just graduated

[roff]

i hope i have the right forum but
i just graduated from college with a bba in accounting and im looking for a job. ive searched craigslist, monster, houstonjobs, and almost everything else when i searched for jobs on yahoo and google. but i was wondering if any of you guys know where i can find accounting jobs in the houston area (preferably sw houston). i decided to post on this forum because i assume there are more professionals on this forums than the other forums that i frequent.

[Iggy Pop]

Where did you go to school? Did you meet the 150 hour requirement for the CPA exam? If you're CPA eligible, you should have no problem finding work. Most firms won't want to invest in the training for someone who can't become a CPA.

[roff]

university of houston downtown
i have 155 hours and eligible to sit for the cpa

[Xander]

university of houston downtown
i have 155 hours and eligible to sit for the cpa

There are three potentially excellent resources that you didn't mention tapping into: First, the career services center at your school, second, your accounting professors, and third, recruiters.

The folks in your career services center tend to be pretty motivated to help place new graduates, and have as good a feel for the local job market as a recruiting firm.

Second, your accounting professors may also have industry contacts...I know mine arranged networking and QA sessions for us with local Big 4 offices (Big 6, back then) and several of my classmates found corporate accounting positions though faculty contacts.

A third resource is local temp/recruiting firms. They'll also know who's hiring, they can help you with your resume (as can your career services center at school) and they can line up interviews for you. I got my first job, a contract job that ended up leading to a full-time position, though a temp company that specialized in accounting services.

[Iggy Pop]

We were aggressively recruited by the Big 6 firms and I had a job with Arthur Andersen, locked in, a year and a few months before graduation. So, I've never had to hit the pavement. However, I'll let you know that if you want to do public accounting, look at some smaller firms that have 10-20 professionals. The pay will be lower (not much), but you will be much happier with your lifestyle and the smaller firms have cool clients to work on.

[roff]

as a new graduate how much should i be expecting to make a year?

[Iggy Pop]

No clue. I'm curious...Why did you wait until after you graduated to take care of this?

[roff]

i got lazy

[Lumberjack98]

Do you want to work in public or industry?

Were you in BAP, Accounting Club, etc.?

Accounting is a HOT career field right now, but you have to go about it the right way. It sounds like you're a little behind the curve right now, but nothing that you can't overcome.

Your answers to my questions will determine my follow up on this.

[roff]

im not really sure what the differences between public and industry are but i dont think i will mind as long as i find a job
and i wasnt in any accounting clubs

[Iggy Pop]

i got lazy

In that case, turn on the TV and wait for the recruiters to start calling you.

[Iggy Pop]

im not really sure what the differences between public and industry are but i dont think i will mind as long as i find a job
and i wasnt in any accounting clubs

Do you really have an accounting degree? That's kind of like a lawyer not knowing the difference between a prosecutor and a defense attorney.

[roff]

im not really sure what the differences between public and industry are but i dont think i will mind as long as i find a job
and i wasnt in any accounting clubs

Do you really have an accounting degree? That's kind of like a lawyer not knowing the difference between a prosecutor and a defense attorney.

last wednesday was my last final (i passed of course)
i was never really involved in school or any of the activities
i was only worried bout getting my degree and getting out of school as fast as i can (took me 6 years )

[Lumberjack98]

im not really sure what the differences between public and industry are but i dont think i will mind as long as i find a job
and i wasnt in any accounting clubs

By public I mean getting a job with an accounting firm and working with clients of the firm in some capacity (auditor, tax, etc.) By industry I mean getting a job with a company / corporation in the accounting department.

These are two very different starts to your career.

Based on what you've said, I would suggest that you target a small public accounting firm and go into client service. This is a great way to get started when you are "not sure." In smaller firms you can work on audits and tax and then decide what you want to do.

[boomerang]

I talked to a friend at a big 4 and she said their college hires come from campus recruiting and they all start at the same time.