Should I go back to working for them?

amother

Emerald

Mon, Nov 16 2015, 9:16 am

I'm a SAHM most of the year. During tax season I always find a CPA firm to temp for. Beside for the money I do it to keep my workforce skills current. Therefore I usually to try to find a firm that will be better paying and offering more new experience than the one I worked in the year before.

Last year I worked in a CPA firm where they looked and acted as if they stepped right out of a cartoon book lampooning the "all business mean bosses". They were also super critical, used zero tact and were quicker to fly off the handle than any other place I've ever worked in.

On the flip side they were the only CPA firm I've ever worked for that I could be certain any tax return leaving their office was accurate and took all available deductions and credits. And I definitely learnt a lot from their being overly critical. And I will learn even more if I go back. I also realize that the difficulty in dealing with them stemmed from the lack of tact on their part, not malevolence.

Based on the amount of times I got yelled at last winter I didn't dream they would ask me to come back. But they did and of course want an answer ASAP. Should I go back? Should I go back only on condition that....fill in the blank . I seem to have the upper hand now.(Telling them to be sweet is too much to ask. It goes against their nature...)

Other factors are (1) This is only temporary anyway (2)While presumably another place will be better nobody else promised me a job (3)I won't have to waste my December running around on interviews with CPA firms.

be good

Mon, Nov 16 2015, 9:32 am

If you are considering going back, it seems that you are resilient and mature about the criticism, and while not pleasant, the experience was with you while. This time, you have the valuable added knowledge that their criticism does not imply that they do not value you and your work, which may have been a major stress last time. It also may look good on a resume, at some point, that you were consistently working for the same place.
If it wasn't complete torture last year and it should be better this year…
I would do it.

amother

Ivory

Mon, Nov 16 2015, 10:34 pm

Only you can decide if you should go back. But, I can bring up some pros and cons:

Pros:
You learn a lot.
You accomplish your goal to have the tax returns accurate and all deductions taken...
You don't have to feel down about going out on many interviews to try to "sell yourself"
YOU ARE WANTED!! you obviously did such a great job that they wanted you back--While realistically, you can't demand them to not "micromanage" you because that is their "normal", it is still good that THEY ARE THE BEGGAR AND NOT YOU!!

CONS: You are stressed by being criticized all the time.

I work in an environment where they micromanage everything. I hate it but stay because I need to pay my bills. One boss told me "we sweat the small stuff" is his motto!! It is very stressful and I work all year round. So, I could imagine with that as the only minus, if you know it is only for a short time period, maybe you could learn how to deal with that environment
I also want to point out something. Sometimes, workers only put forth their "most effort" when they know that their boss will be looking at every little thing. Could it be that these bosses are constantly criticizing only because they want to get each worker to learn to "criticize" his/her work so that their company can ensure their customers are getting the service the customers should get: accurate tax returns with all the deductions.... I know ppl. will say but they should not accomplish the goal by "talking down to ppl...." I do believe that many workers take advantage of "non strict bosses". Otherwise, why would the other companies you worked for not have the same rate of accuracy as this company?
Good luck!!
I am so happy for you that you were asked back. It means you did great work--they liked it!!

amother

Emerald

Tue, Nov 17 2015, 11:59 am

amother wrote:

off topic but I am thinking about doing this about how much is the per hour pay? are you working full time?

OP Here I assume "by doing this" you mean working for CPA firms during tax season.

The pay per hour usually ranges from $20-$30 an hour. Some states will also give unemployment for a temporary seasonal job. But if you have no serious intention of finding a job you can't apply for it.

I do not work Fridays and I don't think it would be hard to find a flexible schedule tax season job.

If you have no experience in accounting or tax you can always work for a national chain like Jackson Hewitt. They will probably only pay like $13 an hour but they also give you a percent of each return you do and they charge like $250 a return