Progression in your Accountancy Career involves much more than what you learnt throughout your course, it’s about how you can react as an individual and out-shine your competition in a fiercely competitive environment..
Technical skills may get your foot in the door, but it’s your people skills that open most of the doors to progression in your career. Problem solving, delegating, motivating, and team building are all skills that are just as essential as academic knowledge. In business you need to make judgements about complex matters and strike the right balance between completing tasks, achieving commercial goals and caring for other team members. This is not a skill that is natural for most people; like technical expertise it has to be learned, practised and mastered.
Employers are identifying a skills gap within their organisations leading to frustrations caused by lack of communication, poor leadership and an inability to influence, meaning they are increasingly placing greater value on applicants who possess these soft skills along with technical ability.
Here are our top three tips to help you get ahead:
- Network – make sure you are seen out and about within the Accounting world, preferably not dancing on a table with a drink in hand! There are plenty of events and socials that are organised by CIMA and ACCA and other more local organisations. Get on their mailings list and keep up to date with these.
- Find a Mentor – why not ask a senior member of your team to help you out with areas that you might be struggling in outside of the office? Perhaps an old boss or even an old school friend might be able to talk through ideas/frustrations/career progression ideas and give you a different perspective
- Gain Credible Exposure – Stay competitive in the workplace and keep on top of your specific field. Submit articles to accounting magazines or online publications that deal with accounting topics you are especially proficient in. Sign up to speak at accounting conferences to discuss these same topics. Public awareness gets your name out there which can only be of benefit if looking to further your career.
The post Professional Development for Accountants appeared first on BPP Blog.