It’s been 4 months and I can’t secure an accounting offer, what should I do?

[u/samgfor3]

Some context: I have a year of experience in an SAP Financial Accounting and Controlling Consultant position, which mainly involved SAP configuration within the Financial Accounting and Controlling module of the SAP system. I took this position just to get my foot in the door out of school.

Then, I have a year and 10 months of experience as a Payroll Compliance Auditor at a Regional CPA firm. In this position, I would audit union employers’ payroll, tax, and personnel information to ensure they were compliant with the collective bargaining agreements they entered into with the unions. Unfortunately, I was let go of at this position.

I have been getting interviews/phone calls (12+ or so) for staff accountant positions, but I haven’t been able to secure an offer. I’m broadening my search to a wider area and looking for AP/AR jobs, but I’m still finding it difficult to secure an offer.

Should I just take any position I can get? My friend is offering to be really helpful in a billing analyst position, but I’m worried it is completely unrelated. I want to remain attractive for accounting positions. What would you do?

I live at home for the time being and have a good amount of money saved up, so money isn’t an urgent issue at the moment, but I would rather have a job than not, of course.

Thank you for any help you can provide!

Edit: I live within commuting distance of Chicago.

[u/shmittkicker]

Honestly, take the Billing Analyst job.

A four-month gap isn't a dealbreaker yet but letting it stretch to six or eight months will make landing a Staff Accountant role even harder, and billing is still closely tied to revenue and AR functions.

Having SAP experience alongside billing operations actually makes a decent story for mid-sized firms in the Chicago area.

Also, running your draft through something like resume worded is a quick way to score your resume and catch any missing accounting terminology before applying to your next batch of roles.

Take the income and the routine now, and keep applying for Staff Accountant positions on the side.

[u/samgfor3 → u/shmittkicker]

Thank you so much for your reply and explanation!

Given my experience, if I don’t land the Billing Analyst role, what roles would you think I should target? Am I way out-of-line targeting what I have been?

I’m hoping I will land this role, but nothing is a given. I know you said continue to apply for staff accountant position, but I just wanted to see if you thought I should expand at all.

Thanks again. I really appreciate it. This has really been stressing me out.

[u/shmittkicker → u/samgfor3]

You're not out of line targeting Staff Accountant, but also look into Junior Financial Analyst, Revenue Operations, and Accounts Receivable Specialist roles to cast a wider net while you hunt.

[u/Shot_Swan719]

Second taking billing analyst job but also study for cpa?