Spring & Fall CPA Recruit

A semi-annual recruitment campaign that takes place in the Spring and Fall of each year where employers recruit and hire a year in advance for pre-approved CPA positions. These positions generally start in the Fall of the following calendar year.

The employers who participate in Spring and Fall recruit primarily represent the local offices of the national and mid-sized public practice accounting firms, but certain industry and government employers also hire through this process.

Any students who are planning to continue on to the CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) following completion of DAP and are interested in gaining their practical experience requirements with one of the participating employers.

The primary hiring period for CPA Recruit occurs in the spring and fall of each year. However, keep in mind that “recruit” is not just limited to applying online. Building relationships and networking with prospective employers in the months leading up to application submission plays an important role in the hiring process. As a DAP student, you’ll have the opportunity to attend a variety of networking events throughout the year to help you to develop these connections.

The majority of employers hire a year in advance for positions that commence the following September. In general, employers hiring through Spring and Fall recruit expect you to be eligible to start CPA PEP at the same time as starting employment with their company.

To determine your earliest start date for employment, put together a program plan to determine your anticipated program completion date. Your target recruitment season would be the prior calendar year. For example, if you have a plan to complete your CPA PEP prerequisites by August 2023, you would be eligible to start CPA PEP in September 2023 and as a result, your target recruitment season would be spring or fall 2022. 

Attend the career workshops that we offer throughout the year to help prepare you for each step of the recruitment process. DAP Career Coach, Russell Garrett, is also available to meet with students individually to provide you with personalized career planning advice.

No, you are welcome to seek an accounting position with any employer of interest. Any accounting role within any organization has the potential to also meet CPA’s requirements. Most of these positions are in industry and generally fall under the Experience Verification route. In addition, any Pre-Approved Program Route offices may have certain positions within their organization that are pre-approved, for which they don’t fill through CPA Recruit.

In general, organizations hiring outside of CPA Recruit follow a more typical hiring process, in that they recruit and hire for a given position whenever the need arises, with an immediate start date. They generally recruit for one position at a time whereas employers who hire through CPA Recruit hire a larger cohort of new grads.  If there is a specific company or industry of interest to you, start building your networks now to see if there is a way in. Or, keep an eye out on various job boards, attend networking events and continue building your resume.