How do I get work experience?

For those of you who left school ages ago, it is not an easy process to obtain practical work experience in bookkeeping or accountancy. It is always frustrating to see job ads looking for people who are e.g. “AAT qualified with 2 to 3 years experience” – very much a “catch 22” situation. This is made even harder when you are competing with school leavers and graduates.

Acquiring an accounting qualification will give you a better chance though.

However, whilst you can study hard and pass your exams through your own graft, how do you get that elusive 2 to 3 years of work experience?

You are best taking a stepped approach to it.

Firstly, map out the knowledge and skills that you will obtain throughout your AAT training.

Then link these with the qualifications you can achieve along the journey:

• Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping
• Level 2 Certificate in Accounting
• Level 3 Certificate in Bookkeeping
  (At this stage, consider applying for AATQB status)
• Level 3 Diploma in Accounting
• Level 4 Diploma in Accounting
  (At this stage apply for full AAT membership (MAAT))

1. If you get the Level 2 Certificate in Bookkeeping under your belt, this will provide you with some evidence of your knowledge of bookkeeping. For work experience, try contacting local charitable organisations to see if they want a treasurer or if their existing treasurer would like some help. You should obviously be applying for ‘paid jobs’ at this point too, as you will already have gained a very useful and well-recognised AAT qualification.
2. If you are not in work, contact a local recruitment agency to see if they can find you some temporary accountancy/bookkeeping work, e.g. maternity cover.
3. If you are in work then this isn’t going to be practical. In this case, you probably need to persevere until you have completed the AAT Level 2 Certificate in Accounting and/or the AAT Level 3 Certificate in Bookkeeping. You have something more to “sell” at this stage. You have some very useful skills on your CV which will help with your work experience.
4. You should have been sending your CV to potential employers from the end of Stage 1, re-sending your CV each time you achieve the next qualification.
5. One of our apprentices had a job in a finance department of a small business. He had completed his AAT Level 2 but was frustrated and not going anywhere. His journey to work involved riding his bike past a firm of Chartered Accountants and he thought “That’s the sort of place I would like to work”. So one day, he plucked up the courage, smartened himself up (and got his hair cut) and popped his head in the door, and asked if they were recruiting new staff. They said yes! He went for an interview and got the job.

Look at https://www.icaew.com/about-icaew/find-a-chartered-accountant to find all the firms of Chartered Accountants near you. Ask them!

If you are part qualified or fully qualified, you could volunteer your services to aid organisations like AfID – Accounting for International Development: https://www.afid.org.uk/page/1/About but they would probably want someone with at least some practical bookkeeping experience.

All of these things will help you stand out and go towards your work experience.

GOOD LUCK!

P.S. We have written a separate FAQ article for those who are still at school – you can read this here