I recommend Resume Spider, who’s ads appear on this website. I recommend them because I use them.  I receive emails from them that highlight candidate backgrounds based upon the criteria that I have established.  The objective is to receive resumes of professionals that I can place within my geographic range.

However – candidates should make sure they are comfortable with the provider, because you can pay for a service that is poor.  And it really annoys me.  Which is why I write this.

I have been receiving poorly formatted emails from a company which is distributing profiles of candidates.  The resumes started arriving unexpectedly, with no “opt in” to the service by me.  (I know because it is addressed to an email address scraped from my website, which I never use.)  The email “highlights” what I think are supposed to be the selling points of the candidate.  But they are mediocre, at best.

And the profiles are completely unrelated to any searches that I have or have had.

I have tried to “unsubscribe” to the service with this result:

“Your message is being returned; it has been enqueued and undeliverable for 4 days to the following recipients:
Recipient address: remove@execuhost.net
Reason: unable to deliver this message after 4 days”

I went to the website in the email address, and have found the site “Under Construction” for over 2 weeks.

I hope that this is a free service that has been overwhelmed with candidates and is trying to service job seekers in the most altruistic manner.

But the realist in me thinks they are just taking advantage of job seekers.  Am I wrong?
Has anyone had success with this service? Let me know.

If you are in a Big 4 firm or second tier firm, you may find that your environment is not satisfying your career goals.  If you are not part of a team that is creating value for your clients, and also providing you with a meaningful role, we should talk.
Building your career according to your goals, and getting support from your employer is critical to most professionals.

Locations include New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia.
|Maybe you are fairly happy, and maybe it’s worth evaluating where you are.  Let’s discuss your career goals, and see if this makes sense.

Professionals sought:
Your professional profile should include large firm CPA experience, CPA preferred, of course.
Drive, determination, and desire to help your clients.
Experience levels desired are from Senior to Senior Manager.
The compensation is competitive and depends upon experience.

To discuss the opportunity – pro and con, send an email to bob@accountingheadhunter.com

However – you may be the victim of discrimination.  Not age, not background – but “placeability”.  I found this list of “good candidate” characteristics at Greg Savage’s blog.

Since most recruiters only get paid for placing someone, their most valuable asset is time.  And if you are deemed to be “unplaceable”, you may find yourself wondering why.  It is also a good motivation to evaluate how you undertake your job search.

Here is the list:

• They have skills and experience currently in demand.
• Their salary expectations are reasonable and they present as an affordable option to a potential employer.
• They have legitimate and tested reasons for leaving where they are now. You have dug down and unearthed their true motivators to leave and you believe you can find them these things in a new role.
• You have pre-empted the possibility of a counter offer from their current employer.
• They interview well. Likeable, personable, communicative.
• The candidate buys into your “rules of engagement” where you explain how you and he will work together, and during the process they deliver on that commitment. (For example returning your calls, attending all interviews etc.
• The candidate agrees to allow you to exclusively handle their job search.

This post I left open for comments.

Business Risk Consultant

For more information, email me.

We have been working on a number of searches for Plant Controllers throughout the US.  In the course of these search assignments, we have identified a number of highly qualified Plant Controllers.

Since they mirror our search assignment specs, they are typically certified (CPA, CMA, CISA, CIA)  and have strong systems exposure (SAP, MAS).

If you are a hiring manager looking for such talented professionals, please contact us to discuss these candidates on a “no obligation” basis.  You only owe us a fee if you hire someone we have introduced to you.

This question has come up from some candidates – is a position with a smaller company going to limit my career potential? Am I not better off in a large company?

Career Path
Personally, I feel that a position like this, where you are reporting to the CFO is a great career move. Is you spend five years in this position, what’s your next move? Most likely to a Controller position, since you have had hands-on experience in the department.

A Senior Accounting position in a very large company will lead you to a middle management role. And there is the problem. As companies become leaner, and profit conscious, they will make due with less. Even after the economy rebounds.

1. trustworthy
2. team player
3. flexible
4. good communicator
5. problem solver
6. works well under pressure

To find out how you can communicate these traits more effectively, read the article by Barbara Safani.

Click Here for Six Hated Resume Phrases

Both users and preparers of financial statements have criticized the current
accounting requirements for failing to provide high quality, transparent information about post-employment benefit promises.  Will this be the focus of corporate accounting, or public accounting firms, or both.   With greater international interest in providing uniform accounting standards, we should see an increase in accounting jobs to address these issues.

A most popular career choice for Accounting graduates is to work for a Big 4 CPA firm.  Currently, the “Big 4″ included KPMG, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and Deloitte.

Most will choose a career as an auditor.   After a few years of audit experience, some may choose to move to tax accounting.

Starting out with a public accounting firm increases your ability to find a job in private accounting, or many choose to stay and become partners with the firm they join after college.