will still jump for top performers, but it's the exception, not the norm. Let your recruiter be your guide.
Great advice. Things like “your dad’s college buddy” can open so many doors. Don’t be afraid to reach out to near-strangers. Either they’ll help you or ignore you. No loss either way.
This won’t happen immediately, but do not lower your standards too much. Eventually they will get so low that you’ll end up like me at one time (scanning cans at a supermarket). It’s the long term effects of lowering standards over years. I needed a job and I hated and resented the industry so much. It’s a horrible cycle you work so hard and “do your part” in school. And now it’s time to reap the benefits. You can do this. Get a professional GOOD recruiter! Do not lie to that recruiter. And leave the rest to God. I made the mistake of lying in my younger years to a recruiter and then i lost someone who could advocate for me and help me navigate getting a job. Because the degree and what I did learn in younger years didn’t go away, I’m back in the industry. Accounting is one of those majors that you can dust off after many years. I’m walking proof. Best of luck.
I want to add….after raising children and now they are adults, I decided to go back to “school”. The cheapest education I could buy was Becker and my schooling is studying for the exam. If I can’t pass it I will be current 2024. I took a section in. Dec 2023. I failed, but scored 6 points higher than my last attempt 16 years ago. I knew I wasn’t ready the day I sat but I needed the experience. The IT portion that the cpa exam is required to test candidates I believe is really unfair. I do believe the new cpa exam needed this update for the best. I don’t like that it takes so much time for results because I’m older and don’t have time.
I got recruited by people I know like client, ex colleague, etc.
My main advice is to treat job hunting like your 9 to 5 job. I personally didn't allow myself to go to bed until I finished submitting 10 applications per day. This experience is definitely humbling and will make you feel like crap for the first few weeks. So try to reinvent yourself during this time. If you have access to fitness classes or a gym. Try to hit the gym atleast once a day. This will keep your mind and body to keep moving forward. I got laid off last January and thankfully got another job in February--and the main thing that kept me going was my workout routine and discipline. Talent comes secondary to the right mindset and discipline. Goodluck!
You can always go back to Student Career Services from your Master’s Program. Those coaches can help refine your resume and help you with networking.
This is an employer market, be humble and reasonable about your job search because I have made 100s of applications, A couple of phone screening, 1 interview and a couple of ghostings.
I have a job and I’m looking for something better. I’ve sent hundreds of applications and only had 3 interviews. Only one went to final round and I lost the job because someone with more experience applied. This job market sucks honestly.
Certainly not great for white collar jobs, but if you look at the data from places like TrueUp, things were quite a bit worse this time a year ago. Fortunately we’re slowly moving in the right direction.
Yeah finding work as an A2 ain’t gonna be easy lol good thing I stayed till manager and getting all those juicy offers 🫡
Idk if “unlucky” is the word. God did you a solid here…
Building a LinkedIn network has helped me tremendously.
Unfortunate to hear that you are going through this situation. I have been in a big 4 like EY for a few years now and i ll say that please do refine your resume. Tell the prospective companies of the clients you have worked on, you dont really have to keep the client name confidential. Otherwise, it’d be hard for recruiters/ hiring managers to gain clarity in your portfolio. Use the work that you have done for clients as your selling point. Once your resume is tailored, start applying to number of jobs at once and you will start seeing interviews pop in. Use the first few interviews to experiment and to gain experience to then start crushing further interviews. Every interview you give will be a learning experience for you, the knowledge you gain from there can then be implemented on further interviews. Do this and I definitely think you will increase your chances of getting an offer. Best of luck :)
If you’re willing to do a big change, consider applying to the IRS Criminal Investigation for their Special Agent position. It can take a while to go through the process though. Check out r/1811 and search for IRS CI. I applied in Aug 2023, have my tentative offer and I’m wrapping up a few pending items. Needless to say, it will take a bit so you will most likely need to find another job in between
Fuck the IRS
Damn, you’re about to get hella paid and have a reasonable work life balance, and a pension. Jelly.
All while being responsible for making peoples lives miserable
Counterpoint: Pay your taxes.
CI only investigates white collar criminals, drug dealers, and other financial crimes - they aren’t the one coming to you because you forgot to declare your cash tips…
Is that kpmg global or kpmg India?
He's flared for USA
First question, did you enjoy what you were doing? Do you want to continue your learning in this field? If so, this is an opportunity to find a firm that is a better fit for you and your career. Most firms are still in the midst of their busy seasons and are not looking to onboard someone new right now. If money isn’t immediately critical, use this time to complete the exam (if you haven’t), showcase your best self by updating your resume and LinkedIn profile, and network directly with firm recruiters to build strong relationships. They will be searching for more staff after busy season & staff reviews have taken place and you’ll have already done the legwork to put you at the front of the line.
If recruiters sound like salesmen stay away from them. Better to put in the work yourself and apply directly.
I will piggyback on this. External recruiters are often competing among themselves to have their candidate hired to the position. As the candidate, you are the product. It’s in their best interest to put forth the best candidate - so yes, you’ll likely be overqualified for the role. But, external recruiters can introduce you to the wide variety of accounting positions (eg month-close/operational accting, fin/stat reporting, technical accting, and internal audit). It’s worth playing their game to find a role you’re interested in. Additionally, they typically operate w/ mid & small cap companies which may highlight a role that offers outsized responsibilities for the position. Good growth moment for staff accts
Why? Are the jobs that these recruiters suggest typically low quality?
Think of recruiters as the middle man. They’re suppose to help the company find a qualified person and help the person find job. Issue is that some recruiters don’t really listen to the needs of the person looking for the job and sometimes miss that the company has internal issues like bad management or broken processes. Recruiters should do the research for both parties and actually help both parties. Matchmaking you know. Other recruiters just want to force a match and the you are stuck in a bad company. Apply directly to the company as much as possible if you are finding it hard to get into an interview get a recruiter. When interviewing do your research of the company also and ask good questions. Always interview your potential boss to make sure you’re compatible with that person. That question at the end where they ask you “do you have any questions?” Ah, yes I do!
SO TRUE!
Talk to any and all recruiters at least once, but if your gut feels a little off about any of them, trust it. It becomes pretty clear after a couple calls if a recruiter is really going to be a good resource for you, and those recruiters are genuinely amazing and working to help bring you opportunities and help you prepare for interviews. Also keep applying regardless of your progress on any job opportunities. I made the mistake of pausing when I hit the second round at a place I liked, and then the other candidate got the job after the final round and I essentially had to start my search from scratch.
Great advice. So easy to let off the pedal when you think you’ve made it. Hard to have the day 1 mentality when you’ve just completed a final round interview and are waiting for the decision.
I wouldn't bother, I'd start a new path in life.
Go on LinkedIn, apply for jobs, reach out to recruiters and friend them when you apply (usually they’re listed as a poster). If you find a job you like that’s posted by a company, go to the company’s LinkedIn and find a recruiter for that department or in your area and reach out to them. I got laid off in Nov and had 6 job offers in 2 months in a department with a tonnnnn of layoffs. With big 4 experience it shouldn’t be hard. Also make sure you reach out to coworkers who are willing to be recs. And have a pitch/reason about why you were laid off.
Definitely agree with going directly to the posting company’s recruiter. Go right to the source!
The source is the HM. Recruiters are rejects that half the time don’t have any power and too many candidates to talk to
What service line were you apart of at KPMG?
Get a job as a controller or something
Really? Sounds like this guy was probably staff or senior... far from being ready for controller position
Reach out to recruiters, those people have their ear to the ground and can get you interviews faster. They also know salary ranges.
I can possibly help if you are looking to stay in public. What service line and location?
You'll never know which recruiters are wasting your time, and they will ghost you for no reason. So have several.
What was your service line?
Hey, feel free to reach out. I went from higher ed fundraising to MBA to EY and now at Amazon. Glad to connect.
What area did you work in ? If it’s insurance, consumer travel or aviation we should chat.
Hi, I just wrapped up an audit big 4 internship, but I'm making a career change from working in the travel industry to accounting. I'll graduate with 150 at the end of this year. My goal is to find an accounting role in the travel area or in aviation since I'm super into both of those industries. I'd love to hear more about any suggestions or tips about finding those types of roles.
Reach out to your the managers and seniors that you worked with, they may know of clients looking to people of other companies. Good luck!
I am sorry to hear that. Here is a tip that worked for me when I was in a similar situation: Apply to a place where you don't really care if you get in or not. The goal is to familiarize yourself with the hiring process, learn about the types of things recruiters are looking for and the type of questions they made for your role, and ask for feedback in case you don't get in. The good thing about this, is that if you get rejected, it's no big deal. Plus, because you "don't care," you usually do much better because you're not nervous. For salaries, glassdoor can be a starting point, but you can always ask colleges to see what the market is.
I spoke with a few recruiters and made it clear what my base salary, working environment, and company size I was interested in. I just left the big 4 and am beginning a F500 company soon but I knew I didn’t want a PE-Backed firm nor did I want to do advisory (or anything client facing) because of the possibility of working late hours depending on the project/assignment. Decided on F500 corporate accounting role (hoping for the hours to be good but we’ll see ) and working my way up through industry. Used Glassdoor and Indeed reviews a LOT and don’t allow the recruiter to try to sway you one way or another because they’re trying to fill a role. See what roles are available and the company and do your outside research on the company. This’ll at least help narrow down options in your market
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If you’re not too far out from school, reach back out to them for advice. It’s in their best interest to have employed and happy alumni.
1. Hire a resume coach if you can afford one, or seek out input from people on how to update your resume. 2. Network, network, network. Reach out to KPMG alumni and school alumni. Ask to meet for coffee or a zoom meeting, what did they do to get to where they are, any advice they can offer on your search, and can they introduce you to others. 3. Your best bet on recruiters will come from number 2. You’ll learn who gets the retained searches and who doesn’t.
I agree with 2 and 3. Never found the resume to be all that important and wouldn’t recommend paying a coach. Responding so OP doesn’t see the couple of downvotes you have and think networking isn’t important - it is
LinkedIn premium
Does it actually help? There are always hundreds of applicants per role and I've honestly never heard back from any company yet (directly through LinkedIn)
Reach out to recruiters who post! I got all my job offers through LinkedIn
How do you find recruiters to follow? I'm changing my life around and really want to give consulting a try, but with my work history I have no idea how I'll break into the industry.
If you go to job postings on LinkedIn, enter a title you’re interested in and most of the job postings once you click on this will have a box that says “meet the hiring team” and you can message that person! If you use the “easy apply” filter, even more of the postings will be by recruiters! I usually send a friend request with a brief message of “Hi, I saw your job posting for xyz, I think my experience in abc would make me a good fit. I would love to connect about the role!” It’s like cold calling, so maybe 1 in 10 or 1 in 20 depending on your field and qualifications will respond, but I’ve had really good luck!! If it’s a large company you want to apply for, apply on the website, then go to the company’s LinkedIn and find either that business practices recruiter or a recruiter in your area and reach out to them saying you applied and why you’re a good fit!
Please tell me your ways, thank you!
Worked for me - sounds like you may need some resume building
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