by Kevin
Landing that first job out of school can be very exciting. It can also be challenging. Yet, what may be even more challenging is the decision that comes next: how long do you continue at your initial place of employment, and when do you move to the next opportunity? If you’ve been performing at a high level while feeling (generally) satisfied and content, that decision can become even more fraught.
In the world of public accounting, the promotion to “manager” is traditionally viewed as a significant and desirable milestone, something that signifies your career is on the right track. Although timelines can vary, it typically takes approximately 5 years to accomplish this feat. Although beneficial, is it essential to hang on until the five year manager promotion timeline to jumpstart a successful career?
Over the next two weeks you can read from two guest bloggers who have faced this difficult decision to remain until manager, yet arrived at two different—yet equally valid—conclusions.
Our first “tale” comes from Shelby Stone. Shelby graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2014. I met Shelby a few years ago as she was grappling with this decision to continue her public accounting career with KPMG and, accordingly, set an aspiring goal to become a manager. I believe you will find her decision making process interesting and useful, particularly if you or someone you are mentoring is dealing with a similar dilemma to stay or go…
by Shelby Stone
When asked why I set out to be an audit manager, my knee jerk response is, “isn’t that what I was supposed to do?” As I reflect back, all the cliché reasons on why “staying until Manager” is a great career move come flooding back. “You will accelerate your career.” “You will be exposed to so many different processes and clients resulting in a well-rounded set of skills.” “You will manage faster.” “The learning curve is steep with the knowledge gained being invaluable.” The irony is all those reasons, cliché or not, contribute to why I am so glad I stayed until Manager. I firmly believe that everyone’s career path is unique to them. For example, going into industry immediately out of college or leaving public outside year 3 (1 year of senior associate) or year 6 (one year of manager) can still result in just as fulfilling of a career. However, I can acknowledge now that the cliché reasons to stay in public ring true.
For me, I didn’t exactly set out to be a Manager. I took the classic road of majoring in accounting, interning with Public during college, and accepting a full-time position before even graduating. I passed the CPA exam and earned my license after my first year as an associate. It was what all my friends were doing, and it is what my college promoted. I was enjoying the “work hard, play hard” mentality of Public Accounting and being surrounded by young professionals of similar backgrounds. I had many family friends associated with public accounting and I just thought this was what I was supposed to be doing. Typical of most public accountants, as I was wrapping up year three and completing my first year as a senior associate, I started contemplating the ever-present question of, “should I stay or should I go?” Like most, my first couple of years had been rough between the hours and challenging work. I also had lots of self-doubt that left me wondering if I was even capable of being a Manager.
So, I decided to look around and see what other opportunities were out there. I highly recommend this if you are ever feeling unhappy in your position because oftentimes you will find the grass is not always greener. Nevertheless, everything I considered just never really felt like the right fit. It was then when I decided I was going to give being a Manager a shot, and see if I could survive the next two years and learn as much as I had been promised. [Spoiler alert: I did.] Now don’t get me wrong, the next two years were not a walk in the park. I questioned my choice several times along the way, but each year, I kept finding myself surprised at the knowledge and skills I developed.
Honestly, while my accounting technical knowledge was expanding, I was most surprised at the skills I was sharpening related to management and communication. Now I can look back and say, the development of soft skills is really what has set my public experience apart. To some degree, you are responsible for managing your time with tight deadlines under stressful conditions, even as a first-year associate. You learn to communicate effectively and efficiently with your seniors and managers, have discussions with client contacts, and document that information within the workpapers. These skills are then continually developed as you progress through the firm and gain more responsibility with most in-charging engagements after only being removed from college for two years. All of these skills developed over this short time create strong performing individuals who have a great opportunity to continue at their firm, and quite a few opportunities to take those skills and apply them to new adventures.
After completing my first year as a Manager, I can look back and say that all the reasons to stay are valid. I even discovered reasons I didn’t consider before such as flexibility, plenty of PTO, extensive training resources, travel, high-quality culture, and unique opportunities, to name a few. Truthfully, I have no new profound ideas of why staying until Manager in public accounting is beneficial. I can acknowledge that the Manager path is not always the best path for every individual, and I am certainly not here to argue that it is. My statement and sentiments are only that if you choose it is the right path for you, then it is most definitely worth it.