Can't find a Job

frishta

it's been almost 5 months since im looking for accounts related job but havn't find one willing to VOLUNTEER FOR FREE to gain practical experience in Accounting preferably with Sage or similar. studying AAT - completed foundation n Intermediate Level 2n 3 and hold certificates in Computerised Accounting based on Sage Line as well but still havn't heard from any employer yet as i sent my CV to sum egencies but still no news .i'm soooo dispointed and was thinking if i complete AAT after dat hope i get accounts related jobs.as i read we should find jobs as finance assistant/administrator /finance officer or accounts assistant if we compelete foundation n intermediate but dn't know why .dn't know where can i apply or look for.

mark130273

join the big long list of people who thought they would walk into a good job position from completing part of AAT !!! its a hard hard world we live in and to get a job in accounts take a lot of persistance and some luck ?

Sharleen

Hang in there!

Hi

Sorry to hear you're having trouble. Finding work is like a full-time job in itself though and in a market like this can take some time. When you send your CV to agencies do you then follow up? They are drowning in CVs at the moment and you often have to make them work hard for you. Follow up with a phone call so that they have to pull up your CV and look through it properly then try to get a realistic idea of how much they can help. Then call them regularly but not enough to annoy them! Also in this market lots of companies don't want to be paying recruitment fees. They advertise directly more and more so make sure you're on the job sites where they might place those ads. I'm an Office Manager who also looks after the books so I may not know the best place for Finance Assistant roles but have you tried Reed, monster, jobsite, topjobs or totaljobs? Gumtree has some interesting jobs sometimes too. Secsinthecity is also good but might not be finance enough for you.

What experience do you have so far? If you don't have any practical finance you might have to go sideways a bit first to get in somewhere that could offer that opportunity after a while if they know about your qualifications and interest in it.

I hope that helps a bit, good luck, you'll get there!

frishta

Hi

it's been 4 yrs since i come to Uk and dn't have accounts related work experience .i am currently working part time only weekends but it's not related to accounts so wanted to find a job which relate to accounts as it's no use studing and not gain practical experience.i tried websites as Reed,Monster,jobsites,Gumtree .in Reed is loats of accounts related job but i almost applied abt 20 jobs but avn't hear from them yet.i'm still looking in websites as well so hopefully i'll get one soon.thanx sharleen and Mark

Ratherbefishing

Don't give up.... keep at it

I'm also sorry to hear that you are having trouble trying to find full time work in accounts. I know it probably sounds like a cliché, but the market really is down at the moment. Try not to take the current climate personally. I looked on the Hays web-site last week and saw that there were 34 applicants apply for one part time accounts job.... it's just so crazy. Just hang in there and keep your chin up - most importantly of all just don't give up trying, you will get something in the end....

Barry

Bookworm55

I think you might just need to be patient and keep trying. I've had trouble finding decent accounts work at the moment too; been doing little else but looking since early June.

You say you sent your CV to some agencies. That isn't really enough. Have you spoken to them face-to-face? Try Brook Street, Adecco, Reed or Hays. Or all four.

Twenty applications is really not all that many. You might need to expand your search.

How good is your CV?

mark057

Experience is the name of the game in my opinion.

The more practical experience you can find then the more employable you will become.

Try to think of yourself as a marketable commodity. The more experience you gain the more your marketable value will increase.

I've experienced exactly the same problem as you as have many others. Its a very competitive world wheather we like it or not and we have to distinguish ourselves in the profession before reaping the rewards.

Qualifications alone are not enough.

I've found a lot of joy in the voluntary sector and am now building up a cv which is going to get me employed very quickly. The experience I'm getting was beyond my wildest dreams in the paid market.

Bookworm55

I've found a lot of joy in the voluntary sector and am now building up a cv which is going to get me employed very quickly. The experience I'm getting was beyond my wildest dreams in the paid market.

That's certainly a good point, but not everyone can afford to to work on a purely volunteer basis: they need the income from somewhere.

RowanB

I'm worried about whether it's worth completing Technician Level without gaining experience.

RowanB

mark057 wrote: »

I've found a lot of joy in the voluntary sector and am now building up a cv which is going to get me employed very quickly. The experience I'm getting was beyond my wildest dreams in the paid market.

Wow. I've not had any joy finding proper voluntary accounts work. Only been doing very basic accounts.

mark057

I've just been very lucky finding my particular voluntary role.

I have worked in three different positions so far ranging from a small community group turnover of £3000 per annum to a company with a turnover in excess of one million.

I fully appreciate some people can't afford the voluntary route but I've definately found it to be beneficial.

In my opinion I think the AAT need to do more to help students achieve the practical experience required when starting in the profession.

The qualification is of a very good standard but too many students flounder when they can't find the most basic accounts positions.

lessci

If you're looking for voluntary treasurere roles register on do-it.org.uk. I've worked in accounts for years but my overall experiece is limited to one sector. I went on the site, spotted a treasurers role for a local charity, got in touch and I meeting with them an Tuesday, but when I said I had account qualification they almost bit my hand off!

A-Vic

NHS jobs on-line also advertise voluntery jobs from time to time

Ed1

frishta wrote: »

it's been almost 5 months since im looking for accounts related job but havn't find one willing to VOLUNTEER FOR FREE to gain practical experience in Accounting preferably with Sage or similar. studying AAT - completed foundation n Intermediate Level 2n 3 and hold certificates in Computerised Accounting based on Sage Line as well but still havn't heard from any employer yet as i sent my CV to sum egencies but still no news .i'm soooo dispointed and was thinking if i complete AAT after dat hope i get accounts related jobs.as i read we should find jobs as finance assistant/administrator /finance officer or accounts assistant if we compelete foundation n intermediate but dn't know why .dn't know where can i apply or look for.

I appreciate it is only 4 years since you came to the UK and English may therefore not be your first language.

However, if the CV you have been sending out to potential employers contained as many grammatical and spelling errors as your post, then it really would not matter what level of accounting qualification you hold.

I don't mean to be unduly harsh, but first impressions on a CV are vitally important if people are to give it more than a cursory glance; a page littered with errors is going to be quickly passed over.

Permanently.

keithy1978

me too

I sympathise with you all. I am the same three quarters of the way through my AAT Intermediate and desperately looking for Accounts positions. I apply for many and what really annoys me is sending in my cv and them not even bothering to contact me. It is so ignorant.

renata

job search

I have been looking for a job since August, and only today had my fist interview with Hays, it went really well.
Unfortunately, they don't have any job at the moment, so I am just studding really hard for Dec. exams and hoping that something will come up then.
I am absolutely agree with Ed1 your CV is very important therefore needs to be just perfect.
Good Luck in your search for a job!!!

renata

I have been looking for a job since August. And only today I had my first interview with Hays. I thought it went really well. So now just need to send my references and hopefully they will find me a job.
I find all this job search quit stressful and time consuming and hard to concentrate on studies, I am taking Unit 5 and 6 in Dec, and already starting regretting booking them so soon.
I am absolutely agree with Ed1 your CV is very important therefore needs to be just perfect.
Good Luck in your search for a job!!!

renata

I am new here and just tting to work up how it work, Sorry for posting the same message twice ;(

Miss_HJ

frishta wrote: »

it's been almost 5 months since im looking for accounts related job but havn't find one willing to VOLUNTEER FOR FREE to gain practical experience in Accounting preferably with Sage or similar. studying AAT - completed foundation n Intermediate Level 2n 3 and hold certificates in Computerised Accounting based on Sage Line as well but still havn't heard from any employer yet as i sent my CV to sum egencies but still no news .i'm soooo dispointed and was thinking if i complete AAT after dat hope i get accounts related jobs.as i read we should find jobs as finance assistant/administrator /finance officer or accounts assistant if we compelete foundation n intermediate but dn't know why .dn't know where can i apply or look for.

I would recomend an agency like Hays, if your English is not great. They can premote you in the best possible way to employers, My mum registered with them last Fri, had a job to start on the Tues. She does have office experience so this was lucky for her. The are really good and actually re-wrote my mums CV to key words recruiters want to see from the experience you have or qualifications. It may be you need to take an office temp job and get general office experience first and work your way into accounts like that. The AAT does not show you can work in an office etc.

My mum has been very lucky as went in as a office clerk, she is studying SAGE and they employer, although only temp work have said they are keen to use sage and see her studying an advantage for when they change and the job may become perm after a period, meaning no recruitment fees!

In the current climate you need to look outside the box and take anything that may offer a future to move into accounts, any office experience is a bonus on a CV when you want to move into accounts.

Good Luck

AJHenderson

Temp

The best thing to do is to do temp work, there are plenty of jobs advertised via Hays and Reed for accountancy positions on a temporary basis.

Its a great way to get the experience

messedup89

AJHenderson wrote: »

The best thing to do is to do temp work, there are plenty of jobs advertised via Hays and Reed for accountancy positions on a temporary basis.

Its a great way to get the experience

but you tend to need the experience to get the temp work.
Stupid circles!

mark057

Experience is very important when looking for work and certainly temping is a good way to get a start in these difficult economic times.

I would just say it is important not to sell yourself short though. Studying towards the AAT qualification makes a clear statement to employers about your intentions to succeed in a career in accountancy.

I'm not sure how valid it would be to fill your CV with numerous administration assignments though. This might confuse prospective employers and recruitment agencies and seem contradictory.

Some recruitment agencies will always try to place you in jobs which meet your previous work experience and the more accountancy focused agencies like Hays and Reed prefer to see accountancy experience on your CV.

blobbyh

I'm often curious when I read these threads, how much experience many of the posters have? Are most people practice experienced, industry experienced or just inexperienced full stop? These are genuine questions so don't think I'm being nasty here.

Qualifications are just one part of the CV. Without relevant experience within a similar work environment, your value is limited to any recruitment agency unless they have trainee roles (which is very unlikely for an agency). Recruitment agencies will always try to get you a position where we can but rarely at the risk of placing someone so poorly fitting we risk losing losing the client. If we need your skills, we'll try hard as nails to get you something perm or medium to long term temping - it's how we get paid - but it's a harsh fact of life that if you have nothing to offer us, then how can we offer you anything in return?

Sharleen

To offer my little answer to that question. I've got 10 years experience as an Office Manager but have spent the last couple of years trying to find myself the right OM role which would also give me some experience on the finance side as I had none. It does seem hard to get into at first because it's such an important and sensitive thing that no-one wants their accounts being handled by someone inexperienced. It's a bit chicken and egg seemingly. It was particularly difficult for me because I wasn't willing/able to start at the bottom in a pure finance role to get the experience, I needed to keep the office management aspect to keep a level of salary.

Now I'm glad to say that finance is a huge part of my role and I'm loving it! I guess it depends on what you want to do but I've found that smaller companies are much more open to giving these kind of opportunities if you show enthusiasm and you can get to the higher level finance stuff much more quickly because there isn't a big structure to work up through.