Enrolled agent - First job leads? Anyone?

[PSixx]

Hello all,
Any advice on getting your first job as an EA? Where to look? Where to start to get the widest exposure to tax clients/returns? I have seen plenty of jobs looking for EAs with experience only.
Although I am a seasoned accountant (finance, accounting jobs) I am now looking for my first job as an EA and finding it a bit difficult.  Lots of ads I see require some experience in taxes and CPA firms seem to want young kids who recently graduated and want to become a CPA.  I have applied to some jobs but haven't gotten any leads so far.  Any advice would greatly appreciated! 

[Proud Foot]

You might have better luck if you stay away from regional or larger accounting firms. Look for a sole practitioner and make connections there and see if they have space for any assistance, even better if you are able to secure a few clients to bring with you. With your accounting/finance experience you should be able to get the hang of tax prep pretty easily. Another route could be going through HR Block. Not ideal and probably will be low pay but can get you some experience. Another option to get experience, not paid though, would be through the IRS Tax Volunteer program (VITA)

[Optimiser]

I work at a smallish CPA firm, we have one office with 4 full time CPAs plus a couple others that work part time. Up until very recently we had an EA that worked here part time. My firm might be unique, but we have had a really hard time finding good new employees. A lot of recent grads seem to prefer moving to a bigger city to work at a bigger firm. I know if our case we probably don't have enough year round tax work to keep an EA busy, our CPAs spend this time of year doing financial statement audits.

So you might try looking at smaller firms and see if you can find anything there.

[SeattleCPA]

I would think your timing is off right now. Extension season ends in a few days. Then things will go pretty dormant for a few weeks. Probably hiring picks up mid-January? Sorry.

BTW, the whole Covid-19 thing really scrambles the finances of small businesses. Look at the track the economy's small business stats, available here: https://tracktherecovery.org/

[SeattleCPA]

These job seeking tips for EAs however...

• Be patient and start looking now but realize this is a seasonal business.
• Do talk with small CPA firms. But be alert to wages. Some small firms don't make enough to pay people well. Sorry.
• If you don't know QuickBooks, consider trying to learn that. That could really jack your non-tax-season work.
• I would probably avoid the national chains like HRB, etc. I think the wages are lower there...

Tip: Ultimately, @PSixx , you want to do business returns or trust returns or something in addition to 1040s. The more complex returns pay better for obvious reason. People can't DIY as easily or well.