I started the 2 year accounting program at my school, which is a satellite campus of it’s very nearby target school, as a senior. I was the first there to finish the program in 1 academic year because my FAFSA was running out and I was now sure that accounting was the path that I wanted to go down. Over the course of the year I had internships as a financial analyst, private equity fund analyst, accountant, federal auditor and state auditor. I was involved in starting multiple clubs, co-founding a fraternity and networked through Beta Alpha Psi. My major GPA was almost a 3.6 and my cumulative was a 3.3.
At the beginning of Fall recruiting season the networking had paid off. I was the only person at my satellite campus school to get invites for the invite only socials of all big 4 firms and many local ones. Then when application time came I got my resume and cover letter reviewed and edited by a current audit manager and former tax partner both from EY. I put in the applications and didn’t get a single interview.
I graduated in Fall and am CPA eligible. I’m interviewing for jobs in the private sector offering to pay 50K to $72K. I’m open to relocating and mention it on applications when asked but that hasn’t seemed to help me either in terms of getting public accounting interviews even at smaller CPA firms.
I’m almost at the point where I’m about to give up on public accounting. What can I do differently? Should I try something else?