Work Experience

ariadne

Has anyone tried or had work experience with accountancy firms? I'm looking at doing this, I have a little related work experience from employment and some more recent but basic voluntary work. I'm considering approaching some firms, local and perhaps some large firms as I'm in London so why not. I had a google and found this advertised but I'm unsure what it is, it's labelled as training so I'm wondering if they charge. http://tdanda.co.uk/careers/

I won't do anything until the new year but if anyone has tips or can share their experience. My CV is non existent so any ideas of whether there are services to help with this would be great too.

ChristianB

Hi there

Many people find volunteering a good way to boost CVs and improving employability. Have you considered assisting local charities and small businesses with their accounts? It doesn’t have to be a daily or even weekly task – just doing it regularly enough to merit mentioning on your CV can make all the difference.

We have a lot of good articles on AAT Comment regarding this:

http://www.aatcomment.org.uk/aat-developing-your-career/work-experience/how-to-kickstart-your-career-by-volunteering

http://www.aatcomment.org.uk/others/why-not-volunteer-for-work-experience

http://www.aatcomment.org.uk/aat-developing-your-career/work-experience/how-to-find-work-experience-and-make-the-most-of-it

Volunteering counts towards your AAT work experience and demonstrates your commitment to your career. When an employer sees unpaid work experience on a CV it can be a sign that the applicant has gone the extra mile to get their start in the profession.

If you're having trouble finding work, don't forget to make the most of the experience and knowledge in these forums. Search for conversations featuring people in the same situation as you – you may stumble on some great insight.

Also, check out this forum thread on making apprenticeship applications stand out - you might not be applying for an apprenticeship, but a lot of the same rules apply when sending in your cover letter and CV.

It may be hard but remember that getting your foot on the ladder is, arguably, the hardest part of your career and you’re getting it out of the way now!

Regards

Christian

Richard2013

I would add that an accountancy/bookkeeping practice is unlikely to take on volunteers for any time periods. A large practice might be different, but not before January I think. They simply don't have the time to train temporary people who might disappear the other day. It might be better to look for apprenticeships, because they are a good synthesis of work and studying even if the pay rate is miserable in the first year.

ariadne

I have a degree so no chance of an apprenticeship, but I have discovered internships advertised online and they even offer part time work - I have two days childcare already so just need to sort before and after school care for the eldest to take this up. They seem to run anywhere from one month to a year. Internship is just a fancy name for volunteering, and some volunteering work, non accountancy, is very formal with probation periods and minimum commitments as I've been discovering. As I said, I'm not looking to do anything this year but I'm just coming up with a rough plan on how to go about this. I have also been told about schemes offering a way back in to work for people who have had a career break to look after children or parents for example. Several banks are offering these 'returnships', although I'm less sure what these roles entail and whether I would enjoy it compared to accountancy practice. But I can't really afford to work full time until my youngest starts school or if I got very lucky with a salary over about £20k to cover childcare and travel costs. The big accountancy firms don't seem to have a place for a graduate who doesn't wanted to join a graduate scheme, nor internships or placements. I can go back to the finance team I was volunteering on and I've just volunteered to assist with treasury at school. I tried to follow up another opportunity off a volunteering website but got a strange response!

I'll update if things progress so others can use this for information.

ariadne

Oh and how would I sign off voluntary work for full membership? There wouldn't be any qualified people available to do it and I realise I didn't record the work I did do. It may also be difficult to record when it's just a few minutes every so often reconciling payments on xero for example.