I have been in my current job for almost 3 months now. I’m already looking for a new job as this one hasn’t turned out to be what i expected it to be. I have a few concerns in regards to where I apply :
Given I have been in my current job for just 3 months, would this be looked at as a negative in the sense that I’m “giving up” this easily and early?
Are they going to contact my current employer? I’m not sure what the norm is here in US.
Re: need help- Job change advice
If you want helpful answer. more details regarding your job will not hurt. What Industry? What position? etc. Generally, yes, 3 months is too small of a time and it will almost always raise a red flag. However, if you can handle the question amicalbly during the interview for the next job, it should not be a negative. From an employer's perspective, yes it is a negative.
Re: need help- Job change advice
Give details son..
Although, 3 months is only an issue for he next job. Two years later you can remove that timeline from your resume and when asked for the gap..just say you were screwing hot swiss chicks while backpacking through europe.
Re: need help- Job change advice
its an accounting job. I went pvt but am now having second thoughts and thinking of going public. So was wondering whether to start looking now or wait for a year or two?
Re: need help- Job change advice
talk to Faisal...he is one those very interesting accountants CPA types..all personality..all the time.. WCPA FM. Faisal..j/k...show him some love bro..
Re: need help- Job change advice
In your case, having a 3 month stint in private is no big deal. People see the light all the time. The quicker you get out, the better.
Where r u at, anyway? And what kind of public accounting position are you aiming for?
Re: need help- Job change advice
Midwest. Probably a position in the Assurance side.
Now if get in touch with these public firms, would they contact my current employer? Because I wouldn't want my current employer to know that just in 3 months I'm thinking of leaving them.
Also do the firms compromise on grades? I havent done well in couple of acctg courses ie auditing & cost.
So you think I should try to make the switch now rather than wait a year or so?
Re: need help- Job change advice
Your new employer may not necessaruily contact your current employer, as long as you tell them. Just be honest. You are not alone. A lot of ppl don't want perspective employers to be calling on their current employer. Its fairly common.
What level of position are you looking for? Do you have any experience in public accounting? Staff, Senior, Manager, what?
With some years of experience your school grades don't matter as much. Depends on how far off you are from school now, for employers to focus more on your current skill set.
If you want to make a switch, may as well make it sooner rather than later.
Re: need help- Job change advice
Tell them what? that not to contact my current employer?
I'm just looking for an entry level position. Just came out of college so I guess thats why grades matter more right now. The only reason I thought of waiting was that I can probably get my CPA within a year and that would make it easier for me to get a public job.
Re: need help- Job change advice
why do you have to mention this "three" months experience on your resume, anyway? skip it. include only if you think it is worth mentioning.
i changed numerous jobs all for short periods of time but do not have the experience on my resume. what's important is what you learned in those three months to use it on your new job. mentioning is not important. unless it is something you really wanna mention.
Re: need help- Job change advice
i mean it makes your resume look like "kachra"
Re: need help- Job change advice
gross!
Re: need help- Job change advice
WannaBee...i rather tell them that I have been working for 3 months than slacking off..
Faisal mian..where have you disapeared?
Re: need help- Job change advice
Yeah, you can tell your perpective employer not to contact your current employer. Its faily common, so don’t worry about it. You can also very easily say that you tried private industry, but didn’t like it, and want to get into public accounting. The 3-months learning you got at pvt will definitely be a plus, but its not gonna swing the scales, so, for all intents and purposes you will be starting out as a fresh staff and competing with others out of college. Therefore, its a level-playing field for you. Its your grades that will score you an interview, and from there, its your performance in the interview that will get you the job.
Re: need help- Job change advice
Your choice buddy. A senior personnel from a recruitment agency gave me this tip years ago. After that I took all the "temp" job experiences off my CV. And it definitely looked better. Maybe that was cz I was too young and many jobs of short periods (also in different fields) did not present a good image.
Re: need help- Job change advice
Faisal: Thanks for the solid advice. My next question is that do you reckon I should wait for 1 or 1.5 yr, get my CPA and then try the public job market? Because by then I'd have a 1.5 yr exp. and CPA under my belt as opposed to right now (3 months)?
WannaBe: For what it's worth I'd like to leverage that minimal 3 month exp.
Re: need help- Job change advice
Where will you get the 1.5 yrs of experience? If you ultimately wanna end up in public accounting, then the sooner you get into public, the better.
Lets put it this way. If you go in private industry now, and 1.5 yrs later you apply for public accounting position. You have 1.5 yrs of private industry experience. The next candidate has 1.5 yrs of public accounting experience. Who do you think will be hired in a public accounting firm?
Re: need help- Job change advice
Hey where is my thanks...I was the who told you to listen to Faisal.
Re: need help- Job change advice
i will second Faisal bhai's advice because i have seen alot of CAs/CPAs getting out of the public accounting after completing the CA along with their 2-3 yrs of experience...it is just that an experience from the Big 4s and being CA/CPA gets you better jobs in the private or industry sector.
Thats what I heard?
Re: need help- Job change advice
bkp, two different things here. What were talking about is when/how to get INTO public accounting. JadooShtick is just beginning his career.
What you are talking about is what ppl do when they have got a few years of experience in public accounting. There is only about 20-30% retention rate in public beyond 4 years and most ppl end up in private industry. This is fairly expected as not everyone who stays in public accounting can realistically expect to become partner. Those who stay in public, and are good (technical as well as networking) end up as partners of a CPA/CA firm. Those who go into private industry, will either go into a pure accounting track (if they are mediocre) or leverage off their experience and management skills to get into the CFO track. The truly enterprising will get into the CEO role. There are many instances that private industry taps into a Partner of a CPA/CA firm for a CFO position. And many retired partners of CPA/CA firms end up in industry after all as CFO’s or Board members (Audit Committees etc).
However, common wisdom says that if you wanna end up in private industry, the sooner you get into it the better, so you get relevant experience. Generally a 3-5 years of experience in public (esp with Big 4 or Global 8) is enough to open the right doors for you.