Finding relevant job in accounting (CGA experience)

[isookvi]

So here is the deal,

I have been trying to find a job like junior accountant, general accountant etc to start building towards my CGA experience. So far I have had no luck in even getting an interview except for a few recruiting firms. I think this is because of my previous experience. A little about my background first. So I have a Certified Accounting technician ceritificate from UK (which I know holds no worth here but still I mention it on my resume), a BSc in Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, ACCA (exams completed but not a full member yet) and I have about three courses left in CGA before I get to PACE level. My experience in accounting is around 2 and a half years. 1 year before Canada. In Canada I have 9 months experience as an Accounting Analyst working mostly on rebates collection and approvals. This was a contract position after which I was hired at another company (Fortune 500). My job basically here is the same. It's hard to move within the company from what I have seen so far plus to be honest I don't really like it here. The work is not so good and my manager is very uptight. Micro manages everything along with a lot of other issues.

Now I am really looking for something where I can work on G/Ls, financial statements, budgeting etc. Basically anything that will help me fulfill my experience requirement for both ACCA and CGA. I have been trying to get into entry level jobs and not worrying about a pay cut or anything. Not that I make much now (38k). I am trying to get into small to midsize companies or firms as I believe that roles in such companies are not too specialised and you get to work on a variety of things. But I think from my experience so far in Canada, education really doesn't matter (esp if it's non canadian) and experience is everything. So whenever a prospective employer looks at my resume and sees that I have no experience working on financial statements or even general ledgers in Canada, he throws it out of the window. I have even considered lying on my resume and I know a few people do that but never actually did (I am an ethical person lol). So, my question is what can I do to improve my chances?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[underjeep]

An accounting job paying $12/hour will get 200 resumes with university degree's that range in 0-10 years of experience in accounting in the first couple days in Vancouver. It's tough.

[onsen]

An accounting job paying $12/hour will get 200 resumes with university degree's that range in 0-10 years of experience in accounting in the first couple days in Vancouver. It's tough.

Hmm, it's quite depressing here in Vancouver. I know a guy working at a Rogers Cellphone store. There was a sales opening position, everyone applied had min univ degree, and one guy served as a VP for the Bell in the 90s.

Have you considered volunteering? My friend volunteers at her church helping seniors file income tax this time every year.

[Fluid]

An accounting job paying $12/hour will get 200 resumes with university degree's that range in 0-10 years of experience in accounting in the first couple days in Vancouver. It's tough.

Do you have a source or anything on that? Just curious..

[fuzzy_avocado]

Do you have a source or anything on that? Just curious..

I don't know if whoever posted that has a source but having gone through this same experience in applying for a similar job I can surely attest to that comment

[underjeep]

Do you have a source or anything on that? Just curious..

Here's a posting copied and resubmitted from a real job that was $12/hour:







Amount of emails in 24 hour period (90 applicants):








And here's a depressing resume, 2 master degrees and has to work at Super Store as cashier while searching for $12/hour accounting job (first picture):

[chedo009]

Hmmm..."Accounting Analyst working mostly on rebates collection and approvals"..sounds like a revolving position that AbitibiBowater is usually often posting couple a times year just to get a pool of available candidates instead of actually hiring. Now to answer your original question, I'll be brutally straght forward with you. Unfortunately, you have answered your question yourself. The reality of the jobmarket today for accountants,especially those recent graduates with limited or no experience and without certified degrees is that their situation is similar to those Law graduates in the '90's who,after flooding the job market, were forced to accept measly near-minimum wage pay just to avoid starvation.In the recent decade, the canadian universities,actively supported by agressive marketing from the accounting orders,flooded the job market with with recent graduates with limited or no experience, and who's only hope was to be within a well established but very competitive coop program.That being said, those that were not part of the established system were left to scramble for jobs on their own, mainly temporary and contractual posititions made available,thank god for me and you, by the mainstream trend factors, for one, an avalanche of maternety leaves in the last few years due to more and more predominantely younger female workforce, but also due to a large number of sick leaves and a heavy workforce turnover in finance/accounting depts due to insatisfaction in working condiitions,among which, unpaid overetime working hours and unsatisfactory pay. What I'm trying to tell you is that since you are not part of the well established system, you'll have on rely on whatever its necessary to first land a few contractual/temporary positions that could give you enough experience to land yourself a potentially permanent position that could be satisfacory to you on carrer developpement and professeional level.

[keano]

Here's a posting copied and resubmitted from a real job that was $12/hour:








Amount of emails in 24 hour period (90 applicants):








And here's a depressing resume, 2 master degrees and has to work at Super Store as cashier while searching for $12/hour accounting job (first picture):

Just curious, what do you do?

[chedo009]

Here's a posting copied and resubmitted from a real job that was $12/hour:







Amount of emails in 24 hour period (90 applicants):








And here's a depressing resume, 2 master degrees and has to work at Super Store as cashier while searching for $12/hour accounting job (first picture):

Those 2 masters degrees that were obtained in India may be very valuable to a recent immigrant to Canada, but WITHOUT OFFICIAL PROVINCIAL MINISTRY RECOGNIZED EQUIVALENCIES, they are generally disregarded by canadian employers,and for a good reason as they tend to be very suspecious of potentially high risk of overseas high-education fake creditials.

[renoldman]

Those 2 masters degrees that were obtained in India may be very valuable to a recent immigrant to Canada, but WITHOUT OFFICIAL PROVINCIAL MINISTRY RECOGNIZED EQUIVALENCIES, they are generally disregarded by canadian employers,and for a good reason as they tend to be very suspecious of potentially high risk of overseas high-education fake creditials.

The real problem is that they don't have any real job experience.

The person got the degrees and stayed at an education institution.

This person may be able to do entry level accounting work, but no one is going to give them a job from posting online.

Add in the fact that the degrees are nearly a decade old and you can see the person is simply wasting time.

That's not racist, that's reality.

If you were a Canadian with degrees from 2003 and no work experience, I would say it is very likely that you would not get a job either from responding to online ads.

[chedo009]

The real problem is that they don't have any real job experience.

The person got the degrees and stayed at an education institution.

This person may be able to do entry level accounting work, but no one is going to give them a job from posting online.

Add in the fact that the degrees are nearly a decade old and you can see the person is simply wasting time.

That's not racist, that's reality.

If you were a Canadian with degrees from 2003 and no work experience, I would say it is very likely that you would not get a job either from responding to online ads.

Agree with you. Moreover, this person turned down the opportunity to become somedody valued & recognized in India to become a real nobody in this country.

[renoldman]

It's easy for us to give opinions on this person's resume.

However, I still say there is a small chance that this person could have got work when they first came to Canada.

But, they wouldn't receive anything from replying to job ads by sending in a resume. And that goes for a lot of people with difficulties in finding a related job ..... especially new grads.