A wake up call for a recent graduate interested in a career in accounting

How true is this?

When you read about graduate unemployment rates being so high or stories of people sending out 100 or 300 application forms and still not getting anything back it is easy to push it at the back of your head and say “I am at university, college it won’t happen to me.” But when you do graduate and you start sending out those CV and cover letters and even worse you spend all day completing that dreaded and long application form only to receive a rejection email. That is if you are lucky enough to get anything back it hits you.

Rejection is deflating.

Then for me I went through a phrase where after I graduated I felt free. I had gone to school, college and university and completed it. I could do anything that I have always wanted to do (previous posts will show some of those thoughts). I tried some of those ideas, I thought extensively about other ideas and nothing ever came from that. I looked at other career options such as recruitment since on every job site they are so many jobs advertised. I applied to around 30 recruitment jobs and got 4 telephone calls that ended there.

Still, it is more than the response I got from actual jobs in accounting and finance. I even sent out speculative CV and cover letter’s to accounting firms and I received 3 emails back saying they do not have anything.

Luckily, I had my CV checked by a professional and they enlightened me on a lot of things I could improve.

 And this got me thinking about my career in accounting.  If I am being honest with myself I haven’t been 100% with this process. I know my CV needs improving and I haven’t improved it. I know that I need to fully research a company that includes fully utilising my LinkedIn account and creating a twitter account so that I can get updates about companies that I am interested in applying to.

In addition, just the application forms and the processes I have not practiced on anything. Is my grammar and punctuation good enough when completing the forms and if I ever get far enough to an assessment centre I have seen that some companies ask for you to write a report. Will I be confident enough to do that? Again, online assessments are my weak point and so far I have not done much to improve on that.

On a positive note I have just googled myself and only my linkedin picture comes up.

So this year, my gap year I am going to work on myself. To increase my knowledge on accounting practices, on the application processes and also I am going to carry on learning French. I did it for 5 years in high school and I feel as though to get in or to be successful in the business world you need to be global and having a knowledge of other languages will help with that.

I have my first AAT exam on September 1 and I have gone through the first chapters and it looked like the stuff I did in my first year of college. So, I need to revise that and pass the exams first time because this is money coming out of my pockets.

But one thing I am learning is patience. It takes some people 1 year or even more to get the job they are qualified for. I have to fight for that job. It’s me and 1000 people fighting for that one job. It is a sad reality but I need to make sure that that employer notices me and thinks “I need this person, no matter what.”

Bonus: 

Next stage of my career

So since my last exam in June I have moved back home and I went through different phases were I wanted to relax and enjoy doing nothing whilst I waited for my results and then when my results finally came I had a 2:2 and all of that and then I started applying for jobs. I went through another phase were I applied for and thought about all the other career options that during my degree I had at the back of my mind.

Because for the first time in a while I am free and I can literally do anything I want but as I deeply researched and attempted these fantasy careers I realised that 1) I don't really want to do that job and 2) I don't have that motivation to do it.

So, I am at the point now were I know that accounting is what I want to do. (and I know I have said this on a lot of my previous posts.) But I feel as though I had to be unsure and uncertain in order to go through this crisis or trial period so that I can realise that the grass is not greener on the other side.

With that said yesterday I registered with AAT and today I booked two exams for level 3. For the first time in a while I slept for a long time and when I woke up I felt weird as if I had just shifted my destiny and changed my future for the better. I will not be settling for a job. I want a career that I can be proud of. I don't regret going to university. I had an amazing time and met so many amazing people that the experience in itself was so worth it.

Now, I have to start revising again for exams and more exams because that is the only way I can be happy to live my life.

They are also 10 other graduate schemes that accept a 2;2 so I will be preparing for those and give it a chance. Plus, I want to start volunteering so that I can build my confidence in a working environment and to get myself out of the house and out of my head. Plus, a positive reference will be good as well.

I feel as though, this is the final chance. I am going to try my best to do the exams at the best of my capability and to get a volunteering place and to be able to make a positive difference and learn a lot of skills. Plus, to have the confidence and skills to apply and go through the process of graduate schemes.

I will need to have and improve on some things but I am more focused now more than ever and I know that in a year this time I will be either waiting to start my graduate scheme or I will have already started my job in accounting whilst also training for ACCA or ACA or maybe CIMA.

I am not going to give up.

Graduation ruined by family

So I finally graduated today and as the title states my graduation day was basically ruined by some of my family members. Its 1 am now and I have just finished crying. I should probably back-track.

I really enjoyed my time at uni and I enjoyed meeting different people from different walks of life. In my final year I remember finding strength from the fact the I had to do this so that my family could see me graduate on the day.

So when the results came out I found out that I was graduating I didn't want to cause them any issues so I ordered my own gown, pictures, bought tickets, booked the hotel room and everything. Literally, all they had to do was to turn up.

I had my mum, dad and little brother there. So on the day we weren't together because I had to go with other graduates and I was lucky enough to sit with my friend so it was fun and we got to look back to the times that we were struggling and how we are finally here. Graduating. I remember walking and getting my certificate. I was so happy in that moment. It was my time, I was proud of myself. Nothing else mattered at that time.

When the ceremony ended I went to meet my family and my mum hugged me however, my brother was already in a horrible mood and was ready to go home. Not even 20 seconds there, the atmosphere had changed. They were arguing. But we had to get the professional photographs taken. The ceremony finished at 12:10 and I had paid extra so that we can get a slot for 13 but they didn't want to wait. They were refreshments drinks and little treats. I couldn't even eat that without being shouted at and being told to hurry up and get the photos done. When we got to the photos and the guy was taking our family photo my brother wasn't even smiling he had sulking face as if he didn't want to be there and the guy even pointed it out and told him to smile and he wouldn't.

Then when I was getting pictures with my friends my father and brother left to go sit in the car. At the end when I wanted to voice how my feelings at how disappointed I was that they didn't let me enjoy this one day. I was told that I was acting like a "silly little girl." and basically that I should be grateful that they even showed up. What I realized is that this isn't just a celebration of my three years at university but all my work from high school, college that led up to this moment.

The thing is my brother didn't even leave high school with any GCSE's and has done nothing all year so maybe watching me achieve something was intimidating. And then when I think of it, what were we rushing for, one just played games and the other on the computer.

It made me realise something though. When I was with friends I always went back home for my birthday (were we did nothing, not even going out or eating on the dining table.) and I never fully understood the value of celebrating a birthday or a moment for someone else. Even if you don't want to be there. It isn't about you but because you care or love that person you should do it for them.

Another thing I have noticed from this experience is that my opinion is never taken into account and my feelings as well. In this family, if anything happens it is just brushed under the rug as if nothing has happened. I don't think that is healthy.

I have decided that I need to leave this toxic environment. The three years I was away were so freeing, I was around people who actually respected my opinion and were we could go out and actually have a good time.

I came into this world alone and I will leave it alone. I need to start putting myself first even with my family because when I think about it. That is what they always do with themselves. I guess it took me a little while to realise that is how it is supposed to be.

On a positive note, I appreciate my mother a lot more and regardless of everything. I still graduated and I did it. Throughout all the obstacles that were in front of me. I pushed through all of them.

Life: Feeling like a failure but realising that I have to try harder

So I got a 2:2 in my degree and even though I acted as though I was okay with it deep down I know that it has affected me. My first year went so well, I remember when I went to university all I said was that I just wanted to sit in a classroom again and learn and then in my second year all I ended up doing was not caring about my education. I was enjoying life or should I say I got too excited and I lost track of why I was there. I then just barely made it to my final year and ultimately that affected me getting a 2:1.

I have applied to a number of jobs within accounting and I have not gotten a single response. So I decided to apply to recruitment jobs and I ended up getting three calls in a day that lead up to nothing. It make me realise though that recruitment is not a career for me. I feel very unprepared and after speaking to my brother I have finally snapped out of the delusional world I have living in. Maybe I didn't want to accept it, that I am back here. Unemployed. The difference now is that I have work experience and a degree.

I need to stop thinking negatively and start thinking positively because even though I didn't get the grade that I worked for the first time in a long time I felt ignited when I was doing my research project and when I was revising for my exams. I need to get into a routine whereby I am able to wake up and be productive and not waste anytime so that I can get used to it.

I really do not have any more choices anymore. It is finally time to grow up and be an adult in this competitive world. I need to show that I can be just as competitive as the rest of them. I need to make at least one employer to notice me.

I want to become an accountant. No ifs or buts or what if or I can do something else. This is what I am going to do. I have a long journey ahead of me but this is what I want to become. I am going to start from the bottom and climb up this ladder. Starting from this moment I will not doubt myself. This is not about money but about me.

I want to be an accountant

After 23 years I have finally decided that I want to be an accountant. Today I found out what I got on one of my course works and it was a 2:2. When I saw it I was in denial. I even said to myself. To be honest that is the highest grade I have gotten as a piece of coursework.

Then I started crying when I woke after having a dream that I got 71 marks overall. That fact hurt me the most. I think I will have to accept that I could get a 2:2 as a degree. I worked hard with everything this year, I didn't sleep. I forced myself to do work. I was sick because of it. I had headaches but I still forced it. I gained a ton of weight and I still forced myself to do the work. I did so much and I pushed myself beyond anything and.....

If I still come out of this with a 2:2 then I have decided that I will still push on to become an accountant.

I will apply to smaller firms and hopefully, I can get something and at the same time I will look to gain some experience at an accounting firm in the city or surrounding areas so I can have relevant work experience under my belt.

When I get a job I will become a qualified accountant and then I can move to a bigger firm. I will work there for 5 to 10 years. With the dream of gaining enough experience to become a partner either at that big firm or at the big four.

I can't see myself doing anything else at the point. I know this is going to be hard and how I have put myself at a poor standing but I will work hard in anything I have. This is the only thing that I have ever done and achieved on my own. I see people crying on singing shows or at Olympics because they want it so bad or they are fighting for their dream and to me I am crying because I want to be an accountant.

I struggled at the internship and I struggled in my final year but I pushed through every single day until the very end. It wasn't all for nothing.

What to do now

So it's almost been a a week since I finished university and I feel like I have had enough time to relax and do nothing but I am ready to do all the things I couldn't do because I was doing my exams or coursework. I am back home now and I honestly thought I would enjoy doing nothing for a long time but watching shows are kind off boring now. I guess their really interesting when you have something to do.

1) On my list is to finally learn how to do design websites and hopefully, being able to sell them and make some money out of that.

2) I want to lose weight, I am 23 years old now and I went through my teens and young adulthood just unhappy with my weight. After what I suffered in  my final year. I am ready to finally lose this weight. I don't want to be 40 years old and still worrying about my weight. I will lose it. I want to be a size 12 or size 10. No more junk food and I want to workout. I need to create a plan today and start tomorrow.

3) Play sims 3 and read books.

4) Go out more.

Last day of university

Ahhhhh, I did it, it has been three years and I have started and finished university. I am not going to lie it was hard, I struggled so much doing the coursework and then the exams.

I feel like they don't tell you that part of university but the thing is in that process of struggling, crying and thinking I couldn't do it I was able fight through it, endure the tough times because I believed that they would end and now here I am. I have written my final exam of my education and I am now ready to take on the world and work. I am ready for that. I wasn't ready last year or even February this year but now after just sitting and watching people working hard and doing things it made me realize that I can do anything and that this is not the end for me. I will grow and learn and experience life so that I am able to become a better person.

Erm, I have to wait three weeks until my results, I don't really want to think about that because its out my hands now and there is nothing I can do now.

I don't even want to type, read or anything. I want to mind-numbing activities now like playing games.