To feel my big 4 experience doesn’t count

[Bonbonete]

I have worked for a big 4 for the last 5 years and have resigned; job hunting for two months and fortunate to have got an offer and I that will continue to bring an income; however the job I got is part time, a very small company and similar to what I did before my big 4 experience so I am not too excited about it; it doesn’t feel like it is what I am looking for.

I was very bored in my previous job before big 4 ad it was s very small company and slow pace.

I was hoping I could use my big 4 experiences to step up in industry, but it seems it doesn’t count.

I know I need a reality check and count my lucky stars and be grateful to have got a job in the current market.

@taxguru I came from a big 4 firm many moons ago and we had different departments - what you are describing was done by our business services department.

Trainees were mainly in audit and sometimes rotated but it was very different doing audits at businesses than accounts prep for small businesses out of a shoe box/carrier bag.

I’d say Big 4 had more kudos than it does now, am talking a few decades ago .

It is pretty common knowledge I would agree with you. Or at least it should be considering they have a huge impact on the global economy and frankly lately they are always in the papers… and seldom for something good

No they don't.

As someone working in careers for experienced hires: market is bad. Two months from starting your job search to offer is very quick and you might find something better if you’re prepared to spend more time. But not just applying online, ideally activating your network and seeing if you can get some referrals. What worked for you 5 ys ago is not working anymore.

For the future, it’s always best to look for a new job when you are in a job, not resign first and then see what’s out there. Market is too bad for that

Indeed. My first thought was which of the big 4 metal bands OP had been a member of. Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth or Anthrax? 🤘

Turns out she’s an accountant. Ho hum.

I think applying elsewhere after Big 4 is always difficult. We were just talking about that today (not big 4, but auditors nonetheless).

We are looking for qualified personnel regularly, but if big 4 are shedding staff, they are not always the staff we want, as they actively get rid of the people they don't want to keep.

So you need a really good explanation why you worked there and are no longer there. It is always easier to go from employed to employed than from unemployed to employed.

I think all things being equal, and if I were a hiring manager (am not, never have been), I might think twice or even thrice about what looks like a big 4 reject.

I think anyone with a passing interest in current affairs would know, because they are seldom out of the press, and as a poster up thread has said, not always for something good!

The kudos of having worked for the big 4 has certainly faded in the last 20 years as the top talent has been recruited by the advisory arms of the big investment banks and management consulting firms. The big 4 also followed into management consultancy, but while big they just don't carry the same weight on a CV as a Rothschilds, Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs or McKinsey.

The non advisory bits of the big 4, as with a lot of tax / accounting, are squarely in the sights of AI to transform them - and strip out a lot of mid tier well paid jobs. The partners at the top however will continue to get richer :)

Firstly, good on you for escaping with your head held high. Two months is no time at all. Even in a good market it can take longer to find the right role. I probably wouldn’t settle for the uninspiring part time role unless I really needed the cash. Good luck. You’ve got this.

What Is valued, if big for experience isn’t?

In the higher education topis there are a handful of posters who imply that anyone who doesn't want to apply to any of the COWI (Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Imperial) + LSE universities with the aim of having a career in a big 4 or magic circle firm lacks ambition.

Your reason for resigning is why this kind of career is so unappealing to many young people.

They are also not the most lucrative career paths, not that money is the be all and end all. And, relative to the effort / pressure, sometimes the juice just isn't worth the squeeze :)

I have heard of all the individual companies but did not know they were collectively called The Big 4.
I do listen to the news, but probably don't pay too much attention to financial current affairs. I definitely don't proactively seek it out on the internet.

The mid-tier qualified job market isn’t buzzing.

Sympathy - not all Big 4 roles are created equal. Many people leave these roles due to burn out, but sadly that label on your cv might make new employers think “great she’s got the background of a workaholic we can put her to good use!” So beware next employer may seek to exploit you too.

Three months notice is completely normal in qualified finance roles. Perm jobs will expect to wait for a new hire; I expect almost no one in the Uk at your level is on one month’s notice. It’s your recruitment agents job to pitch your cv and make sure you get that job offer.

Note that many, many people will ask to be released early from their notice period so they can get a couple of weeks break before new job starts. Many employers agree cos who wants a very disillusioned employee working for clients for three months? Not a recipe for high quality or high productivity. But if Employer says no to reducing the notice period, an increasingly high percentage of employees will go to GP and get a fit note for MH burnout and take last couple of weeks paid sick. This is so common nowadays, it’s almost expected!

So another time - job hunt first then once you get an offer serve your notice, ask to negotiate a shorter notice period and if that fails tell new employer “sorry they won’t let me go can you wait?” It’s exhausting and stressful but at least while you’re job hunting you know you have one foot out of the door and that should be enough incentive to make that extra effort.

Not always. They could be referring to the big 4 law firms, management consultants, etc.

@FabulousFryingpan that’s a good point. From the employee’s perspective it’s unfair treatment leading to burnout; but the employer may have been turning up the heat to “manage out” what they see as being an under-performing member of the team. And hiring managers will be aware of that.

Having said that, underperforming in a Big4 role is not an indication of future underperformance! A big corporate isn’t the right environment for everyone.

I remember years ago being in a conversation at a Christmas party once with a fairly drunk accounting partner who said he kept several recruitment agents on speed dial, and when they could see someone wasn’t working out in the department but just not getting the hint it was time to leave, he’d call the recruiters and say “I’ve got someone I know is going to be happier working in industry - do you have any roles you can send them?” And he’d literally pass over their name and email address to the recruitment agent to try and seed the idea that the employee should start job hunting!

I found that hilarious.

DS is a grad at the Big 4 in Audit - it's bloody awful. We're being as supportive as we can but it's very tough, he was warned by everyone but he's giving it a go - if he lasts a year I'll be impressed..

Respctefully disagree. It’s know being the big accountancy firms. Certainly in my circle, and in the press. And if you google it will also agree with me.

I don’t agree with other posters. Sometimes there’s valid reasons you need to resign before a new job…hence constructive unfair dismissal claims.

Sometimes working for a leading company opens doors, sometimes it doesn’t. I imagine someone with Apple on their CV would have a decent time finding new jobs in the tech sector for example. I’m not sure what it’s like with the big 4 specifically and in your industry, but maybe you just need to frame your experience differently

I'm ex big 4. When I left I left as a manager with a little more experience than you years wise I went into industry at a level below what a manager would usually transfer at. By doing that instead of being a management level reviewer I ended up learning the actual accounting, which proved so helpful in the long term. The problem with auditors is that they generally know 5% of everything. I call it being a specialist of none. It is just enough knowledge to review and high level understand something, but not enough to competently perform a mid level industry role. I'm now C suite. It took going to a small company to get that title by the way. I just had a very supportive boss willing to raise me through the ranks. After years of experience in different firms, I can tell you if you go to a big one you will always be grinding. I didn't work much less, if any less in the big industry places after I left. A smaller place gave me more autonomy and a better work life balance. It entirely depends on the place and the culture though. Start the new job, leaving without a backup job is a red flag on a resume, even if it is for good reasons.

maybe you would enjoy working something smaller and ethical

I did my training between 2 firms, one was a in the top 10. The other just a large practice for a rural area.

Since finishing and moving to industry what I found is that the main thing companies want and need is experience.

Big 4 carries huge weight in large corporations but in some smaller places it nearly goes against you (or so I heard) as you can be too narrowly trained. In my Top 10 firm I was working in 1 area and 1 area only. In the other firm it was far more varied.

But I have also seen job adverts that say 'Big 4 preferred' it shows you are very intelligent anyway.

Keep looking. As someone else upthread said your career doesn't need to be linear. Mine certainly has not been.

Google is your friend. The Big Four refers to the top four accounting companies.

Nah, it’s Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s. At least in my world!

Out of curiosity, why did you leave big4 before you had another job lined up? What was your specialism (audit/tax/corporate finance)?

Out of interest, what is your dream role OP? It strikes me that you left your current role because of the work rate and found it uninspiring, found a similar role to your previous experiences albeit now in a smaller company and now find that role uninspiring. Your experience obviously has been relevant - but if you use it to apply for similar roles to what you've done before you'll always be unhappy.

Maybe time to go back to what you'd love to do, find how your experience maps relevant experience across and plan your next move with that in mind?