Landing
Your First Job as a CPA
A
veteran shares his expertise
First
and foremost, do not wait until graduation ceremonies to start job hunting.
The path to your first accounting job actually starts at almost the same
time you set foot on your college campus.
I
have been with Ernst & Young, LLP for over 30 years and honestly believe
that while in college you will need to build a record that demonstrates the
following three things:
-
Good grades
-
A good attitude (which includes good communication and people skills)
-
A good track record of participation in accounting-related clubs on campus and non-business related activities as well.
Study...Study...Study
You
will need good grades to land a job with a good accounting firm.
Every hiring CPA firm looks very hard at your GPA because it is an
objective indicator of how well everyone is doing.
It also helps to know what skills the candidate can add to the company.
Higher grades are great, but there also needs to be a balance of good
communication skills and an ability to work well with other people.
Become
Involved On Campus
Join
an accounting club. Professors, CPAs
and recruiters all agree that one of the best things accounting students can do
to land a job is to join accounting-related clubs available on campus.
If
your campus has a chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, the national accounting fraternity,
you should definitely join. If your
school does not have a BAP chapter, join the campus accounting club or
accounting society. Also, Arkansas
and most states have accounting associations with student memberships. This
opportunity is priceless because it opens the door for you to get to know CPAs
first-hand.
Club
memberships give you a chance to work on committees and demonstrate leadership
skills and professional interests. Most
firms look for someone with some kind of involvement in campus organizations.
Participation is very important. Just
being a member is not good enough. Firms
are looking for those individuals who go the extra mile and take an extra step.
Keep in mind that not everyone can be the President or Chairman of every
organization they belong to, but involvement is necessary.
Why
is involvement so important? It
demonstrates to future employers that you can work in a team environment.
This is something accounting grads will have to do on the job.
We want to know that you have the abilities to work on a team and even
take the reins, if needed.
Club
work also gives students opportunities to work on their communication skills.
We do not want number crunchers. We
are looking for business advisors. We
need people who can explain information and ideas.
Outside
the Accounting Lines
Get
involved in other non-accounting clubs and activities on campus.
More and more accounting firms are using the words “well-rounded”
when they talk about the kind of people they are looking to hire.
If
you have an interest in sports, music, the arts, animals—don’t shelve it.
Participation on college sports teams, college orchestras, community
symphonies, art clubs, theater productions and other non-business related
activities will show that you have a diverse background and an ability to work
with many different kinds of people.
What if you are working your way through school? This may leave you little time to get involved in other things, but don’t worry. Working you way through school is a definite plus in the eyes of your future.
What
To Know Before Taking The Uniform CPA Exam
Before
the Examination
To
do your best on the Uniform CPA Examination, you must be prepared and familiar
with the exam’s functionality and navigation, as well as with content.
Be
sure you are comfortable with the use of a computer keyboard, mouse, and common
word processing and spreadsheet functions. Note,
however, that the word processor and spreadsheet applications in the examination
are not
identical to Microsoft Word or Excel features.
Take
the tutorial
and
sample test
(several times, if necessary) before you take the exam.
The tutorial and sample tests are available at www.cpa-exam.org.
Pay
special attention to the software features that are unique to this examination,
especially in the Authoritative literature section:
History
button- use this to find
the last page visited. (A Back button is not available.) By
clicking on History, you will be able to obtain a list of up to 20 last page
visits, in reverse order.
Copy/paste
– in the Authoritative Literature you can copy/paste only one
paragraph at a time; you can highlight only a block of text (not
separate lines or words) at a time.
Search - you will have to scroll down to view all topics returned by a search; if you spell words incorrectly, you will not receive any search results.
Calculator
- you will be able to enter
numbers on the online calculator using the keyboard or the keypad with the Number
Lock feature turned on.
Be
sure you understand how to move the calculator on the screen.
Remember
that the examination consists of several sections (groups of multiple choice
questions called testlets or
simulations). You will be
able to review questions within any testlet/simulation but you will not
be able to go back to a testlet/simulation once you have exited from it.
Scheduling
Schedule
through www.prometric.com/cpa.
This web site is available 24 hours a day and can be used to cancel or
reschedule appointments.
Schedule
early. It is recommended that you
schedule 45 days in advance of your preferred date.
Be mindful that your appointment time (on your confirmation) is 30 minutes longer than your exam. In other words, you have been given 30 minutes “extra” for sign-in procedures and to take a survey. This time is independent of your exam. Completing these activities quickly will NOT give you extra time on the examination.
At
the Test Center
Bring
your NTS (Notice to Schedule) to the testing center.
You may not
test without it!
Bring
two valid forms of ID to the testing center.
Information on your two forms of ID must match the candidate information
on the NTS with exactness. Check the Candidate
Bulletin
for details on what is acceptable ID.
Arrive
at least 30 minutes early and be
sure to have your Exam Section ID on hand (it's
provided on your
Notice to Schedule) when
you are seated at the workstation. You have a limited
amount of time available
to enter your examination password.
Be
sure to
follow research problem directions. (If
you are having difficulty entering a response in the space provided, you may not
be using the expected response format.)
Report
any functionality problems to the Test Center Administrator (TCA).
If
possible, wait until the end of the session.
If
you encounter a problem in a simulation, be sure to identify
the TAB in
which it occurred. At the end of the
examination, you should receive a print out with contact information for
reporting any concerns to the AICPA or NASBA.
Don't
be distracted by any issue as long as you are able to continue testing.
For
example, if your responses do not generate the expected color changes in pencil
icons, continue testing. Report this
matter to the TCA at the end of the session so that a report can be filed.
The system will verify the capture of your responses.
For
more details, check out the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on www.cpa-exam.org.