I first started flirting with the idea of getting into bookkeeping/accountancy as a way of having a career instead of just having a job a couple of years a go, I enrolled on a home learning course at the time, progressed through Levels1&2 of ICB before life got in the way and the studying gradually came to a stop.
Last month a situation arose whereby it was blatantly obvious that I was needlessly being lied to by my current employer, I took as one of those defining moments in life, and by the end of the week I had given my notice. I naively thought to myself, this is it, this is my opportunity to start my new career, I can study fulltime while I find myself an entry level job. Now I wasn't expecting to simply walk into the very first job I found, but equally I wasn't expecting it to be quite as competitive as it actually is, seeing there's literally hundreds of applicants for each position came as a bit of a shock, so it was no surprise I didn't manage to get an interview for those positions which I applied for.
I thought a change of approach was needed, so I emailed many of the accountants local to me requesting advice on how best to get started, and offering my services on a voluntary bases, but again nothing, not a single reply. I can appreciate my lack of experience isn't likely to see me land (m)any interviews, but why are requests for help with experience so often met by a wall of silence??
I'm in my 30's and this is the first time I've been out of work for more than a week since leaving education, so while I've been enjoying getting my head down and getting into my studies over the last few weeks, it's really less a case of looking for employment, and more me having a reason to get out of bed in the mornings that I need right now.
If anyone can offer any advice of how best to get a toe in through a door, any door, I'd be most grateful.
Short response just now as I'm really busy, as a few of the regulars today it seems from other posts.
I know this isn't going to help you, but I am going to say it for others who might read this and it's somethingI have drummed into my son for ages ' never give up a job unless you have another one to go to. It's always easier to find one when you are in one. Generally.
Anyway you can't turn back time and I don't want you to feel bad so some practical advice.....do the AAT, not ICB. Employers want the AAT. Have a look at job specs on eg Reed and you will see that, even at entry level. Also if you decide to be self employed and work with Accountants then the AAT is much more recognised by such.
Have a look round this site as I can't tell you the number of times this question crops up. Look for phrases such as AAT or ICB etc and you will see loads of info.
Look at someone like first Intuition for training. They won awards on here....check out the banner at the top of this page. Also note - loans are available for your age bracket, the trainers sites will have more info. You can do the training alongside a job, so if you pick up another job in the meantime, you can continue with your studies.
Go on the AAT website and try the skills test for which level it's will suggest you start at, given you have done some training already! Although if you didn't actually sit your exams with ICB it might be better to start with level 2, depends what you can remember.
There are also some good and cheap books you can buy from Amazon, just cost pennies plus postage. Again a recent post on this, less than two weeks ago, mentioned a couple to a lorry driver who is retraining. Click on recent posts and just delve in!
Not saying it will be easy. Even with the AAT demand for jobs will be high so it's what else sets your part from the rest. As with any job these days.
Sure I've missed a few things, but will come back to this if I have time.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Oh yes, another option, look at ACCA-x - fee course for the first couple of modules so you can do a proper taster. Starts 4 July. I would run the two together!!!
edited for dreadful typos!
-- Edited by Cheshire on Monday 13th of June 2016 09:28:58 PM
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Oh I know what I missed, on the back of the Accountants question. Very few Accountants if any will take on people with no experience AND no qualifications. Even working for free. If you think about it they would have to spend a massive amount of time training you, for most people to then move on. What's in it for them.......nothing as far as they see it. Not right in all cases obviously but just the way of the world these days. I did a weeks work experience in my first job and ended up staying 28 years, but it takes people with some foresight to do that these days.
At least with the AAT you have the option of working for yourself, working in a practice or even within industry, up to a certain level. Then you can considered chartered....another thing altogether.
Sorry for any typos......rushing!! With no glasses on (again)
edited for for typos, hopefully I got them all.
-- Edited by Cheshire on Monday 13th of June 2016 09:31:37 PM
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Just to echo above we would never take on anyone with no experience and no qualifications as the time involved in training someone up would be too much even if there is no salary involved.
Just as another very quick addendum as like others I'm busy at the mo (hopefully will catch up properly probably Wednesday) but one thing thats really not helping people such as yourself at the moment is that accountants as with anyone with any sense will not open attachjments from an unknown source so if you are sending out your CV's as an attachment the whole message is possibly getting dumped.
As I say, will catch up later. Welcome to the forum.
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I totally get that from an employers pov why taking on someone with no experience isn't viable, but my question is where is like myself expected to get the experience from in the first place? If I study and pass my exams to AAT Level3 or 4, I still have zero experience,
But with the progression on the course and the exam/ level passes you start to prove that you know the subject matter. Therefore become more employable.
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Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
Just to re-iterate earlier posts, AAT is the qualification employers want.
Looking for a job
Register with as many employment agencies as you can find in your locality that deal with entry level accounting jobs. Look at yell.com to find them. Don't be disheartened if they say they can't help you because you don't have experience, just register with them anyway. Sometimes recruitment agencies tell candidates not to register with too many agencies, disregard this and register with as many as you can find, this is just an excuse for agencies to keep marketable talent to themselves. I assume that you are now available for temporary work as well as permanent work, make this clear to the agencies. Phone the agencies you have registered with once a week to see if they have any suitable vacancies and to keep you in their mind as an available candidate. Believe me that the day will come when the best candidate they have available will be you, and then you will have your chance.
Look for jobs in industry and commerce as well as practice to broaden the range of potential opportunites.
Set up accounts with job websites. Ensure that you upload your CV to every jobsite. If you make changes to your CV, then update every job website with your new CV. Ensure that you set up job vacancy email alerts for entry level jobs in your locality, so that you get daily updates on new jobs. Work through every job in the email alerts, apply for any suitable jobs and follow up with a phone call. You may discover additional employment agencies which are advertising, ensure that you register with them.
Job websites include: indeed.com, reed.co.uk, totaljobs.com, monster.co.uk, cv-library.co.uk. That will probably be enough as you will find the same jobs advertised on more than one of them.
Review the skills requirements asked for in advertised jobs to identify gaps in your knowledge experience, then consider what you can do to resolve this. Eg, spreadsheet experience, Sage Accounting or Sage Payroll experience, there are courses you can do to develop knowledge in these areas.
Set up a LinkedIn account. Ensure you complete your profile including a professional looking photograph. Seek to link with anyone you know who is already on LinkedIn. Pro-actively look for people to link with to build your network. Update your profile with news of how your studies and career are developing to keep you in the minds of the people in your network (they will get updates each time you update your profile).
If you are an online social network enthusiast, eg Facebook, use your network to let people you know that you are looking for work, permanent, temporary and voluntary.
Other options for getting experience
Contact local charities to see if they need help with bookkeeping. For example local Scout Groups, each Scout Group is an individual charity totally run on a voluntary basis. Consider self employment once you feel your knowledge is at an adequate level, providing basic bookkeeping for a few local sole traders, perhaps at low rates to get the business in. Ask on this forum and the AAT forum for advice on this.
That's all I can think of for now. Hope that helps.
Just to go over a few things that you've all covered. I'm already registered with the main employment sites which David mentioned, along with a few others. I hadn't actually considered registering with any local recruitment companies, I guess that's because there's so very few entry level positions, I'm almost expecting that I'll have to relocate if I ever want to get started with a company. Nevertheless though, Ive uploaded my CV with a couple of agencies this morning, not that the signs were too encouraging, the only vacancy under accountancy between each of them was for a PO counter clerk, surely that's pushing it slightly? :)
I'll look into LinkedIn, but the only time that Ive heard of them was when they made the headlines with their security breach.. Ive also enrolled for the ACCAx courses that were mentioned.
Again, thanks for your replies, this forum appears to be much more valuable than the official ICB forum.
Ian_ wrote: Again, thanks for your replies, this forum appears to be much more valuable than the official ICB forum.
Thats because we've been around a lot longer than the ICB's forum (#1) plus we allow member and students of all professional bodies to help each other and we all speak to each other as equals no matter what letters we may have after our names.
In the above replies you have a mix of ACCA, CIMA, AAT, ICPA and ICAS people who have answered you. I think that says a lot about the membership of this site and the level of help that visitors here are likely to receive.
Glad that you're liking the site,
all the best,
Shaun.
#1 immitation being the highest form of flattery the ICB copied this sites name when they set up their site.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Careful with the AAT skills test and really prep for it as you only get one go at it.
Good book to get you ready is the BPP revision text for units 1-4.
At the end of the test it suggests a level to start at (it will either be II or III) and then you need to take a copy of thhat to sell yourself to a training provider otherwise many of them will expect you to start at level II.
As Joanne says, which test did you take? Do you have a link? can anyone take it? Can it be sat multiple times?
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Hi everyone, its been a while since I had time to drop in!
Can I add to what everyone has said? Why don't you try an apprenticeship? Age does not matter, although many employers do want someone younger, simply because they have to pay for the training courses, (so you don't have to), and the course are cheaper for someone younger, some will prefer someone older. When I decided to find someone to work for me via an accounting apprenticeship 18 months ago a new world opened up for me as a potential employer. I had to pay more than apprenticeship minimum wage, simply because there were more Accounting apprenticeship posts than people applying for them in my area!
For an employer its a good way of getting some help, because the training agency (in my case it was BPP) is responsible for the training & qualification of the individual, all I had to do was provide the day to day work for them, with a bit of supervision, provide some time off to study, put some much needed procedures in place and pay them a OK (not fantastic) wage. I now have a ACCA student with the FIA qualification. He is now earning more than minimum wage and I am happy with the way it all went, and I'd like to think he is happy with his employment.
I would have loved to have taken this route, had it been available when I first got into book-keeping/accountancy.
I took the actual Skills Test over the weekend, green lights on Office/IT skills and Financial transactions, but only amber for Costings & Dbl Entry, so it suggested Level2.
Wish I'd read your post about preping for it before I took it, didn't realise it could be taken so seriously, I just thought it was a guide.
Referring to YLB, I think an apprenticeship would actually be ideal, and was actually what I first looked into, but being over 30 everyone I spoke to said my age made it a non starter. Obviously something that I'm going to have to look into again later today.
It is a good idea to get the grounding in those two from level two otherwise you can easily find yourself getting a bit lost at the higher levels. Both are absolutely key, especially double entry - they are the building blocks to it all. Perhaps rather than pay for a level two course at this stage, get cracking with the ACCA-x course once it starts, as its not far off. In the meantime spend as much time as possible reading through the books Shaun suggested. You could maybe re-take the skills test once you have got further in your studies.
Oh and always read our posts first! lol.
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
