Want to start an awesome career in Accounting with nil experience? read now.
Sometimes it is very frustrating that we have qualifications and also overseas experience, but hard to get the first job in Australia. Some have qualifications and want to get into workforce, but job applications never pass the interview stage due to lack of prior experience.
Some do not have confidence how to start job search after completing their studies. Some are stuck in the career that doesn’t motivate them to go to work every day. These situations are faced by many of us at one time or the other.
I am going to provide interesting and exciting information to put a stop to worry of getting a job or changing your career. A demand for one profession never decreases as long as the Residents of Australia pay taxes on yearly basis ie Tax Accountant.
This profession is high in Demand and Australia is in shortage of Tax Accountants. Now let’s go the topic now. There are two organisations that offer courses, provide training and offer you a job. This is fantastic! Isn’t it? Read more:
H&R Block is one of the top companies in the Taxation Industry with a solid reputation for expert advice. They offer various services ranging from Book keeping to providing tax advice to Individuals and small businesses.
They offer an Income Tax Course on yearly basis for a nominal fee. You do not need any prior experience and helps to get into workforce or change your career. The classes are held once every week at various locations.
These courses start in February and complete in May every year (16 weeks). The classes are held for 3 hours each week. The fee starts from $495 with course material included. The good thing about this course, we do not need to compromise your current job or responsibilities. They conduct classes in the evenings and on weekends too. We can choose the timings as per our availability.
H&R Block also offers fast track course for 8 weeks that is held for two days in a week for 3 hours each or one day each week with 5-6 hours each class. These classes start from April of each year.
The course requires you to secure more than 80% merit in order to gain an interview with them. The merit might scare you a bit but don’t worry I will give you my experience at the bottom of the page.
Here is the link for you to browse about the course:
Update: H&R Block has opened registration for 2022 crash course. Register yourself to secure a entry level job.
Itp (Income Tax Professionals): This is another top company of Australia for tax purposes. Some of the services provided by Itp are Book Keeping, startup advices, financial planning and business services.
Itp run courses between February and June. The course involves 16 lessons plus two exams. The courses are held at Itp’s head offices across Australia for over 10 weeks.
They usually run over two nights per week with a further two week computer training course for graduates. In selected areas, some courses run full-time during the year. They charge a nominal fee of $500-$700 depending on the area.
When you are enrolling, enquire about their passing mark, this would help you to aim for it and secure job with Itp.
My Experience with H&R Block:
At some point in my career, I was stuck in a job which did not motivate me to go to work every day. I was looking for a new job and wanted to learn a new skill to motivate myself. That’s what I do when I am low on motivation. While searching Mr. Google, I came across this course and was quite excited that I can learn taxation from the scratch.
So I enrolled first time in the year 2014, attended on weekends (Saturday), it was bit refreshing for me in meeting new people and understanding how tax works and the tips of paying less tax. I have learnt many new tips that I was not aware on claiming some deductions.
The classes were held for 3 hours and the tutor was friendly and helpful. We had two small tests before the final exam. From my memory, the first was a surprise test for 10 marks and the second was for 30 marks. You score 10% for your attendance. I did well in those tests, secured close to 80%.
Just before the final exam, they have asked us to fill a form if we were interested in working for them. I ticked yes and chose locations where I was interested to work. The form had a column that you have to write down your available time.
I wrote down my hours to work on weekends to get insight into over the counter service experience. After passing the final exam with flying colors, I think I have scored about 85%, I was called for a interview in the next two weeks. I attended the interview in their Head Office.
Finally I was offered a job with H&R Block. That was really an awesome experience. I was very excited; my first shift was in a busy office on a Thursday evening. The office manager was under stress with many clients walk-ins.
My computer was not set up with my access ID and the manager was bit unfriendly and started blaming me for their computer problem. That moment I felt working in front office was not for me.
I got a call to work in different location next time, I agreed with some hesitance. My experience with this manager was wonderful; she showed me around the office, introduced staff and set my details on the computer. I felt so good and attended some clients on that day. When I had any questions, she was happy to help me. Later I realized the first office I went to was in a wrong time.
I have attended the course second time in the year 2017. The curriculum was same except a little change in the interview process. There were two stages of interview one was online and the other was face to face with the District Manager. The online was – the software asks you certain questions and you have to answer by facing to the camera on your computer.
This gets recorded and sends back to them for their further analysis. Once you pass that stage, you are called for an interview and remaining process is same as earlier year.
Tips for getting 80% merit:
- Spend at least an hour each day to keep up to date with the course (if you are new to tax otherwise 2-3 hours a week is enough)
- Complete the Home works provided by the tutor on regular basis
- Get a good study companion, it helps in understanding the concepts better
- Try to attend the classes regularly, this helps you to score 10% marks on your overall exam
- Seek help from tutor if you need more clarity on the topic.
I strongly recommend this course to those who want to get into workforce or update themselves with tax Topics.
