15 interviews and 15 nos

[Turefu]

I've been on job hunting last three weeks. I'm getting an invitations for interviews , but no job offer. I want to go into desired area (accounting), but I don't have much experience in it. I always ask for feedback and answer is always the same: you came accross very well, they liked you, but you don't have enough experience/ they were stronger candidates. I thought after 15 interviews I'll get a new job, but not luck so far. Any advice?

Are there any further qualifications you could achieve to put you above the competition?
Are there any special projects or similar that you've been involved in that you could have mentioned?

Do you maybe need to apply for a job at a level down where not so much experience is sought? Then work up from there?

How are you answering the questions that they ask about your experience?

Accounting isn't my field so this example may be rubbish but hopefully illustrative.

Tell me about your experience with year end tax reports

Answer a) I don't have any direct experience of that
Answer b) as part of my portfolio I completed several projects where I filed year end tax reports, these varied from small organisations with basic expenditures to large corporates with complex tax and VAT needs. These were simulated exercises as part of my training but were real life examples with all of the complexities I would experience in a live environment.

If you're getting to interview, lack of experience in number of years/months isn't the problem, they filter that out before inviting people to interview. It sounds like you need to broaden your spoken understanding of typical situations that come up in your line of work, think of some worked examples (even if you've created them) to show your understanding of key areas (do some Googling or base it on interview questions you don't think you answered well or couldn't talk about in much depth), and try again.
An interview means they think you can do the job. You just need to frame yourself better so you can prove it to them!

Thank you for all responses!
@CyberCritical It's an answer A. I find very difficult to say in fancy words " I don't have much experience".
I'm already applying for entry roles and I'm doing AAT level 3.

Ok so that's your problem and what you need to address.

You have 15 interviews worth of material now, and you can use tools like Chat GPT to generate example interview questions, just give it a scenario
'You are interviewing for an entry level accountant role in a global organisation with the following key requirements xxxxxxx. Generate a list of interview questions for the applicant'.

Take those questions and start to come up with some examples. Follow the STAR method (situation, task, action, result) and sell yourself. Use what you did in your training as your examples. If you really can't come up with an example then talk through the theory.

'While I don't have a direct example of that I would do the following......'

What kind of jobs are you applying for? What job do you do now?

Syllabus for 3, (which I appreciate you have only just started) :

•	Unit 1 -Business Awareness
•	Unit 2 –Financial Accounting: Preparing Financial Statements
•	Unit 3 -Management Accounting Techniques
•	Unit 4 –Tax Processes for Businesses

So, if your current job doesn't include prepping financial statements then you won't have three experience to back it up.

I'm interviewing soon for finance positions in our company, and I would need to see that you grasped the basics.

It won't be about your level of experience because your experience is spelled out in your CV. It will probably be about something that comes to light during the interview.

What do you mean though when you say that accounting is your desired area but you don't have much experience in it. Did you study, qualify or train in accounting?

15 interviews is a real achievement, especially in such a short time- that means that you do have the cv to get in the door. You can be proud of that! Now you need to convince them that you can learn and can apply your training. You can do that! Do any of your friends recruit? Can you ask someone for a mock interview to see how you can improve?
also- when asking for feedback can you say “what do you think I need to work on to get a job like this next time?” People tend to give feedback that answers the question “why did you not employ me” which is actually not very useful…

Can you give us some examples of the roles you've interviewed for?

There's a mismatch somewhere if you think it's entry level but they think you should have experience.

It's difficult because if you don't have any experience the job is always going to go to those who do. I often interview, sometimes some people are amazing, I would love to give them a job but I only have one job and it has to go to the person with experience.

Can you apply for a lower entry position to get experience? Or volunteer a few hours a week?

@folkjournals I've applied for finance assistant and accounts assistant roles. I've got banking background, I worked in many departments , treasury included. I'm under impression, when people see my CV and read I was finance assistant, thay assume I've got accounting experience, but banks use their own bespoke finance systems. Then again it was mentioned by some interviewers and they seem to understand it.

So when they ask about your experience do you just say "nah don't have any" or do you talk about all the things you did and how it will enable you to deliver the requirements of their job? Which is what they're trying to find out by asking the question.

Eg you learned a bespoke system so you'd be capable of adapting to whatever they use, whether that's Sage or Xero or whatever.

What are your transferable skills?

What did you do as a finance assistant in banking?

What did you do in treasury?

Can you afford to do some voluntary accounting work for a charity even if it's only at the weekends?

I work in accounting and you really need to get some work experience under your belt.

If you have just studied AAT that it isn't going to be enough.

Also, can you afford to pay for a Sage or Xero accounting course?

@folkjournals Putting data into spreadsheets, transfering financial data from the folders to the system, making payments into private accounts. No invoices or purchase ledger, as banks don't do that, it's not this type of finance.
Sometimes I think I'm kidding myself and should giving up on this accounting dream. I've got banking and customer service experience. I need a job.

I've already got Sage 50 and Sage Payroll certificates.

No, don't give up.

Can you do some voluntary accounting work? Just ring up some charities.

Also, have you tried applying for jobs in credit control or purchase ledger rather than an accounts assistant position? It is much easier to get a foot in the door that way and build up experience. If you work for a small/medium sized company then you might be able to cover when the accountant is on holiday etc if you show that you are keen to learn new things.

If you can do that - and already have Sage experience - I don't see why you couldn't do sales/purchase ledger. It's really not that difficult to learn if you're doing it on accounting software and you already have familiarity with the importance of attention to detail and reconciliation.

You need to practise bigging yourself up and making it clear what experience and skills you have. Even on this thread where you're anonymous (so hopefully not feeling as self-conscious as an interview situation) you keep talking yourself down.

I find very difficult to say in fancy words " I don't have much experience".

This is the wrong way around. You don't want to find a fancy way of saying that.

You want to find a clear and persuasive way of describing what you can do, what you've done before and how it will set you up to be an asset to their organisation.

You were self-motivated enough to go and do Sage courses and start AAT. You have experience working with financial systems and understand the importance of attention to detail and precision. You have a track record of learning different systems.

Customer service is a significant part of accountancy careers, so you could talk about that too as you already have experience and skills there.

As well as pp's excellent suggestions, you could also explore things like this:

https://www.theforage.com/simulations?careers=accounting

Just wondering WHO the interview has been with ... eg a 1st round interview with a Talent Partner/ recruiter needs a different approach than with the Hiring Manager or person you would report to...

For example, last time I job hunted I had a lot of interviews with the Recruiters where I didn't get passed on to the second round, until I figured out they were making an incorrect assumption based on my current job title. (Despite the thing they wanted not listed on my CV)

I got around it by slightly adjusting my CV to say "job title ( individual contributor)"

"Putting data into spreadsheets, transfering financial data from the folders to the system, making payments into private accounts. No invoices or purchase ledger, as banks don't do that, it's not this type of finance.
Sometimes I think I'm kidding myself and should giving up on this accounting dream. I've got banking and customer service experience. I need a job."

So what specifically is the difference between the processes that you do have experience with - Putting data into spreadsheets, transfering financial data from the folders to the system, making payments into private accounts.

And the processes you dont - invoices or purchase ledger

Surely they share some commonalities?

• organisation
• attention to detail
• following the process
• using a system to record entries
• ensuring accuracy and clarity to meet legal/compliance requirements
• confirming that all entries have been properly created to show an audit trail - supplier exists and approved, PO raised matches the invoice, invoice then paid and payment from bank account is correct and referenced to PO/inv number

You should be able to explain how you have learnt a new process, followed the steps, checked your work, utilised support during training to confirm that you have fully understood and applied the processes correctly.

That's an interesting comment. Quite a few interviews were through recruitment agencies, but at least two with hiring manager and still the same feedback: " You were good, but other candidates were better".
Thank you for all tips, they're very useful.