So, what now after graduation? Should you start looking a job immediately knowing that accounting graduates are in demand these days? Or should you take the CPA Board exam first and worry about job-hunting later?


If you can’t wait another 6-8 months before earning your first hard-earned money, here’s a quick job-hunting guide for you:

Finding Jobs for the Accounting Graduates

1. Ready your resumes, application letter, Transcript of records and other credentials. Make 20 copies or more. However, make sure that you edited your application/covering letter for every company that you applied.
2. Check your department’s or alumni office’s bulletin board. Some prospective employers post announcement in the bulletin board. While you are preparing for graduation, or just visiting the school after graduation day, don’t forget to check these areas I mentioned above.
3. Follow leads. If you hear from classmates or from a professor that XYZ Company is hiring, go make some research and submit an application letter. Or submit an unsolicited application letter, and do the research later.
4. Do not wait for the job opportunity to come to you. Although these things happen, like when you are just hanging out in the Accounting Department office and a prospective employer suddenly came in looking for jobless graduates, and you just happened to be right there at the right moment. But generally, you have to act fast since it is a competitive job market out there.
5. Submit your resume on online job sites. Monster, Jobstreet and JobsDB are three leading online job site. The later two are very active in the Philippine Market, while Monster is a giant worldwide. There’s also Mytrababo.com, trabaho.com, applyna.com. jobjoints.com and mynimo.com. When you submit your resumes to these sites, simply put your best self.
6. Buy the Sunday newspaper. There you will find hundreds of ads for accounting staff and other jobs requiring Accountancy graduates. For Manila, I think it’s the Manila Bulletin which has more pages on job ads. For Cebu, it’s Sunstar.
7. Believe in yourself. If you don’t, probably no one else will.

When you are a fresh graduate, you don’t have really that much option. But you can choose the course of your career. Positions which are usually available for the new Accountancy Graduates are:

1. Audit Staff (external/internal)
2. Accountant (Junior/Senior)
3. Bookkeeper
4. Finance Analyst
5. Accounting Staff/Clerk/Assistant
6. Cost accounting staff

There are companies that consider the CPA license as a prerequisite to promotion. So, if you happen to be in that company and you desire to climb higher in the finance department, it is better that you take the CPA board exam. Check out my tips on passing the CPA Board Exam. The earlier you take the board, the better. Review centers usually commence their classes in June.

However, there are departments under finance that won’t necessarily need that CPA license in order to progress. Purchasing, Billing and Credit and Collection are examples of those.

If you are a Filipino accountancy graduate looking for a job in Cebu or Manila, I may be able to help you. I got friends who are occupying management positions, and I get to see their postings on our yahoo groups. Email me your resume at ceblogger(at)yahoo(dot)com. Newly passed CPAs are also welcome.

Related posts:

1. Filipino Accountants Abroad
2. Nursing Board Exam Results and Nursing Jobs Here and Abroad
3. Now That You Have Passed the CPA Board Exam

Are meetings really necessary? I say yes. But ineffective meetings are just a waste of time. Here are a few guides on how to conduct effective meetings.


1. Plan Ahead. This includes conceptualizing the agenda and the expected outcome.
2. Inform the participants ahead of time on the agenda and the required presentations
3. Start and end on time
4. Allow participants to discuss and give their thoughts on certain items.
5. Focus on the important and the urgent
6. Make a decision.
7. Make action plans.
8. Provide meals or light snacks. You don’t expect people to absorb long discussions without satisfying their bellies.

There are many things I don’t like in meetings and here are some them:

1. Delayed start
2. Repetitive discussions
3. Indecision of those who are in command.
4. Lack of details.
5. Participants are starved to insanity.

Extended meetings are fine with me as long as we come up with decisions and action plans. What I like with one of my bosses is that he informs us ahead of time what the meeting is all about and we come up with action plans afterwards (See my 1-8 list above). Of course, problems can’t be solved by meetings alone.

Related posts:

1. Cebu Pacific (CEB) vs Philippine Airlines (PAL): Travel Cheap or Travel Comfortably?