What to do post qualification????

cunning stunts

Hi

I will be a qualified accountant coming out of contract in April and was wondering what people in a similar situation have done in the last few months or what people coming out of contract soon are thinking of doing.

Im of the opinion that staying in the Big4 is probably not the best idea unless you geniunely love the job and intend staying there for a long time.

I also think that given the current climate here, it probably makes sense to move abroad.

Im seriously thinking about London at the moment. Oz also has its obvious attractions but possibly a bit too far away for me .

Ne ideas?

ianuss

My cousin, from Dublin, lives over in Vancouver. She was home for Christmas and was telling me how great it is over there. There's a huge amount of mining companies with their HQ's over there. From the sounds of it the industry is going through a bit of a boom.

Anyway, long story short..........she loves the city, even if it is a little expensive, and says there's lots of accountancy positions around. Pretty big Irish contingent too if that's your thing.

Jim2007

cunning stunts wrote: »

Hi

I will be a qualified accountant coming out of contract in April and was wondering what people in a similar situation have done in the last few months or what people coming out of contract soon are thinking of doing.

Im of the opinion that staying in the Big4 is probably not the best idea unless you geniunely love the job and intend staying there for a long time.

I also think that given the current climate here, it probably makes sense to move abroad.

Im seriously thinking about London at the moment. Oz also has its obvious attractions but possibly a bit too far away for me .

Ne ideas?

Consider Switzerland, there are lots of good jobs on offer over here and very candidates! Great salaries and conditions - work life balance is excellent, I've been here 20+ years and I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked to work OT!

Check out the Michael Page site for job offers.

Jim.

ianuss

Jim2007 wrote: »

Consider Switzerland, there are lots of good jobs on offer over here and very candidates! Great salaries and conditions - work life balance is excellent, I've been here 20+ years and I can count on one hand the number of times I've been asked to work OT!

Check out the Michael Page site for job offers.

Jim.

What do you need in the way of languages?

And also, where are you based if you don't mind me asking? My knowledge of Switzerland is minimal at best. I was on holidays in Lugano a few years ago but that's about it. Beautiful city by the way.

jonnybravo

cunning stunts wrote: »

Hi

I will be a qualified accountant coming out of contract in April and was wondering what people in a similar situation have done in the last few months or what people coming out of contract soon are thinking of doing.

Im of the opinion that staying in the Big4 is probably not the best idea unless you geniunely love the job and intend staying there for a long time.

I also think that given the current climate here, it probably makes sense to move abroad.

Im seriously thinking about London at the moment. Oz also has its obvious attractions but possibly a bit too far away for me .

Ne ideas?

I finished up last year and went travelling abroad for a year. Think its a great experience for anyone with any kind of interest in it.

If you want to go into industry I wouldn't see a need to leave Ireland. I know no unemployed accountants from college or work in Ireland so there seems to be some jobs around. Probably more important for you to decide what type of work you'd like to do and then take a look around and see whats available.

Jim2007

ianuss wrote: »

What do you need in the way of languages?.

Most of the time you can get by with English, but a working knowledge of German or French would be helpful...

ianuss wrote: »

And also, where are you based if you don't mind me asking?

I'm usually working in or round Zurich - I work normally as a freelance consultant....

Jim.

Odats

I finished my contract last April and went off and done some charity work for an NGO in an accounting role to get additional experience.
I qualified from small practice so in a different situation to yourself as there are fewer options but still some.
TBH you should walk into a job with Big 4 experience. It's the reality so you're in a better position than others.
There's an unwritten rule in trades and profession "Never stay were you served your time"

Luminant

You should probably think about what your ideal role would be and where it might be. I recruited CAs for many years across a range of sectors and as a rule, the really exciting jobs went internally more often than not. We were called in to backfill the entry level role that the successful person had been promoted out of. If you can identify the sort of company you want to get into then you are half way there. Try to think not just about the next job but where it will take you.