Hi there im a graduate ACA Student,  who last month decided to leave the firm i had a training contract with after two years of working with them. The firm with smallish with only 7 partners and around 32 employees. Basically i really hated working there because of the bad natured staff, not because of the job itself. Despite this i left the firm on good terms, and got on with all my colleagues so will get a good reference if needed.

So after voluntarily leaving the firm i though well ok its fine i should get another job in accountancy soon as ive got two years of solid trainee experience in all areas eg bookeeping, accounts prep, sage, IRIS and some junior auditing etc. Im also 3 exams away from passing the professional stage of the ICAEW Syllabus(self studying in all my free time at the moment). However 4 weeks on since leaving ive blasted my CV to all sorts of firms, recruitment agencies etc but not heard much back. Is it too early to start worrying? Have i made a big mistake in not finding another job before i quit my last job or have many people done the same as me and been fine? Could anyone point me to the best websites/recruitment agencies for a person in my predicament, searching for an accounts job in and around London?

Im not too fussed on finding another training contract, i just want to find another accounts role e.g say accounts assistant which pays around the 19/20k mark. Currently searching in London and the outskirts. Im not expecting study support or anything from my new employer though if they offered it it would be a bonus. How long do i need to be unemployed for before it starts to become a major worry? Is it true that its so much harder to find a job if youre unemployed as opposed to looking whilst being in a job? Like i said 4 weeks have passed since my last employment..

Your advice please…i guess im looking for some peace of mind if anything.

You probably don’t want to hear this, but you seem to be saying you left your job:

1. without a new one to go to
2. because you didn’t like the staff
3. in the middle of a recession.

It’s an incredibly tough market at the moment, and you haven’t done yourself any favours. On the other hand, four weeks isn’t that long, so maybe something will turn up.  Good luck!

I find it a bit odd that you have sent your CV to agencies and havent heard anything for 4 weeks, they’re usually like the hounds of hell as soon as they get hold of a CV, I applied for one job on the reed website 2 weeks ago, within hours I was contacted by a number of other agencies, admittedly I am further on than you career wise, but im pretty sure there is planty out there for you

Have you posted your CV on Monster and Reed etc? when you upload to the Reed website theres a box to tick to allow agencies to search your CV

Carl28 - August 26 2010 06:47 AM

I find it a bit odd that you have sent your CV to agencies and havent heard anything for 4 weeks, they’re usually like the hounds of hell as soon as they get hold of a CV, I applied for one job on the reed website 2 weeks ago, within hours I was contacted by a number of other agencies, admittedly I am further on than you career wise, but im pretty sure there is planty out there for you

Have you posted your CV on Monster and Reed etc? when you upload to the Reed website theres a box to tick to allow agencies to search your CV

i have heard from a couple of agencies but it was only the odd call to say we’ll keep your CV in mind blah blah. I thought the accountancy jobs market was picking up despite the recession well thats what i hear anyway

3 papers away from passing your professional level? to be honest a lot of people would be envious to be in that position and would have just took the hit until they finished the qualification.

It’s really tough out there at the moment and a lot of people are working roles that they are not necessarily happy in for fear of not having a role at all. Leaving wihtout having another role lined up? I applaud you for your bravery is all I can say.

Parmstrong83 - August 26 2010 02:09 PM

3 papers away from passing your professional level? to be honest a lot of people would be envious to be in that position and would have just took the hit until they finished the qualification.

It’s really tough out there at the moment and a lot of people are working roles that they are not necessarily happy in for fear of not having a role at all. Leaving wihtout having another role lined up? I applaud you for your bravery is all I can say.

i left the role but it becoming unbearable to work there any longer, it was getting to the point where all i could think about 24/7 was having to endure another day there with that manager. im not the kind of person who quits easily i stuck with it for two years because i really felt i needed to get the experience and ride it out.

i guess im just going to take it on the chin and keep looking for another opportunity

ACAStudent - August 26 2010 02:13 PM

Parmstrong83 - August 26 2010 02:09 PM

3 papers away from passing your professional level? to be honest a lot of people would be envious to be in that position and would have just took the hit until they finished the qualification.

It’s really tough out there at the moment and a lot of people are working roles that they are not necessarily happy in for fear of not having a role at all. Leaving wihtout having another role lined up? I applaud you for your bravery is all I can say.

i left the role but it becoming unbearable to work there any longer, it was getting to the point where all i could think about 24/7 was having to endure another day there with that manager. im not the kind of person who quits easily i stuck with it for two years because i really felt i needed to get the experience and ride it out.

i guess im just going to take it on the chin and keep looking for another opportunity

I fully sympathise with you having been in that situation myself, I was suffering from stress related headaches daily and it was really affecting me mentally, so I left a job with nothing else to go to

Id say just get on as many agency books as possible, the fact you will be an immediate start may help. Can you temp for a while?

Carl28 - August 26 2010 02:17 PM

ACAStudent - August 26 2010 02:13 PM

Parmstrong83 - August 26 2010 02:09 PM

3 papers away from passing your professional level? to be honest a lot of people would be envious to be in that position and would have just took the hit until they finished the qualification.

It’s really tough out there at the moment and a lot of people are working roles that they are not necessarily happy in for fear of not having a role at all. Leaving wihtout having another role lined up? I applaud you for your bravery is all I can say.

i left the role but it becoming unbearable to work there any longer, it was getting to the point where all i could think about 24/7 was having to endure another day there with that manager. im not the kind of person who quits easily i stuck with it for two years because i really felt i needed to get the experience and ride it out.

i guess im just going to take it on the chin and keep looking for another opportunity

I fully sympathise with you having been in that situation myself, I was suffering from stress related headaches daily and it was really affecting me mentally, so I left a job with nothing else to go to

Id say just get on as many agency books as possible, the fact you will be an immediate start may help. Can you temp for a while?

i can absolutely temp i just want to get back into employment so that the gap on my cv doesn’t grow any greater than 4 weeks. glad somebody knows how i feel i didnt take the decision lightly to leave the firm, it was depressing me to the point i couldnt sleep and eat much because all i could think about was that one thing. I was very unlucky in the sense that the department i worked in doing limited company accounts had the worst manager possible that anyone could imagine, she was simply unrelenting, unforgiving and so destructive to my confidence and self esteem, it was killing me. Is it realistic to find a job based in london if your based miles away from london, i.e way up north? i always get the impression employers look less favorably on those who are relocating which shouldnt be the case as i am fully prepared to do all the traveling to my interviews at my own expense

if you don’t live in london, that could be the problem! my sister worked for a recruitment agency once for a day - sort of like a working interview - and if you lived outside a certain area, they wouldn’t even look at your CV, even if you mentioned in your application that you were willing to relocate!

I think you left that firm for all the right reasons and you shouldn’t regret your decision if it was getting you down so much. I’ve been in a similar situation before and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy (actually, I probably would, but you know what I mean!

Which agencies have you been contacting? Try Poolia, Robert Half, Accountancy Divisions, Page Personnel if you haven’t already. In the last couple of weeks, even though I haven’t been looking at other jobs for months, I had phone calls from each of these asking if I was still looking. The market does definitely seem to be picking up - if you have the qualifications and experience at least.

its been one and a half months now, and im still looking for a job, although things are looking promising with a few recruitment agencies now.

I want to know what people think about volunteer work in the meantime while im looking? would volunteering my accountancy services in the meantime look good or in fact look like a step backwards since i alrady have 2 years practice trainee experience.

the reason im considering it is because A- i dont want to forget how to use sage line 50, iris and basic routines etc, and B- i dont want a massive gap on my CV

If I was an interviewer I would be impressed if someone was volunteering because they weren’t able to get a job, shows you weren’t just sitting back and taking it although I would put it as doing something useful with my time rather than just having a gap in your CV!

However please don’t drop the volunteering when you do get a job as you could leave them in a hole, if you find something that you can do part time then carry on even for a short while once you gain employment.

Good luck