[STi2Three35i]

Hey guys,

Im Rob, 22 and live in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I am completing my senior year at Saint Joseph's University this upcoming fall semester, and am beginning to brainstorm where I would like to see myself 6 months - 1 year from now.

Back in October of '09 I had the opportunity to take a week long trip with my dad to LA. We stayed in Beverly Hills and spent most of our time with family I had never met before. Santa Monica really blew me away and has left a lasting impression. Though times are tough and the job market is in a hole right now, I would like to give a shot at finding a full time position somewhere in LA/Santa Monica.

I'll be graduating with a BS in Accounting and have internship experience at a Human Resource Consulting firm and a Financial Services Firm. Do any of you have advice or maybe know of any opportunities I can apply for? I did my typical Craigslist and Monster job search, but nothing has come up.


I greatly appreciate all of your help and time.

Also: If the opportunity does come along, and I do end up moving out to Cali, I look forward to your BMW meets. Who knows, maybe I'll even give up the 335 and whip a nice E30 up and down the Pacific Coast.

[1013mm]

if you have an internship chance at home, I would stay, if not you could come out to LA, but the problem with major cities like LA is that it's congested and you'll be fighting hard just to get a job. I was a business major and even though I interned my last year of school it still took 7 months to find a job. dont come out here just cause you like the life style. Come out here if a job opportunity that's good presents itself.

your university's career center is better than monster, craigslist, careerbuilder and any other sites like these. believe it or not.

[sourphish]

Welcome to California! (hopefully, if you do move here)
As you probably already know, definitely utilize your university's career center and continue searching Craigslist and Monster as much as possible. Also, if there are specific companies you want to work for, definitely hit up their websites and look in their "careers" pages and apply directly to them. If you go to LA again, scope out their businesses and contact HR directly too. There are plenty of proactive things you can do. You may still have some contacts with your old employers that know people who know people, etc.

But definitely expect to fill out MANY applications -- cast out a wide net. Apply directly to the Big 4, go out to career events if they're hosting any, but definitely meet people in the firms and the recruiters. Fall is recruiting season for full-time anyway, so utilize it well!

Don't be afraid to look into smaller/boutique companies as well. And look into San Francisco!! It's really nice up here too, I promise you =). I'm there too heh!

[mwscircle]

I agree with Jzhang, life might be good but job oppurtunities are harder than rocks... not to mention the traffic in LA. Look up a couple other financial institutions in San Diego and San Jose. I do know for a fact that we have a couple big companies here in SD.

[JmanND]

With a degree in accounting I would look into public accounting (specifically the big 4, or mid tier firms). While the hours aren't always the greatest, and the pay is hardly competitive, it is really good experience and they ALWAYS need people. That's how I moved to Cali. Try to get in touch with your local recruiter first (for a big 4 firm, PwC, D&T, E&Y, KPMG) and tell them you want to work for their company in LA. You can also go straight to the LA recruiters. PM me if you need more info/guidance

[JayReplay]

University career centers would be your best bet. Many posting for better jobs than on CL/ Monster and it's more organized in terms of interviewing and applying. I am also an accounting major at University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign pursuing my masters and will be graduating in May '11. I'm urrently interning this summer at an middle markets accounting/tax firm and hoping to go the big 4 route once i graduate. It just much easier to land a full time job at a big 4 when you've interned with them in the past.