Dear Abby

DEAR ABBY: I’m going to all of the Meet the Firms events and I’m conflicted what type of accounting firm I want to go to! What are the differences between local vs regional vs Big 4?? HELP!

Not all firms are created equal! One isn’t necessarily better than another – it’s a matter of what is best for YOU. Everything in your job search should be focused back on what is best for you and your long-term career growth. Make sure that you have an idea of where you want to be in 5-10 years and target the firms that will allow you to get there; dial in the things you want like: industry preference, size of organization, type of company (high-growth, public, pre-IPO, private, government, etc.), product or service offering, etc. This will allow you to be very intentional in asking the right questions to join the right firm for you.

Local Firms

Great exposure to small to midsize companies and usually focus on partnerships, LLCs, and S-Corps. You can gain great exposure to multiple areas of the company and work with a wide array of companies. Usually have a healthier work/life balance. Ability to work directly with the owners/decision-makers both internally and with your clients to add-value!

Regional Firms

Great exposure to midsize companies with a diverse client/industry portfolio. Great local networking opportunities and heavy focus on training, career development, and many allow you to focus on clients in industries you are interested in. Usually have a healthier work/life balance as well with a bigger focus on employee retention. Ability to create great relationships with clients to impact change. Good benefits!

Big 4

Great training, great exposure to larger companies and public companies. Broad range of specializations. Good national networking and consistent career progression. Great technical focus and credibility. Opportunity to transfer between offices if you have a desire to move around. Provide comprehensive benefit package.

Get Certified

Regardless of the firm – I would STRONGLY encourage you to get your CPA!! Essentially all firms will provide study materials and pay for the first attempt of the exam. Most firms will also pay a bonus for completing your CPA exams.

Work with Prospex Recruiting Today!

All firms have their benefit. If you go where 1) you enjoy the people/culture 2) you like the work/industry/structure you will be doing and 3) comp/benefits make sense, you can’t make a bad choice!

Anyone on our Prospex Recruiting team would love to help walk through what the best direction is for your long-term career goals! Contact us today to start your journey towards success in the accounting industry.

What has your experience been at different types of firms? LOVE hearing from you!

DEAR ABBY: I got my degree in accounting, I have worked in accounting, I don’t love accounting and I want to get out of a traditional accounting role! How can I transition out of accounting while still using the skills?

I’ve had more people asking me about this recently and, the good thing about accounting is, the skillset can be utilized in pretty much any industry!

Paths to Consider for Transitioning Your Career

Some paths that I’ve seen people take:

• Consulting/Client Services – either starting your own firm or joining firms like Embark, Amplēo, Connor Group and others can be a great spot to diversify your day-to-day. This can give you more interaction with clients, be more involved with strategic planning, and get exposure to multiple companies from the company side as opposed to the audit side. This route will mix up your day to day while still maintaining your expected compensation.
• Staying in a traditional accounting function but getting into an industry that you are more excited about. Doing the work for a company you believe in can make the work much more invigorating!
• Take a gamble and go towards a career that you want to go to. This usually comes with an initial pay cut but hopefully being somewhere long term that you love will drive that number up exponentially.

Conclusion: The Limitless Possibilities

There are ENDLESS options and there isn’t one right path to transition out of a traditional accounting role. Finding an opportunity you are passionate about can help to facilitate long-term success! When you do what you love, where you love, with people you love – you can’t make a bad choice!

What have you done to transition out of a traditional role while still utilizing your strong accounting background – or transitioning out in general and finding success?? I loved seeing Adam Gray story on his transition out of accounting!!

Connect with Prospex Recruiting

Feel free to reach out to anyone on our Prospex Recruiting team to talk about different options and have someone in your corner to help through the various options!!

DEAR ABBY: My LinkedIn Profile hasn’t been updated in ages – what are your top tips??

Just like there is no such thing as a blind date anymore (dating apps, socials…you get it), blind interviews are a thing of the past. Before an interview, a hiring manager will have viewed your resume, LinkedIn profile, and even googled your name in many cases!

Top LinkedIn Tips

1. Profile Picture: Set the Right Tone

Have a good showing of who you are! This doesn’t always mean glam shots or donning a full suit. Let’s get rid of car selfies, blurry pictures, pictures from your wedding 10+ years ago, too close-up pictures… you get the idea. Feel free to show a little personality through it if that’s your style or have a nice professional picture! This is the company’s FIRST viewing of you – make sure it is representative of you!

2. Details: Be Thorough

If you are active in your search, make sure you are easy to find! Put detail under each position highlighting what you did, what ERP/Software you used. This can look similar to your resume! Make sure you are coming up in searches!!

3. Relevant Experience: Keep It Current

After you have started your career, take off college/high-school jobs if they aren’t relevant to your professional career. Keep your LI cleaned up.

4. Consistency: Match Your Resume

Make sure your resume matches your LinkedIn – if it is off, that will be a huge red flag!

5. Consider Side Jobs Carefully

If you have side jobs/hobbies that are on LI but not relevant to your career progression, think before adding them onto your profile (side consulting, real estate license, weekend jobs). Depending on what it is, it can detract from what your core skillset is!

6. Mindful Engagement: Comment with Care

Be aware of what you are commenting on others posts as this activity shows on your page – I’ve had candidates disqualified based on some of their aggressive commenting.

7. Summary: Craft Your Elevator Pitch

Use your summary to show who you are and to highlight exactly what it is – an awesome summary of your skills!! Think – elevator pitch!

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR TOP TIPS?! You KNOW I love your feedback!

Need Help? Reach Out to Prospex Recruiting Today!

Reach out to any of our Prospex Recruiting team to help review your LinkedIn Profile to make sure you’re getting the best exposure out there!!

DEAR ABBY: I just accepted a position that I’m SO excited about, but what is the best way to put my notice in?! HELP!!

✅Step by Step below✅

The worst part of accepting a new opportunity is telling your current company. Emotions are high, no one wants to feel like they are disappointing anyone or add any extra burden onto people that you have a relationship with.

Remember – companies act out of logic, people act with emotion. You are making the right move for you and your family! If roles were reversed and a company needed to make budgetary cuts, “business is business”. Make the transition because it’s the best move for your long-term career!!

Steps to Resign Smoothly

Here is the smoothest way to put your notice in and preserve your relationships!

1. 😍 This goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. Make sure that you feel good about the opportunity prior to accepting! There will always be the jitters of a new position, but make sure that you’ve done your due diligence to have confidence that this is the right next step for you!
2. 🖊 SIGN THE OFFER prior to putting your notice in. This shows finality to your current company and makes sure that your new position knows you’re excited!
3. 📜 Put together a RESIGNATION LETTER to be able to give to your employer when you meet!

Tips for Crafting Your Resignation Communication

😇 Use the right wording when putting your notice in! Use final terms, let them know you aren’t entertaining a counter-offer (I’VE DONE A FULL SEPARATE POST ON COUNTER OFFERS), and thank them for their time! “I really appreciate my time working here, this is the best move for me and my family right now! I’d love to stay connected and hope our paths cross in the future, but this is the move I’ve decided to make!”

🌻 If they ask if there is anything they can do to keep you, refer to point 4. The only thing worse than letting them down once is letting them down twice – ha. Just don’t even go down that path :).

☎ Seeking Support and Guidance

Call anyone on our team to help walk you through putting your notice in! We have tons of documents and moral support to help you through this time!! Prospex Recruiting is here to help you.

💫 DEAR ABBY: We have an internal Talent Acquisition team. Why does it make sense to use your Prospex Recruiting team too?

We LOVE working with TA teams! We want to be a positive addition to your internal process in whatever scope that looks like!! Most of our clients have an internal team and utilize us in multiple different ways!! Ultimately, we want you to get the best people for your team whether we find them for you or we show you awesome candidates to benchmark against (and a killer process along the way) so that you can make your decision in confidence! Plus – you get our whole Prospex Recruiting fam working for you on each position!!

💯 PARALLEL SEARCH

We do parallel searches with internal teams all the time. The internal team will run their search, we will perform our search/comb our extensive network, and you can make sure you’re seeing a good range of the market to make the best choice for you! Remember, you only pay us when we find the right person for you!

💯 DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Free up your team’s time to focus on their certain roles and let us focus on the ones allocated to us. Whether the TA team is slammed with other positions or if it is a specialized role that requires a certain level of understanding in the market, give us the positions that need key focus or a certain specialization and let your team focus on the ones that best fit them!

💯 CONFIDENTIAL SEARCH

When a position is a high-level of confidentiality, bring us on to make sure that you’re getting awesome candidates in a discrete process!

We are 💯 contingent!

We also have a 90 day guarantee – let us take the liability of hiring onto us!

We are 20% – we don’t want to play the up and down negotiation game to take advantage of the market conditions.

What needs can we help with right now?! Message me! What has your experience been on when you’ve brought in external teams? Excited to hear from you!!
Reach out to anyone on our team to help you out! You’ll get our whole team working for you!