Can I realistically apply for entry level accounting roles with my limited experience

So, I graduated in accounting and finance in 2021 at Swansea university with a first which was a struggle as my second and third year were during COVID. I have decent A-levels 2Cs and 2 Bs in business studies, economics, math's and biology. I wanted to do a masters after my degree but that fell through in the first few weeks because I hated the course and I was living with some questionable characters so I ended up leaving and coming back home. I wasn't in the right mind set to start looking for full time office work as I was quite stressed. Since then I found a quick job in a completely unrelated field in a pottery which I still do but doesn't pay much. (I previously worked in a supermarket for a year before uni) I also started a small business growing and selling mushrooms in the local area its nothing special and haven't got any advanced financial planning or statements just simple excel documents with costs, sales profits etc. I also live in the middle of nowhere so getting a driving license was definitely something I needed to get. however with the long waiting lists and high cost of doing so with my low paid pottery job I have only just achieved this goal and have a car I can drive. I just wanted to know if this is enough to start applying to accounting jobs with. I have forgotten most of my degree but am happy to re learn if it actually means its worth my time. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you for any replies

Reply 1

nutz99

I would say you definitely have the required qualifications to apply for graduate-level jobs. The likelihood is though that you won't be able to apply to all the accountancy firms you would like to as your A level grades may hold you back. For example, KPMG require 120 UCAS points from your 3 best A levels, and you don't have that. My advice is to apply to as many as you can. Almost everyone gets knocked back by some so don't worry if you only get interviews with a handful.

Whether you will have any exemptions from certain exams I don't know - it may depend whether you are going for ACA or ACCA or another qualification. Do your research on the firms you apply to, to ascertain what benefits there are. Look further than just the salary. Are there bonuses, are there guaranteed pay rises at regular intervals, what holidays do you get, what hours do you work, when is the busy period, is overtime expected and is this paid or TOIL, do you get paid study leave before exams, will they pay for a second attempt if you fail an exam, how much work is in the office and how much is out, can you work from home and there's probably lots more.