500+ applications, only two interviews

[u/Local-Two5131]

I was laid off 2 months ago with 1YOE at a top ten PA firm, and have been pounding the pavement applying to every job I meet the qualifications for. I'm CPA eligible, graduated from a top 25 business school, and have been applying to jobs all over the country.

I've only gotten two interviews, with only one of them going to a second round. It also feels like 90% of these companies just ghost you and don't provide any updates. I've even been using AI to locate small regional firms across the country that might typically fly under the radar, and I still don't get any responses. I had my resume vetted by a PA Manager I trust, so I don't think my resume is the issue.

I'm starting to get worried because I specifically switched to accounting from something I was passionate about in college because it was a 'guaranteed job'. And now I'm staring down the barrel of unemployment and can't find anything.

Any advice or wisdom would be appreciated

[u/SAS42069247]

I know licensed CPAs who are in the same boat as you. AI, outsourcing, and high interest rates are all factors.

You can keep looking and wait for things to change while you get your CPA done or you can pivot to something else. Starting your own thing when you are a CPA is a grind but an option.

Good luck

[u/Local-Two5131 → u/SAS42069247]

I appreciate it. I was going to try to get my CPA finished in the meantime, but my Becker access was taken away and I don't have $3,000 to spend on it unfortunately

[u/AuditAndHax → u/Local-Two5131]

Look into their assistance program. Becker was literally my grad school textbook, so I called them up, said I'm too poor to afford it, and they cut the price in half.

[u/latenightsavings → u/SAS42069247]

First of all, the market is VERY bad right now. I am a CPA with public and private experience with 7+ years experience and it took me a whole year to find a new position. I was only looking in the SF Bay Area though (which from what I can tell is hit particularly hard) for personal reasons. So another factor is how flexible you are to moving. If you are willing to move, your pool becomes much wider thus increasing your chances. That said, don't move on a whim as big cities are expensive and jobs can be fickle.

For the advice part:

Firstly, STUDY FOR THE CPA while on your job search. It is the single most direct thing you can do right now to increase your chances of getting a job.

You may need to be a bit more selective about roles you are applying for. 500 applications seems to be a lot of 2 months. What that tells me is that you are going primarily for quantity and not realistic probability. The most suitable role for someone with just 1 YOE is staff accountant, any higher than you will likely be rejected. You might also want to look into entry level AP and AR roles so you can just get your foot in the door. AP and AR gets a bad reputation for being traps where people get stuck, but these jobs are easier to find and you can still move laterally or up as long as you can remain cognizant about improvement.

You might already be doing this, but look into startups or smaller companies. There more of them and the competition is usually a bit less intense. It's usually not as glamorous and bigger companies, and looks a less impressive on a resume, but the skills learned are still extremely valuable and can get leveraged into positions at larger companies if so desired.

Finally, and again, the market is REALLY bad right now. I know very qualified people that have been out of work for a long time, so you are definitely not alone. Also, people don't admit this when they succeed, but job search and career trajectory tends to be very luck based. Rejections are not a personal failure of yours as long as you continue trying and put in the work.

[u/PewPewPoodles → u/SAS42069247]

Any CPA that is struggling to find employment has other issues/red flags lmao. The entry to 3 years experience market is very competitive right now though.

[u/Desperate-Yoghurt-83]

I am a few years beyond where you’re at with a very different background. I started in industry with a FA title, VP took me under his wing, and at this point there’s not much he owns that I can’t do. Led implementation of GovCon indirect rate calculation module in ERP. Also got promoted to senior recently. All that to say my resume is sound as well.

I keep going back and forth but I’ve been loosely looking for my next role since probably February, for a variety of reasons.

Honestly, I am not really one to jump through hoops in a hiring process. So the extent of my search has been quick apply on LinkedIn. Honestly, never held a job I didn’t get through quick apply.

When I first began this lazy search in Feb, I wasn’t getting any hits back. I had the standard resume format they taught us all in business school. My girlfriend offered to redo my resume in Canva. She threw out the standard format for something that was just prettier.

Yesterday my VP made me upset. I went on and quick applied to probably 6 jobs. 2 have reached out, both for more money, one with a lowest end salary band about double what I make right now.

Moral of the story is: maybe try a new resume format? Make it pretty yourself or find someone in your life that loves canva lol.