[1 YoE, Restaurant Manager, Accountant, USA]
I have been trying since October to get an interview in the accounting or finance field and I have gotten 1 so far. I have filled out probably well over a thousand applications on all types of platforms.
Platforms that I have used:
Handshake
Zip Recruiter
Robert Half
Indeed
Glassdoor
Monster
I have attended my schools career fair (it was a community college though so not a large event)
I have googled all local CPA firms and contacted any that have contact information. If they had an email listed I sent one introducing myself with an attached resume and cover letter.
If they had a contact us form I filled it out introducing myself and attaching a resume if i could and if not just explaining why i was contacting them. If they only had a phone number I called and either spoke to them or asked for an email in which i could contact them.
The only interview I got was by doing the contact form thing and it was a dude who offered me a job. The job however was $31,200 a year salary. With a mandatory 250 hours overtime every quarter. That wasn't paid as such because I was salary and that would have been about 9ish dollars an hour so that was just not even a consideration.
I live within 25 miles of an extremely large HCOL metropolitan area, I am however not from here and do not really know people and the ones I do know are not involved in anything close to this field.
I expect a salary decrease as i transition but i expect something in the 60's at least not in the 30's. Currently I make 84 + like 6-10k in bonuses a year but I despise every aspect of it which inspired me to change.