How to Meet the Firms

Last Thursday, I attended a "Meet the Accounting Professionals" event at a nearby state university.  It was great fun, especially since my last "Meet the Firms" was as a student over a decade ago.

Finding a few stellar candidates was the highlight, of course.  Meanwhile, I felt sympathetic to those candidates that did not come across well.  After chatting with colleagues, I've come up with a few simple dos and don'ts for candidates attending such events...

• Do keep your resume to one page.  Some candidates said "I tried to keep it to one page, but just couldn't."  They should have tried harder.  This is a must.
• Do research the firms beforehand.  It says a lot that you take the time to learn something as simple as a firm's primary niche, location, or relative size. That being said...
• Do not use note cards.  It's great to research the company, but don't read the research from a note card.
• Do not overstay your welcome.  When the conversation stops flowing naturally, it is likely time to say thank you and give a farewell handshake.  That said, don't suddenly leave if it's going great and the firm member is clearly engaged.
• Do speak loudly enough to be heard.  I'm not suggesting shouting at people, but in a busy event the firm member should not have to lean in or repeatedly ask "I'm sorry, what was that?"
• Do not appear desperate.  Talk of how far you drove or how hard you've been looking for a job is not advisable.
• Do have questions ready.  Don't leave it up to the firms to ask all the questions.  Keep in mind you are approaching their booth.  

Those are just a few thoughts after the event.  It was such fun I might attend again next year.  In the meantime perhaps a candidate will tell me what the dos and don'ts are as a firm member attending.  Hope I got at least some of them right...

So sorry to be a nuisance

An everyday occurrence at a department store yesterday got me thinking.

I was at the service counter returning an item, and the clerk helping me continued to carry on a conversation with her fellow clerk. Apparently, someone was either fired or moved from the service desk, and it was quite a scandal. The other clerk has a theory about what was behind it all, but I wasn't there long enough to hear what it was.

What did I find interesting about all that?  Not the actual conversation, as I really didn't care about the drama of the service desk.  What I noticed and disliked was the way they acted as though I weren't there.  As the customer, I should have been the focus of the clerk's attention, but that most definitely was not the case.  Instead I was made to feel like an inconvenience, someone to "deal with" so they could get back to the real issue at hand of their conversation.

When a client calls, or stops by, do we perhaps make them feel that way?  That they are someone to be dealt with so we can get back to more pressing matters?  I hope that's not the way I treat my clients.  I'm sure to be more aware of it going forward, having been treated like a nuisance myself.

Best to give clients our full, undivided attention.  They are sure to notice and appreciate it.

Gadgets and Gizmos

"I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty. I've got who's-its and what's-it's galore..."

Like the Little Mermaid, many of us have gadgets and gizmos aplenty.

With so much technology available to us, we'd be smart to ask ourselves a couple of questions:

• How are we using technology?
• How do we want to be using technology?

For some, electronics are primarily a recreational thing, and that's great.  For others, including myself, electronics are hopefully a means of being productive. 

A recent study performed by LinkedIn looks at our uses of various social media, mainly that we view our personal and professional networks differently.  Are we looking to kill time, or to invest time?

You're probably going to get a lot more satisfaction from your gadgets and gizmos if you decide what you really want to use them for, be it personal or professional or a mix of both, and then actually do that.

(So I guess this was a stating-the-obvious post today.  I like to think I'm good at that.)

Dealing with disappointment

Some things in life are universal, such as disappointment and loss.  Whether it's losing a job, failing the CPA exam, missing out on a promotion, or losing a loved one - everyone experiences it at some point.

With any loss, the healthiest way to deal is to let yourself actually grieve.  Be mad, be disappointed, be sad, be angry, be whatever - because what happened sucked.

The goal is to eventually get to a place of acceptance.  This isn't white-washing the situation and pretending it never happened.  It's accepting your life has a new normal.

As the experts say:

Acceptance is often confused with the notion of being “all right” or “OK” with what has happened. This is not the case. Most people don’t ever feel OK. This stage is about accepting the reality and recognizing that this new reality is the permanent reality. We will never like this reality or make it OK, but eventually we accept it. We learn to live with it. It is the new norm with which we must learn to live.

For me, the new normal is life without the grandfather that I saw every week and adored.  Whatever your loss and the resulting new normal, I hope you can make your way to acceptance, which I'm on the journey to. 

Life's too short to live completely in the past, or with "what-ifs" hanging over you. Try to move forward with a different job, another sitting of the CPA exam, life without the promotion, or life without your loved one.  Make the best of the new normal that you can.

Why do I write about this?  Because even we accountants are human, and some times stuff happens.

Don't Deny the Facts

If you've read a few posts on this blog, then by now you're likely aware that I'm a fan of Seth Godin.  He writes for marketers, but his insights apply well beyond the marketing realm.

 

Today he wrote about one of my favorite topics: facing truth so you can make things better.  This is the stuff of G.K. Chesterton and the optimists, pessimists, and improvers.

 

Mr. Godin writes:

Transformational leaders don't start by denying the world around them. Instead, they describe a future they'd like to create instead...

Gandhi didn't pretend the British weren't dominating his country, and Feynman didn't challenge Einstein's theory of relativity or the laws of thermodynamics. 

It's okay to say, "this is going to be difficult." And it's productive to point out, "our product isn't as good as it should be yet."
 

Just remember when you're facing the truth about yourself, your career, your organization, or anything else in your life, to still celebrate what's going right.

In terms of the glass half full or half empty, take the improver approach.  You'll be glad you did.

 

Who will you be with?

I've posted a bit recently about the question of where you are headed.  A recent blog post by Seth Godin got me thinking about an equally important question: Who will you be with?

He writes:

Surround yourself with people in at least as much of a hurry, at least as inquisitive, at least as focused as you are. Surround yourself by people who encourage and experience productive failure, and who are driven to make a difference.

What's contagious: standards, ethics, culture, expectations and most of all, the bar for achievement.

No man or woman is an island, after all.  We are greatly influenced by those we associate with.  So as you ask yourself where you are headed, also ask who you are making the journey with. 

(Sorry grammar folks for ending sentences with a preposition.  I like it better this way.)

Do what interests you!

Remembering my grandfather who lived through the depression, I am amazed at such facts as he grew up without a refrigerator.  So much of what we have now wasn't available to the masses back then, and yet they still lived full and happy lives.

What does this have to do with your career?  Don't let money be the deciding factor.  You can live without a lot of things.  When deciding on your career, do what interests you.

A professor I quoted previously taught: "As college students, you have learned to live like dogs. You can live on a small income. Don't go into business or accounting if you don't like it, just for the money. Do what you love."

Hopefully, if you're reading this as an aspiring or new CPA, you at least like what you do, and the money is a nice bonus. If not... well, at least you get to work with cool people like me, right?

Lessons from a Flying Tiger

For a few days now, I’ve waited to post about my dear, sweet grandpa who passed away on Sunday.  

Grandpa was 89 years old, a World War II veteran (a “Flying Tiger”), and a lifelong educator.  He was recently honored at the adult school where he was principal for many years.

What did he teach me most of all?

Stay positive.

He was the most positive person I’ve ever met.  Even as his health declined, he kept on smiling.  When returning to the hospital for the last time, in his weakened state he looked up at the nurse and said: “I remember you from last time.  I never forget a pretty face!”

So today I share with you what I learned from a man who lived a long, amazing life.  Stay positive.  Perhaps his positivity is exactly what made his life so long.  I like to think so.

Dora knows where she's going

 

My four-year-old's list of favorite shows includes Dora the Explorer, much to my chagrin.  Sorry Dora, I'm just not a fan.  The most annoying character is the singing map, who repeats his identity over and over and over again.

As usual, I'm taking a step back from the show and trying to learn something (lest the show drive me to madness).  What's my take away?  ... This girl knows where she's going.

She's got an end goal in mind, and a map for how to get there.

What's your end goal?  Where do you want to be?  What's it going to take to get there?

To find help answering these questions, some good places to start are: Start Here, Go Places, and This Way to CPA.  And it's especially helpful to find someone with more experience to help coach you along your way.  (I'm afraid to use the word mentor now.)

Some sort of map for your career will come in handy, even if it doesn't sing for you.

Where will you be in a few years?

Today was spent at Children's Fairyland in Oakland with my 4-year-old.  The picture here is from when the park first opened in 1950, with its vision to be a magical fantasy world where young children can create, imagine, play, and learn.

After 62 years, it's still a popular attraction for parents and toddlers on a sunny Saturday.

Going somewhere with such history got me thinking - where will I be in a few years?  Not sure I'll be around in 62 years, but what about 10, 20, or 30?

According to a recent survey, I'm not the only person who likes to know where she's going.  The Journal of Accountancy reports that a "sense of direction is critical to employee satisfaction."

The article discusses the need for managers to provide guidance and direction to staff on advancement.  I propose that what is even more important is for a person to decide where he/she wants to go, then work on the plan for how to get there. 

Come up with your own vision of where you'll be in a few years, then work with professors, managers, partners, or other leaders to get there. 

Maybe you'll be around in 62 years just like Fairyland, and you'll be exactly who you set out to be.