Career in Practice

Career in Practice

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Hi All

I am looking for advice from the one had been on the same boat or from the view as an employer

I have recently qualified since Oct 2014, and have now been trying to change my career from working in Public Health sector to Accountancy practice

I had one year experience of working in an accounting practice then have been working more than 9 years in the Public Health sector, and currently working in the Management Accounts department, I am willing to move into accountancy practice because my desire is to develop myself as an experienced chartered accountant and would like to apply my knowledge into practice. 

I have been sending letter to practises asking for any availability, unfortunately not been successful at all

Any comment and advice are welcome, much Appreciated

Eric Lam

Replies (7)

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By johngroganjga
04th Mar 2015 21:23

What is your qualification and where are you based?

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Replying to buttercup books:
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By Eric Lam
04th Mar 2015 22:31

thanks for your post, I am with ACCA and base at Greater Manchester

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By Bungo
05th Mar 2015 07:06

Keep plugging away
I don't think there is much else for it but to keep plugging away at the applications. I am sure you will crack it. Good luck,

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By johngroganjga
05th Mar 2015 08:00

Yes persistence is required but I would get some of the agencies working on your behalf as well.

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By NHGlos
05th Mar 2015 08:20

Persistance

As mentioned persistence is the key, be prepared to make a few sacrifices in terms of position and salary. The skill set for practice and industry can be very different, I've even seen practice vacancies ask for minimal "exposure" (their term) to industry and even movers from practice to industry can find it hard to move back.

Have you tried contacting firms directly, either in person or by phone? This direct approach can be more attention grabbing, particularly relevant if you don't have practice experience on your CV. The problem with agencies is that they are usually only interested in CVs that that tick all of the boxes in terms of the clients job spec. and if you don't have practice experience you'll be short a few ticks.

Also, consider the nature of your experience, is this something that could be transferred to smaller health/medical operations (e.g. GP surgeries)? If so, try firms that provide services to medical practices, dental practices etc. There might not be a perfect match, but that connection might catch the eye of someone looking at your experience. Firms that offer outsourced management accounting as a significant part of their services (as opposed to tax/audit/financial accounts) could potentially offer a foot in the door that might present the potential to move into other areas later - there was a top 50 firm locally who have recently advertised for a management accounts senior and were even asking CIMA qualification which is rare in firms.

Good luck

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By Tim Vane
05th Mar 2015 11:04

I agree with many of the comments above. You must keep trying.

However, I would add that if the letters you are sending have a similar level of grammar and syntax to your posts here, they would certainly put me off as a prospective employer. First impressions count for a lot.

I know that when posting online people are generally more lax with their spelling and proof-reading etc, so I suspect that your initial contacts are far more polished, but it may be worth asking somebody to proof-read them. Agencies can be useful in this respect.

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By Eric Lam
07th Mar 2015 08:10

Thanks

I am much appreciated for all the comments and advise, i will keep trying

Tim - I will start reading more articles and newspaper, hopefully will bring an improvement to my grammar and syntax, thanks

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