Part One: Labor Market Research
In general, an entry level accountant will need a bachelor’s degree, but more and more companies are asking for experience. So the problem for out-of-school college graduates is the onus to build experience even before they have landed their first job. According to Payscale, the median salary of an Accountant in the United States is $46,164. Note this is the median salary, so this means half of accountants make less than $46,164, and half of accountants make more than this amount. Geography certainly plays into the calibration of salary. According to the United States Department of Labor Statistics, in 2012 there were 1,275,400 accounts working. Most of these people work forty hours a week. The job is expected to grow by thirteen percent in the coming years (Department of Labor Statistics).
As Chatfield observes, the accounting marketplace is deeply competitive, and in the future we will see firms becoming more competitive against each other. Hiring and promotion of workers reflects the workforce, and the changing market. A regional market’s success is strategically located within its use of resources, the infrastructure in place, the soundness of finances, and access to resources.
In the contemporary marketplace of the twentieth first century, stakeholders must market themselves not only to the satisfaction of their prospective clients, but also to the public in general by building a web presence, by branding, and in essence to keep afloat in the marketplace so as not to be swallowed alive by one’s competitors (Stevens 1985). Stevens’s advice was written before the advent of the Internet, but the concept of war still remains the same. You have to realize that there thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people, institutions, and entities vying for the same dollar as you.
One influence on the job market for accounting is often overlooked: the value of prestige of the school from one graduated. Especially for those individuals looking to achieve higher educational attainment, the prestige of the school in question is an important factor (Fogarty 2011). Whether you like it or not, when it comes to dealing with people’s finances, social esteem is a measurable quality that becomes factored into job placement decisions. In Caplow’s seminal book on the academic marketplace, he notes that accounting is one of those career choices that is both important for collegiate careers, as well as careers outside of the university (30).
One indicator of success for future marketers is to promote transparency of accounting practices — this concept of transparency is considerably considered valuable by those in the field (Cattaneo 2011). Opaque and cumbersome features of regulations, especially when considering in which country or region a future accountant will work, can deeply hinder success in the field. One hot topic is the accounting jobs that specialize in immigration reform, and in countries where financial restrictions are at the highest. Breakthrough into these markets would prove to be a boon for the global marketplace.
Part Two: Job Search
Two or three job titles that I most desire: I would most likely seek financial assistant and accountant. Also, I would focus my search on small to mid-size companies. I will do due diligence searching out information on companies I think are the best, for example Barclays and Bank of America. Second, don’t rely on a template cover letter. Each cover letter ought to be unique to the job. I think it is also a good idea to make a portfolio online to develop a web presence.
In the elevator speech, make it clear that I am a college graduate. Make my college success my selling point. Elevator speech: “I’ve been crunching numbers since I first learned the difference between negative numbers and positive numbers.”
I have a job plane. Once I get the interview, it does not stop there. I know I need to study for the case study interview, so I need to review my mental math skills. Also, I need to craft a thoughtful thank you letter to my interviewers, so I must make sure that I get the names of the people who will be on my job search committee.
The interview process went very well. I had great feedback. I decided to put my experience first then my education. I realized that even though I have not held an entry level position in accounting, I can still put the information I need in the volunteer work I have done. Work is experience whether or not one gets compensated for their accomplishments.
Fact sheet to be more successful includes the following. Learn to answer difficult questions. Since I am just out of college I need to leverage my natural abilities against the obvious fact that I have no real work experience. But I can tap into areas where I have illustrated skills. For example, name organizations where I was the treasure. Where in informal situations did I help people make decisions about how to manage their money? What apps or computer applications do I find helpful to help manage money? How do I do taxes? Have I helped people file their Income Tax returns? What is my success rate in Mathematics courses? Make sure I find positive feedback from professors about my performance in their courses. Brand myself online. Do I have an online presence? What does my presence online say about my contribution to accounting?
Online Evaluation
Indeed.com and Muse.com were the two sites I visited. Muse.com was easier to navigate than Indeed.com. following questions:
What sites did you visit?
I visited Indeed.com and Muse.com. Muse.com is an awesome resource. They actually have resources that show what the office space will look like for companies. I think a lot of the online job search sites are a content farm. But it is good to find smaller, more directly focused site that will help you find not only what jobs you need, but jobs that will align better with your skill set, your qualifications, and what you want!
1. Tell me about yourself
I am an accounting major and I excel at Mathematics and keeping notes, files, and ideas organized. I am looking to leverage my natural abilities in accounting to grow in a career in a competitive firm.
2. What do you plan to be doing in 5 years. How do you plan to achieve this goal.
In five years, I hope to be working at a mid-size accounting firm. I hope to be able to manage a team, have built a considerable clientele, and hopefully have been able to predict changes in the marketplace, and have been able to adjust my work accordingly.
3. What does success mean to you?
Success for me means bringing home the bacon. Success is actually elusive. You never know you have success until you got it. Most of work is getting there. It’s in the small things. The devil is in the details.
4. Tell me about a problem or barrier you overcame and exactly how you did it.
I did not know how to use Access, and I took a webinar, and now I know how to use it. At first I was terrified to learn a new program, because normally I just used an old-fashioned computer program. I think using a webinar to help me learn a new skill was a great idea, because I was able to become certified in its use. I think it is good to always look at one’s weaknesses and then be able to find ways to improve, and if one can document one’s improvement — even better!
5. Describe an accomplishment that you are proud of. How did you achieve it?
I am very proud of my ability to create a year long personal budget plan I created on Excel. I think strategy is only efficient if one can plan into the future. So much of our work is about making predictions about the future of the marketplace. We have to be on top of everything, including, the changing technologies, and everything, that I think my simple budget plan helps me to learn a valuable skill about planning for the future of my success which will only translate into success in all sectors for me.
6. Describe your most rewarding college experience.
My most rewarding college experience was becoming friends with other accounting majors.
Works Cited
Accountant salary (2014). Retrieved online from Payscale.com.
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Accountant/Salary
Caplow, T., & McGee, R. (1958). The academic marketplace. New York: Basic Books.
Cattaneo, Olivier. International Trade in Services: New Trends and Opportunities for Developing
Countries. Washington, D.C: World Bank, 2010. Print.
Fogarty, Timothy J., Donald V. Saftner, and James R. Hasselback. "Knowing one’s place: The
distribution of new accounting academics into a segmented labor market." Journal of
accounting education 29.2 (2011): 89-99.
Chatfield, Michael, and Richard G. J. Vangermeersch. The History of Accounting: An
International Encyclopedia. New York: Garland, 1996. Print.
Stevens, Mark. The Accounting Wars. New York: Macmillan, 1985. Print.
“Summary." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 13 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.bls.gov/ooh/Business-and-Financial/Accountants-and-auditors.htm>.
