Forgot how bad job searching was :(

[Martynt74]

What's your degree in? I'd recommend studying ACCA if that's what you want. Or CIMA. Hopefully you can find something. When you say assessment centre? Are you looking mainly at the big 4?

May be worth looking for smaller firms in your chosen field. Insolvency/corporate finance/ audit as you say. Good luck anyway.

What are recruitment firms saying?

For me, I've just got another interview for a commercial finance Manager. The role is excellent and I would prefer it to the one I've been put forward to finalist interview stage. Annoyingly it's in my wedding anniversary so have to change my plans slightly. It's for an IT consultancy firm called Intrinsic if anyone knows it.

 

[Akmeeda]

Degree is in Accounting and Finance from Edinburgh uni. 2 of the 3 assessment centres I've been to have been for Big 4 yeah. The other one was a FTSE 50 investment firm based in Edinburgh.

I think I do need to apply to some smaller firms. Their recruitment process should be shorter and hopefully less competition as well.

 

[currantloaf]

Recent economics graduate in similar position in applying for jobs so don't feel you are alone ! It's just the nature of the game. How far is your search extending - just to Edinburgh? Might be worth trying to extend the area you are looking at. Also have you asked the careers service at your university to forward on anything that pops up - my university seems quite good at doing this

 

[Akmeeda]

Yeah I'm just applying within Edinburgh. Limiting my options I know but it's due to family reasons :/ . I'll have a look at my university's career service, they normally post jobs on their careers page but i'll see if they can forward relevant jobs to me directly.

What sort of positions have you been applying to?

 

[TNGL]

Recently got a graduate offer from a large consulting firm which I'm chuffed about, seeing as the bank I interned with in the summer told us in the second week that no full-time offers would be given due to a change in resourcing requirements. Until this point (and in terms of 2017 grad applications) I had been rejected by 10 firms, 2 of which were due to my telephone interview performance, 7 due to failing either an SJT or reasoning test and 1 because the application was very weak and not much thought had gone into it.

I still have a few ongoing applications to IBs as well as some others firms and have an AC with one of the smaller IBs in January which I'm looking forward to; the scheme will allow me to be in the exact role I've had an interest in for a long time now, so it'd be absolutely fantastic if I was made an offer for it. I'm also waiting on the outcome of a telephone interview I had for a commodities trading grad scheme, which has some interesting rotations.

Consulting seems to have a fair few advantages in comparison to investment banking, though I will just have to see. I am very keen on the role I have an AC for in Jan but I don't want to get too excited just yet.

Akmeeda, does your university not hold mock assessment centres? If not, try and see if you can attend one elsewhere. I haven't personally taken part in one, though I can imagine it would be very useful. I made a mess of my first ever AC but by taking the feedback on board and watching/reading a few things online, my performance seems to have improved (and will hopefully carry through to the Jan AC) so I would definitely recommend it. Applying to smaller firms can have its benefits as less people will apply but it's likely there'll also be less places available as well, so it may not necessarily be an easier route. How many firms have you applied for? It might be worth widening your scope by applying to different roles altogether. Best of luck though and just keep it up, like I said, I was rejected by 10 until this first offer finally came in!

 

[Akmeeda]

Yeah they do mock assessment centres I believe. I will definitely book myself into one after New Years.

I've applied for 7 graduate positions for the 2017 intake. Of these, I made it to the assessment centre stage for 5 of them and these were all highly competitive big firms. I've currently failed 3 assessment centres and another I had to cancel due to it clashing with another AC. I do currently have an AC in January for one of the big UK banks and waiting to hear back if I've made the AC for another firm which would make it 6 AC's. The AC in Jan would be for the most ideal role out of all the positions I have applied to but it will be a tough day. Just got to learn from my mistakes in the previous AC's and do as well as I can.

7 might not sound like much but the process has been so so long. Some of the applications had been going on for 6 months! I did apply for 2016 positions as well so I guess overall I have applied for around 15 graduate jobs. Only made it to 1 AC last year.

 

[Akmeeda]

Managed to secure a CA trainee role within audit with a top 10 accountancy firm. So very relieved and happy!

 

[Martynt74]

Well done Was that for the Jan AC which you mentioned would be the best fit?

I didn't mind the audit exam i sat. Although it was probably my poorest result (think i just scraped the 50% pass rate!)

I'm starting to get quite a few interviews coming through now.

Pricing Analyst role. Had the second interview yesterday. Was a video link to the USA and i felt it went excellently. To the point the UK representative came in towards the end saying to wrap it up as the next candidate was here (we were allocated an hour each) and the US interviewer said to give us another 5 minutes as we were having quite an in-depth discussion. Felt that level of interest would be a positive step.

Had one interview for a Commercial Finance Analyst shortly before Christmas as was due to hear towards the end of last week but still heard nothing. I felt it went well and the feedback from the recruiter was positive. She has been in contact recently apologising for the lack of updates so seems firmly to be with the company.

Another interview tomorrow for a huge company. Their turnover is £7.5bn, i've never worked for a company on that scale so that will be exciting.

Then a phone interview on Thursday.

Really hope something drops from these. Glad i'm working from home at the moment and the hours are flexible as otherwise i'd really be struggling.

 

[Delvis]

What do you do when you generally like your job but need more money, yet are pretty sure the company is extremely unlikely to offer a decent amount of more pay?

 

[Martynt74]

Either get a second part time job/home based freelance work or accept it's time to move on and make sure you ask plenty questions in the interview to make sure the new job is a good fit.

Looking at other jobs available, are there similar roles to your current one which pay more?

 

[Akmeeda]

Well done Was that for the Jan AC which you mentioned would be the best fit?

I didn't mind the audit exam i sat. Although it was probably my poorest result (think i just scraped the 50% pass rate!)

I'm starting to get quite a few interviews coming through now.

Pricing Analyst role. Had the second interview yesterday. Was a video link to the USA and i felt it went excellently. To the point the UK representative came in towards the end saying to wrap it up as the next candidate was here (we were allocated an hour each) and the US interviewer said to give us another 5 minutes as we were having quite an in-depth discussion. Felt that level of interest would be a positive step.

Had one interview for a Commercial Finance Analyst shortly before Christmas as was due to hear towards the end of last week but still heard nothing. I felt it went well and the feedback from the recruiter was positive. She has been in contact recently apologising for the lack of updates so seems firmly to be with the company.

Another interview tomorrow for a huge company. Their turnover is £7.5bn, i've never worked for a company on that scale so that will be exciting.

Then a phone interview on Thursday.

Really hope something drops from these. Glad i'm working from home at the moment and the hours are flexible as otherwise i'd really be struggling.

It's not the ideal one I was talking about before but to be honest I am now in two minds about whether this or that other one would be best. This role is in audit and I think it would be a great experience to work in audit with different clients. The other role is in the finance department of one of the big UK banks and the salary is quite a bit higher there. However, I think the range of experiences at this stage of my career are more important than salary and prestige of the firm. Although the experience of working for a big bank would also be fantastic but just not as varied. I think I will still do the assessment centre for that which is on Tuesday and see how it goes. Both roles are trainee CA roles as well.

All the best with your interviews also

 

[Martynt74]

Cheers, the one yesterday went well. To the point i was told on the spot that they'd want me back at the second stage so thats nice. Had a call from the recruiter saying they're definately interested in me but management had a meeting in the afternoon and there may be some restructuring due to an announced retirement so not sure what the effect on the role will be.

Have also got an interview for a Commercial Analyst at Trinity Mirror the big newspaper corporation. Bit of a trek to get to but again it's a big firm so hopefully will look impressive on my cv.

I think Audit would be interesting. You get to experience many industries and meet lots of professionals. Just be warned no-one ever likes auditors I never did anyway as they always seem to want information during the busiest times!

Also working in Audit means you're virtually guaranteed to pass the 2 Audit based ACCA papers (Assuming you sit the professional Audit paper which would seem silly not to if you work in it)

 

[daver]

About to start testing the waters - been in my current job for 8 years (albeit with role changes) and currently commute 45 miles each way which has finally got to me enough to poke me into action. Ideally looking for something in Manc city centre so I can swap that commute for a walk to work.

Just updated my CV a bit, though I still want to work on it some more, and uploaded to a couple of places. A little bit unsure as to where to pitch myself as I get paid pretty well at the moment and would actually probably be prepared to take a hefty pay cut for the right job especially as I wouldn't mind getting something out of the sector I'm in (I'm a management accountant but my experience is in manufacturing sector).

Also a little worried my notice period will prove a hindrance - technically my notice period was 1 month when I joined and hasn't changed but the role I am in now would normally have a notice period of 3 months they have just never updated my terms. I'd like to give them 3 months because I don't want to leave them in the **** but we will see how it goes.

 

[Martynt74]

Lot of Accountants in here!

I'd have thought that you'd have a decent chance of getting something in central Manchester. Although in my current search i've seen few roles based in the centre which isn't what i found in previous searches. Maybe it's just my area though.

I spent my first 9 years in Financial Services and moved to Manufacturing without a pay cut so not sure if you should expect that really. Although again, given my area is more as an analyst/reporting then it maybe transfers skills better as opposed to knowing the specific accounting IFRS rules for specific industries.

As for the notice period you're probably best to look for roles and discuss in the Interview. I think that at a certain level 3 months is to be expected so i don't think it would put you at a disadvantage. However you could always gauge on the nature of the job.

Being available sooner may be a big plus point (I struggled during my last search and ended up getting enough money together to leave my job to be immediately available and it worked as it suited the hiring company. Not sure i'd recommend that though.)

 

[Delvis]

Either get a second part time job/home based freelance work or accept it's time to move on and make sure you ask plenty questions in the interview to make sure the new job is a good fit.

Looking at other jobs available, are there similar roles to your current one which pay more?

Probably not due to the clientele.

Technically it's an IT Support role, with some random jobs (but more enjoyable) thrown in.

It's a shame, as I'm really struggling to be able to do anything on my current wage

 

[blairw]

3 months notice period should not be a problem in the slightest - if they want YOU, they will wait.

 

[daver]

Lot of Accountants in here!

I'd have thought that you'd have a decent chance of getting something in central Manchester. Although in my current search i've seen few roles based in the centre which isn't what i found in previous searches. Maybe it's just my area though.

I spent my first 9 years in Financial Services and moved to Manufacturing without a pay cut so not sure if you should expect that really. Although again, given my area is more as an analyst/reporting then it maybe transfers skills better as opposed to knowing the specific accounting IFRS rules for specific industries.

As for the notice period you're probably best to look for roles and discuss in the Interview. I think that at a certain level 3 months is to be expected so i don't think it would put you at a disadvantage. However you could always gauge on the nature of the job.

Being available sooner may be a big plus point (I struggled during my last search and ended up getting enough money together to leave my job to be immediately available and it worked as it suited the hiring company. Not sure i'd recommend that though.)

Thanks, yeah i've been a Financial Controller for the past 5 years but being in a small business it includes a lot more other **** like IT, HR, Pensions etc and actually the parts of my job I enjoy most are analysis, kpi reporting etc - company I work at was bought from an owner-manager using handwritten accounts so I've been heavily involved in the implementation of a lot of the systems in the time I've been there and created most of the reporting and things like live dashboards etc and that's the kind of stuff I enjoy most.

Semi set myself a target of June before I just hand my notice in anyway, fortunate enough to have enough saved that I can take a chance. Still, already had a recruiter on the phone wanting to put me forward for a role, round about the same as I am on now but a lot closer to home although not in the city centre so going to have a think about that over the weekend and then got a meeting set up for next friday to talk about other roles.

 

[Martynt74]

Given you're going for reporting/analysis based roles you beat not be going for the same as me!

 

[daver]

Ha no I doubt it that role isn't much reporting/analysis its pretty much the same as I do now without some of the bits I don't like and with a bit more room for growth as well as being closer. It's probably the kind of role I'd probably go for if I had been looking for a while but I don't want to jump at something straightaway that doesn't tick all the boxes.

 

[On Holiday]

There's a support job going at a datacentre in my city. (Look left)
Perfect for getting on the ladder, linux server and network experience/skills desirable. Expect "entry" salary. Relaxed atmosphere.

Trust if interested and I can provide a lot more info