Accounting a profession that requires college degree 99% of time. Students spend a decent amount of time (5 years if you want to qualify to sit for CPA), effort, and money in college. Nonetheless, below are certain important things they don't teach you in college.
1) The Way to Start Your Own Accounting Practice. Entrepreneurship is something cannot be learned in college, although some colleges offer entrepreneurship classes taught by professors, who have never run a lemonade stand. The only way for you to learn this skillset is from reading books, learning from experienced entrepreneurs in the industry, and hustle yourself. 2) The Importance of Getting CPA. The majority college professors have worked at a public accounting firm, and have CPA. However, they do not urge student about the importance of getting CPA. This seems to be a case of carelessness, if not negligence. It is critical to get CPA for new graduate as they will massively increase their earning power. 3) The Stress Level of Real-World Accounting. The college class environment is almost opposite of real-world work. Professors are playing too nice and rarely, they would share with you their struggle working under public accounting firms. 4) The Different Needed Skills. In college classes, professors try to follow curriculum and teach students the accounting foundations. What's lacking here is skillset to use in real world, which includes collaboration/communication skills, and working knowledge of industry commonly-used software/tools. By no mean this list is comprehensive. However, by being aware of these pitfalls, it will make you a better-prepared accounting students. If you have more questions, you can comment below, book a free sessions with me, or email me at theresumekid@gmail.com.
0 Comments
You got straight A's in all classes. You are an active member/president of gamma, beta, sigma, kappa, etc. What are you missing that made your resume simply real? The answer is real experience, something outside classroom/campus.
But wait! If companies only hire candidates with experience, where could new grads get experience anyway? The answer is volunteering, but be careful, not all volunteer experiences are created equal. Does not matter which path you will follow (audit, tax, internal reporting, etc.), this experience will give you a jump start as well as practical feelings toward tax. It is VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. Here are all you need to know about the program: 1) How to enroll. You can join via your school network or online. I strongly recommend to register at school because you will receive better training and school credits. 2) How long. Minimum is 40 hours of public tax filing, but you can stay as long as tax deadline ends, usually April 15th. 3) What to expect. Individually, you will be serving people with low-middle income. You will have one or a couple higher-rank people review your work. You will not get paid. As long as you can use mouse and keyboard. Also, you might be required to take 1-2 online tests from IRS websites, which require some preparation. 4) Why is it cool. Because you work for free, your responsibility is not too high. If you mess up, you won't be yelled at and there are people double check your work. The best part is to observe your client's interaction. You will realize how simple tax is and how people are freaked out about tax. I did VITA in 2016 and was able to put down AARP and IRS brand name in my resume. Then I landed tons of interview, in which interviewers ask me (90% of the time) about my experience working in a public and sort-of-government environment. This experience also helped me to land an internship with Allstate (Fortune 100 Company). If you have more questions, feel free to comment or speak with The Kid. Happy Hunting, The Kid I used to wait tables at an Asian restaurant near my campus for $3 an hour (illegal and unfair, but I accepted it), and it seemed this little money was not enough for gas, rent, insurance, book, etc.
Back in 2013, it was the first time I had to file tax since I started to make more than $1,000 per year. I was nervous and scared that it would take me a crazy fee or a couple weeks to figure out what the heck were those confusing section on a tax return. Surprisingly, it took me less than 2 hours to finish my nightmare. Also, I noticed how most of my friends got the same anxiety and waited until the last week before deadline to file with ridiculous fee. Then I knew there was an opportunity to help everyone, including myself. Here were the steps: 1) Told my friends my tax refund was XYZ. This is a form of marketing. Before this, I tried to tell my friends that my tax was done, but nobody truly gave a damn. Money does bring people together sometime, and in this case, it works perfectly. All you have to do is to arouse people's need and help them picture a positive outcome (which is the refund they are likely to get). This is one of people skills mentioned in the book "How to win friends & influence people". 2) Told my friends how cheap and easy it could be done. Similar to accounting, revenue has to pair with cost. Also, you are being honest and honesty brings you real business. 3) Offer to help my friends for FREE. This is similar to giving out free trials. I offered to help ten people for free. Nine accepted the offer. Seven paid me even more than they typically pay a service agency. The key here is to ask for less and you will be likely to get more. At least in this business, relationship is key, my friends paid not only for the service, but also the trust I gave them. Now, with word of mouth, every year my client number keeps increasing. I make new friends and extra cash (roughly $1,000 in a week). It is dead simple (I used TurboTax). You can try free tools on IRS website, but you have to wait longer close to the deadline. This business costs you no rent and minimal risk. All you need is a secured internet connection, PC/laptop, and your sincerity. Happy Helping, The Kid Whenever I walked around my school of business's campus and went to accounting clubs, I hear the term CPA. At first, I thought it was a medical term similar to CPR, but soon I realized this is a terrifying thing to think about.
1) What is CPA? Stand for Certified Public Accountants, a degree you can take after 4 years of college. It has 4 subjects: tax, audit, business, and financial reporting. You have 1.5 year to complete 3 subjects after passing the 1st one (regardless the order). Also, you may have to take an ethics section. 2) Cost? The registration fee is over $1000 in total. Studying materials vary. It depends on which company you choose to buy products from. I spent over $4,000 on Becker and did not even take one CPA exam (wasted). Becker is expensive because they have high passing rate. Other cheaper options are Roger and Wiley. 3) Benefit? If you have CPA prior to joining a firm or at least pass a section or two, chances that you will get a job very easy, plus you don't have to worry about working and studying at the same time. If you get a CPA after you have joined a firm, you will get a bonus (around 5-9k) and studying materials are usually paid by the firm too. 4) Do I have to have CPA? The answer is yes and no. Big 4 typically expect you to earn your CPA within the first two years joining the firm. Plus you will not become a manager or higher without CPA (this applies for most firms due to reputation). My sister has been a supervisor of EY for 9 years without CPA and it is enough for her. 5) Anything special or recent? This year, the CPA exam has been modified to be more... difficult. They now include small section called "Document Review". 6) Any strategy taking CPA? The most common myth is that you should take the most difficult section first. But this could be very bad if you fail and lose all morale. It would be much better if you pick the one that you most comfortable first and if you can't pass your favorite section, probably CPA or even accounting is not something suits you. Also, I've seen people taking 3-6 months off from work just study for CPA; this is a good strategy if you like intensity but get results early. Happy Hunting, The Kid |
Free ToolsAll-in-One Résumé
Under-Cover Letter Interview Mastery Business Career Paths Accounting Finance Consulting |
Blog |
Result Coaching |
Let's Work Together!© COPYRIGHT 2022. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|