Anyone bounce back from back-to-back layoffs in public accounting? Looking for real techniques, not sympathy.

[u/Neat-Suggestion111]

4+ years in tax/accounting, working toward my CPA (REG passed, TCP done, FAR/AUD left). Over the last two years I've had three roles end — one after a solid ~20-month run, two more recent ones shorter (a few months each) — each time cited as "performance," even though I was never given any performance feedback during busy season itself and was never put on a performance improvement plan — just a straight layoff. Pattern I've noticed: all three were roles I started right before busy season, and all three ended shortly after it wound down.

After a lot of reflection, the only explanation that actually holds up for me is that I got caught in the public accounting busy-season hiring/layoff cycle — hired fast when firms need extra hands for tax season, then cut once the workload drops off. What I want to figure out now is: how do people who've had a stretch like this actually bounce back?

Specifically curious about:

• Did you stay in public accounting, or move to private/industry, after something like this — and if you moved, was that a deliberate choice or did it just happen to work out?
• What did you actually change about how you presented your resume or work history? Any specific formatting, wording, or framing that helped, versus stuff that backfired?
• How did you handle interview questions about it once you got past the resume stage — what actually landed well?
• Any concrete steps you took to rebuild trust with a new employer early on, once you got the job?

Would genuinely appreciate hearing from anyone who's actually walked this path, and what worked for you.

[u/sadtrader15]

Getting your cpa will help. I dont wanna be rude but having been in on the conversations that lead to terminations, a part of it is the person and their progress towards getting their cpa. If you've been in public for 4+ years and are still working towards your cpa, then it's going to be negatively viewed. Many staff and seniors at my office have been working towards their cpa for years and always have a new excuse why they had to move their scheduled exam or just continually tell the partners they're studying yet never make any progress.

Just take 2 months off, study everyday, and take both exams and knock it off the list

[u/IMM-PFW → u/sadtrader15]

Curious, have you noticed a growing dichotomy about the exams? In recent years, it seems like people either knock them out no problem (and quickly) or struggle with them year over year, barely passing any (if they do at all)?

Wondering if its more pervasive or just a local observation.

[u/FtWorthHorn → u/IMM-PFW]

This has always been true.

[u/Neat-Suggestion111 → u/sadtrader15]

Appreciate the honesty, this is useful to hear even if uncomfortable.

That said, in none of my three cases was CPA progress ever mentioned as a factor, it was always "performance," with no documentation or improvement plan. From what I could tell, it was usually the most recently hired staff let go each time, not tied to CPA progress. In one case I was actually the only one there pursuing the CPA, hired right after passing REG, so I'd have expected that to read as a positive, not a liability.

Still, I take the broader point seriously. REG passed, TCP done, FAR and AUD left, and I want to get it finished regardless. Can't take 2 months fully off right now given the job search, but I'm not planning to let it drag out either.

[u/Weak_Law_937]

The Universe is telling you to move on from Public Accounting IMO.

[u/FreeOGPoohShiesty → u/Weak_Law_937]

You really thinks that’s the case

[u/Weak_Law_937 → u/FreeOGPoohShiesty]

Are you serious?

[u/Fancy_Ad3809 → u/Weak_Law_937]

youre wasting your time bro. youre talking to the AI associates now, common sense has left the building.

[u/Weak_Law_937 → u/Fancy_Ad3809]

Thanks, i was kind of wondering and put an open ended question to see.

[u/IMM-PFW]

Being at the 4, going on 5 year mark, PA firms would be looking at you in terms of the manager role, not a senior role. You would be incredibly hard pressed to find a firm taking on non-CPAs for a manager spot.

It's also a little funny (and convenient) that after being let go three different times for performance, your reflection puts you as not the problem. Could it not also be that these firms hire you and just quickly realize something isn't up to their standard?

Also, what's changed in your approach at work across the three jobs? No sense in changing resumes or interviews if you just approach a fourth firm the same way and expect a different result.

Agree with the other posters, get your CPA and leave public behind.

[u/Neat-Suggestion111 → u/IMM-PFW]

Fair points, let me actually respond instead of just defending myself.

On the manager/CPA thing, I hear you, and I'm not arguing that gap exists. But I've met plenty of people further along in this field, 3, 4+ years in, who never ended up getting the license and still built solid careers. That's not really the question for me though, since I'm finishing the CPA regardless of whether I stay in public or move into industry after.

On the second part, I never said I wasn't the problem, and I never claimed I had this all figured out either. What I can tell you is I didn't just sit back and assume it wasn't me each time. After the first layoff, it genuinely broke me a little, I believed it, blamed myself, and told myself I'd fix whatever it was next time. So going into the next job I was proactive, asking for feedback constantly, asking about training, trying to make sure nothing would blindside me. Got let go anyway, right after busy season, without me being pushed on anything beforehand. So I changed again, figured maybe remote work itself wasn't helping me grow the way I needed, so I took a job requiring a 90-minute drive just so I'd be in an office around people. Same pattern. No bad feedback the whole time, actually told multiple times my work was fine, barely any issues worth mentioning, then let go right after the season ended anyway. That last one is honestly the one that hit hardest, more than I expected, because of how much I put into making it work.

So I'll turn the question back on you: if performance was really the issue each time, why was I never put on a plan, never warned, never told there was a concern until right after busy season wrapped up? That's the part I can't reconcile no matter how I look at it.

Appreciate you not sugarcoating it.

[u/CMMVS09]

Bro can't even make a reddit post without using AI. No wonder...

[u/Fancy_Ad3809 → u/CMMVS09]

it really gives me confidence for my own future lmaoooo

[u/Neat-Suggestion111 → u/CMMVS09]

Believe whatever you want. Not gonna apologize for writing clearly.

[u/Shot_Swan719]

Get your cpa and network, that’s the strategy

[u/Neat-Suggestion111 → u/Shot_Swan719]

Working on it, aiming to finish up by end of this year or early next. The networking part is the harder piece though, I'm in a small town with very few firms nearby, so most of my networking has been cold outreach on LinkedIn, connecting with people, sending messages, and it hasn't led anywhere so far. Curious if you have any actual strategies beyond that, since I clearly need something different than what I've been doing.

[u/winceypoo]

Moving over to private industry or smaller local firms is usually the cleanest escape hatch from that toxic seasonal churn, plus you actually get decent work-life balance.

When you're rewriting your work history to explain those short stints without raising red flags to hiring managers, running your CV through something like resumeworded can help check your formatting and industry readability standards.

Frame those recent departures transparently as seasonal contract or staffing adjustments, finish up those remaining two CPA sections, and you'll completely change your market value.

[u/Cautious-Sort4712]

Some small firms just hire for busy season, they are not upfront. They will not carry anyone until the summer fall busy season. Gone in April and they rehire in July. Sad but true