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.

@franpie, I agree. My ds has been working in a Big Four company for several years. He’s not an auditor so wondering if that makes a difference.

This isn’t the thread for you @Zov

big 4 is the term given to the larger accountancy firms - a very well known term

Many people do know this

Not the thread for you

When we hire for roles, typically the finance team will default to ‘big 4 experience’. But then we ask them - why?
What do these candidates bring that another wouldn’t. They’re not usually able to articulate why in a way that means we can dictate this as a requirement, and strong candidates come through the process who (frankly) are often much cheaper direct from industry.
I think you’ll need to really market yourself properly if you want to gain the step up in industry, but also be realistic on salary expectations.

No its not

There are no big 4 law firms

the big 4 are always those accountancy/professional services

there is no other thing it can be

and yes - any broadsheet newspaper will mention a big 4 on every 2nd page

ita a very very well known term… or at least it should be…

Op - I’m a junior partner in one of the big 4 firms. Just got made up recently

im involved in reviewing cvs sent to us by hr and taking a view as to suitability.

we would consider reviewing people from the top 10. If someone was big 4 previous to that and then moved to a smaller firm - I would always question why.

but a move to taking on more responsibility and being more visible (which I expect smaller firms would give you) is no bad thing.

i do think I would raise questions about how you got so burnt out from your brief time in a big 4 firm… but that is because I am interviewing for a big 4 firm. Being candid I wouldn’t hire you unless you could explain that clearly. I KNOw life in a big 4 can be tough but as above I would question your suitability for the role if you were burnt out.

But a smaller firm - I would expect to value your big 4 experience provided you can articulate its benefits clearly (ie bigger clients, higher value transactions/deliverables)

If you don't know the answer to this question, this isn't the thread for you, you can't offer any relevant advice.

It’s a well known name for the biggest four accounting firms.

What is going wrong at the company, horrid boss, awful hours? My daughter has just started and I would like to know what lies ahead…Sorry it’s not working out for your son.

I reckon it’s a bit of a London-centric term. If I didn’t live here and have friends in the City, I wouldn’t necessarily know the term Big 4. It’s specific to a certain industry.

‘Professional services’ always sounds vague and slightly seedy to me!

Dh worked in one of the big 4 for decades - my mum always thought he was an accountant - he wasn’t he was a consultant - but people always jumped to accountancy. Explaining what he actually did was too complicated. The big4 suited him, he’s a machine - worked around the clock, but even he had his limits, especially as he got older.

Op - I think your big 4 experience does matter but you are burned out at the moment - it happens, it might mean you need to take a step back and go into industry where there is more respect for work life balance. Loads of dh’s colleagues did this - there’s no shame in it, they were quite open about it. But for now recovering is the most important thing - no one wants to take on anyone who is in a fragile state-of health, it’s too risky - you will recover with time and space. Give yourself time to breathe.

I have heard of the big 4 accountancy firms but had also clicked on the thread hoping for something more exciting.

The title was vague so my mind had gone straight to the Big 4/Big 5 safari animals and I wondered what had happened on someone's holiday of a lifetime to make her feel that her experience didn't count.

My ds started as an apprentice and qualified in one of the four. He’s found his team supportive and encouraging. Generally speaking, he’s worked office hours and not all hours under the sun , apart from the occasional project.

Nb. Accountancy isn’t just auditing, there’s lots of areas of expertise. Naybe some areas are worse than others fur burn out. Plus as someone has just said, there’s lots of job options in these firms, such as consulting etc.

What you don't know you don't know. I don't move in the kind of circles you do, but I do know about the big 4, although I couldn't have told you the names of all of them.

I think it is rather patronising to expect everyone to know this though.

It’s very hard having a 3 month notice period. Not many employers will wait 3 months for a new starter. I’ve applied for and been successful for 3 roles and each one has pulled out over my notice period

It depends on the capability (ie Tax, Audit, etc) to some degree - Audit is the worst for sure. People regularly suffer burnout, especially in Audit “silly season”.

I work as an Associate Director for a Big 4 but in Business Services (ie not directly client facing). It’s very relaxed and it’s unusual if I work outside my contracted hours.

What did you do when at the Big 4? I think it very much depends on which dept, specialism and projects you worked in. Also why did you leave before finding another job?

For DS it’s the exams - they are coming thick and fast with very little time to breathe in between. If you are one of those lucky people who don’t need to study, it might be ok. Ds does need to study and there’s not much time in between. Two fails and you are out - he feels under a lot of pressure. Also although his Manager is supportive, no one is in office, everyone is incredibly busy and it’s an incredible culture shock, he doesn’t feel supported. I have friends who have done it and their experience varies but they all agree it’s a bit of a war zone. They expect around 50% to make it through, so you are also very aware of how fragile you job prospects are.
Consultancy is different battle - long hours, proving your worth, used to be lots of travelling, getting on the right projects can make all the difference, leading to a feelings of favouritism amongst many people. Doing enough hours, utilisation rates - frequent culls of team members when you’re utilisation rates are low and sometimes just because.
They have little need to improve this - they are still getting a massive amount of applications - but salaries are low and unpaid overtime is high - they are having to now consider now that their junior team are potentially working below minimum wage.

I don’t think resigning was a mistake if it was impacting your mental health. However, as others have said, I’d want to land that next-big-role sooner rather than later. Instead of declaring your part time role on your CV could you call it ‘freelancing’ while you look for that next role. I.e. don’t stop looking until you’ve found the right role (while doing the part time one). Is that an option? This would work in IT but I know the accounting world works differently with detailed references etc.

I really had no idea. I thought banks.

It’s actually a term used globally as the Big 4 have a significant global presence in most major countries.

I’m still in this sector on the non accounting side and have been for several decades. I don’t think your description is much different to any I could make from the tech side, if anything there is even more time and effort invested into the juniors and their concerns. Quite aside from the human aspect its basic business sense. 3/4/5 yrs in from graduation are peak poaching time for smaller consultancies who don’t want the cost of training their own graduates.

The work is demanding and requires a lot of self investment into study and learning alongside the client job and yes, there is a competitive process for promotions and there is always some counselling out, but the rewards are significant and opportunities come both inside the firm and with clients.

However we are not for everyone. Not everyone wants the lifestyle or the hours or the constant demand to be learning new stuff alongside the old and that is fine. One of the commoner reasons for leaving is to move to a more 9-5ish job without travel, usually with one of their clients or with a vendor. Sometimes they come back at a later stage - as you say, the rotating door works both ways.

The challenge I suspect for the OP is a lack of clarity about what they actually want from the next opportunity. Some organisations will assume they were counselled out as they are not in a job. That needs to be offset in an application by saying they are looking for a different kind of firm where they can make a greater personal impact etc etc Also tailor applications to firms which need the skills you have but also will allow new skills to be developed.

It's not even vaguely a London-centric term. It's not even a UK term, it's global.

I'd say the care for the people who leave in consulting side is always with an eye on the dollar - they know the consultants they lose are their future clients - and that's absolutely what happens but the other side is someone on the verge of a breakdown on a project can be a major risk to the project and no one wants the project to go of course so everyone needs to stay on top of how the team are feeling. But the experience of Audit is very different - my friends do not speak of their experiences in quite the same terms.