Do voluntary work experience in a practice in Birmingham to gain experience

Minesh

Hi All

I have completed my Level 1, 2 and 3 AAT qualifications last year in July and also completed City and Guilds Level 1 in Book-Keeping and Accounts and Level 1 and 2 Sage Computerised Accounts.

I have experience in retail, retail banking, administration and finance.

I self-funded myself to do the AAT qualification as I wanted to pursue a career into finance as Sales/Purchase Ledger or as Account Assistant as I am currently working in retail want to a change of a career.

I am finding it extremely difficult in applying for jobs as I don't have any practical experience in accounting and bookkeeping.

I live in Birmingham, I am 35 and I am willing to do some free voluntary work experience with a business or accountancy company so I gain some valuable experience.

As I have little experience I am struggling to apply for accountancy jobs.

What I am asking does anybody have any advice for me in terms of what do you so I can some actual work experience which will secure for a future in accountancy and finance.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks.

Gem7321

I would advise you to contact some local recruitment agencies and ask for assistance with your covering letter and CV. Your post is not reading all that well and if I were to receive this as a covering letter I would not consider your application.

Have a look at www.do-it.org.uk for volunteer positions (treasurer, finance officer etc.) as this would add credibility to your CV.

Good luck.

Minesh

Thanks for your advice. I can confirm that my CV and covering letter reads really well and is appropriate to the types of jobs that I am applying for.

Ryan Mundy MAAT

Feel free to send me a copy of those and I will be happy to give you some feedback (ryan@ruption.co.uk)

I would say, keep your CV to one page maximum. I always use this rule for cold calling, even when I could easily fill three or four.

Find a practice close to home. Learn the names of the partners and try to get a meeting with them.

Offer to work for free for a short period if you are confident you can impress them, or just apply for trainee positions.

I think most firms take on in the summer though, so you might have to wait.

Also, bear in mind that it's a fairly quiet time at this time of year.

Don't have the attitude that you are doing them a favour by volunteering. It takes lots of time to manage and train volunteers. Remember, they would be doing you a favour.

Good luck!

And hang in there. I had to pester my first firm to give me a job.