Career Planning - Undergraduate and Recently Graduated Accountants

Many moons ago, when I was at uni, the last thing I was thinking about was getting a job in an office.

I really enjoyed working in hospitality and provided I was making enough money to go to festivals and travel during the holidays that was good enough for me. This probably explains why I didn’t get a “real job” until I was in my mid 20’s.

That being said, I do think there is real value in getting professional experience early, because, until you have worked in an industry it is really hard to know what you want to do. The older you get, the harder it is to change industries for a number of reasons.

I’ve included some general advice on what kind of jobs you should go for if you are:

• An undergraduate;

• About to graduate / recently graduated.

Undergraduate Roles

It really depends on what you are looking for out of the role.

Are you certain of what you want to do once you graduate or do you just want to get some experience?

If you are certain you want to be an accountant, our recommendation would be to try and get into a cadetship in the Big 4 or with a Mid-Tier firm.

If you just want to get some experience but are unsure accounting is for you, our recommendation would be to get a job in a smaller firm.

The reasons for this are simple:

The Big 4 and Mid-Tier Firms

Mid-tier firms and the Big 4 will have structured cadetships, you will need to work 4 to 4.5 days per week and you will need to fit in your uni around work.

In addition to this, you will be working full time during uni holidays AND you are probably going to get the minimum wage for your troubles.

It can be overwhelming for some people and because you will be working 30 + hours per week, you can miss out on a lot of the fun stuff at uni.

The benefit is that you will get some excellent experience and you will be worth a lot more money when you finish uni.

Smaller Firms

Smaller firms are much more likely to be able to offer you 2-3 days per week and because they are less likely to have structured cadetships they are more likely to fit in with your schedule and less likely to make you work all your uni holidays.

In terms of actual experience, because you are only working a few days each week, you will probably end up doing more processing work than you might at a mid-tier.

That being said, you will probably get paid more and when you do apply for graduate positions, you will be front of the queue.

Graduate Programs In Commerce

Lots of people love commerce because the roles tend to be more analytical and commercially focused and can often lead to operational (non-finance) positions.

The most important things to hiring managers for these roles are:

• Excellent academics;

• Good communication skills;

• Experience working as an undergraduate is highly regarded.

Something I will say about graduate programs in commerce is that you will be highly sought after in commerce, however if you do have any desire to work in an accounting firm it can be hard to move across from commerce.

Graduate Accounting Position In An Accounting Firm

If your goal is to get into accounting, I recommend that a graduate role in business services in an accounting firm is the best choice for most people.

The main reasons are:

• Working in business services will make you the most employable to the most number of businesses, compared to insolvency, for example, which can be really hard to get out of;

• It is easier to move out of business services into other service lines;

• You will be a revenue generating asset in an accounting firm so there is real incentive for the business you are working for to invest in your training;

We get a lot of people asking about getting Big 4 audit experience. Unless you have a passion for audit or want to get into technical reporting in the future it is not that important and there are easier ways to make money.

There are lots of considerations when deciding which business to join which we go into in our webinars. If you are interested in attending please get in contact peter@halbowman.com.au