How to find the Chee$e in Accounting

February 19, 2010 By ryan Leave a Comment

Let’s be honest.  When it comes to career searching, everyone’s number one question is about salaries.  I have recently come across a posting on my favorite accounting tabloid:  goingconcern.com.  In the posting, over 200 people from across the country have discussed the following about their current Big 4 position:

? Salary without bonus, bonus amount
? Level
? Practice (audit/tax/advisory), practice subgroup
? Firm, city/region
? Other notes/complaints

Check out this link to read more:  http://goingconcern.com/2009/12/big-4-salaries-open-thread.php.

Still interested in salaries?  Another great resource is glassdoor.com.

Filed Under All Blog Posts Tagged With accounting, career, pay, salary

A Tabloid for Accountants

October 9, 2009 By ryan Leave a Comment

Check out my new favorite business blog:  goingconcern.com

Going concern is a “tabloid” covering the worlds of accounting and finance.  The site provides news, blogs, and an inside scoop on the firms and businesses that shape the industry.

It is imperative for business students to stay current on the issues that face their potential employers!  This is a great alternative to reading the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times cover-to-cover on a daily basis!

So in the next few weeks when you are interviewing with the accounting firms on campus, bring up a current event affecting that particular firm. I guarantee they will be impressed!

Filed Under All Blog Posts Tagged With business, prepare

Honesty is the Best Policy in Career Searching

April 13, 2009 By ryan Leave a Comment

According to a study done by Careerbuilder.com, 57% of employers dismiss potential candidates for jobs upon finding even the smallest fabrication on a resume.  A word to the wise:  don’t compromise your character for a job (because you won’t get it)!

For more information on this topic, check out this link.
Also, check out Michigan State University’s falsification of information policy at:  http://www.bus.msu.edu/learcenter/myspartancareer/falsepolicy.pdf

By: Ryan Mckinnon

Filed Under All Blog Posts Tagged With career search, careers, honesty, job search, jobs, resumes

Be Careful Where You Tweet!

March 24, 2009 By ryan Leave a Comment

Remember back when AIM was the “cool” way to communicate to friends and family? Well times have changed. Fast. With the increased availability to 24/7 access to the internet, whether through laptops, PDAs, or cell phones, Twitter, a free social networking utility which lets you stay connected in real time has become increasingly popular. In fact, Twitter has now generated more than 6 million users (reluctantly called “Tweeters”).

While the ability to know what your brother in California or your girlfriend in Michigan is doing at any given moment does come with some obvious benefits, there are also some underlying consequences. Most notably, professionals have been getting cracked down on their “twittering” while at work. In fact, NBA players Charlie Villanueva and Shaquille O’Neal have been criticized by coaches and management alike for using the social network while on the job. So a word to the wise; be careful where you Tweet! Do not let it cost you your career!

For more information on the incidents with Charlie Villanueva and Shaq, check out the following links:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3990853
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4004473

By: Ryan Mckinnon

Filed Under All Blog Posts Tagged With career search, careers, job search, jobs, shaq, twitter

13 Overrated Career Paths for 2009

February 25, 2009 By ryan Leave a Comment

Are you a fan of ABC’s hit show Boston Legal?  Or how about ER or Cops?  More than ever, Hollywood has glamorized many careers paths which have often lead to false representations of America’s up and coming workforce.

In effort to inform the public on the truths behind several falsified career routes, US News and World Report recently came out with a list of the year’s most overrated career paths across all professions.  The following is what they found based on a review of books, articles, websites, forums, and blogs about people’s experiences in careers, supplemented by confidential career coaching/counseling sessions with 2,800 clients over a 23-year period.

The overrated careers are (in no particular order):
•    Advertising Executive
•    Architect
•    Attorney
•    Chef
•    Chiropractor
•    Farmer
•    Medical Scientist
•    Nonprofit Manager
•    Physician
•    Police Officer
•    Professor
•    Small-Business Owner
•    Teacher

Check out the  US News website to get details on why each of these careers sometimes seem a little bit better than they are.  Overrated Careers

By: Ryan McKinnon

Filed Under All Blog Posts Tagged With career search, careers, job search, jobs, overrated careers, overrated jobs

Study Proves Excessive Gaming Has Risks

February 13, 2009 By ryan Leave a Comment

An associate professor from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah recently underwent a study which proved excessive video game use often clusters with several negative consequences. The study which was performed using college students showed “the frequency and type of video games played appears to parallel risky drug and alcohol use, poorer personal relationships, and low levels of self-esteem”. For more information, read the entire article at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/07/AR2009020700864.html.

So next time you buckle down for a hardcore game of Halo don’t forget that sometimes you need to take break, go outside, talk to someone and maybe even try to find a job…Just kidding just level up with Master Chief.

By: Ryan Mckinnon

Filed Under All Blog Posts Tagged With gaming, research