Are finance jobs very competitive?

DannyBoi

As per the title I wonder this. I achieved my AAT Level 4 qualification with a grade of a merit. And seemingly I can't get accepted for any jobs available. I'm having to compete against hundreds for each post and it's becoming exhausting after spending hours for each application to only fail at the interview. Me thinks blue-collar work is the way to go. I don't really see the benefits from my AAT qualification beyond level 2 to be quite frank. And I'm certainly not working for free considering I don't have anyone to rely upon for financial support.

Has the lockdown made this aspect much harder? I do theorise as to whether it's the fact everyones working from home making this even more competitive. I find it easier personally to attend interviews in person, yet many employers rather do it by Teams and sit on their lazy a-... Do apologise, it's making me very bitter against privileged individuals in this area.

Zeroine

Sorry you're having such a difficult time getting a job. I hope you don't mind me saying - I think it's good you're getting interviews at least. Some people won't be managing that.

Have you got the opportunity to attend some interview training? Personally I think this is worth it. Some time ago I was looking for work for a while after being made redundant, and getting nowhere. I was claiming Jobseeker's Allowance so they put me on two half day workshops - CV/application and Interviews. I got the next job I applied for. (I'm not saying that's always going to happen, but it definitely helped me to become a much stronger candidate.)

An example of something I got out of it was that I was struggling to get any interviews at all. At the CV/application workshop they said to keep the CV to two pages only, always. This was very hard and I wasn't sure I agreed, but I did it. My next application got me an interview and the interviewer actually commented on my 2-page CV saying he didn't think it was necessary - and yet he gave me the interview so I think it helped!

Maybe some training in video interviews in particular could help you? At the time I did the workshops, people had all started doing an initial phone interview and I wasn't used to that format. Having a bit of training definitely helped.

Good luck.

Gingerninja

DannyBoi said:

As per the title I wonder this. I achieved my AAT Level 4 qualification with a grade of a merit. And seemingly I can't get accepted for any jobs available. I'm having to compete against hundreds for each post and it's becoming exhausting after spending hours for each application to only fail at the interview. Me thinks blue-collar work is the way to go. I don't really see the benefits from my AAT qualification beyond level 2 to be quite frank. And I'm certainly not working for free considering I don't have anyone to rely upon for financial support.

Has the lockdown made this aspect much harder? I do theorise as to whether it's the fact everyones working from home making this even more competitive. I find it easier personally to attend interviews in person, yet many employers rather do it by Teams and sit on their lazy a-... Do apologise, it's making me very bitter against privileged individuals in this area.

Ultimately the world of work has always been experience (proof you can actually do the job) first and qualifications (knowing how to do the job) second.

I’ve never had an interview that asked me about my qualifications before my experience.

As for Teams, that’s the way things are going now. The freedom to be able to work from home with a more flexible schedule than a rigid 9-5 suits a lot of people, I don’t see it being any more or less lazy than going and sitting in an office.

Even if things revert to a more hybrid system communication through video conferencing is only going to increase. The days of hotel stays and expense accounts are not long for this world.

bigevy08

Have you asked for feedback from the interviews to see where you’re falling short? Getting bitter and calling people privileged isn’t going to help you get employed.

sjtoomer

I have AAT L2 & L3 Book-Keeping and I have been applying for accounting jobs for 6 months solid now (entry-level/trainee positions) without a sniff. There seems to be a lot of competition out there, from my experience. Just keep applying!