Adam Leahy explains four ways in which young Chartered Accountants can future-proof their careers. Firms have been able to outsource and even automate an increasing number of accounting-related activities over the past decade. When I completed my training contract in 2010, the workload for the newly qualified accountant consisted mainly of these activities. Today, if a candidate wants to enter and prosper in the larger industry firms, they must bring more to the table. So, what does it take for a young Chartered Accountant to stand out today? 1. Technical knowledge Technical knowledge has been, and will always be, the cornerstone for an accountant. Understanding the standards, how to apply them, and how changes will affect how a company reports will always be needed. 2. Problem-solving, critical, and strategic thinking When an accountant can use reason and logic to solve complex problems that positively impact the future of the organisation, they show the ability to think long-term and outside the vacuum of their immediate role. The common requirement of the future-proofed accountant is sustainable value creation for the business. The larger firms are moving at such a fast pace that if an accountant performs no more today than the same tasks they performed 12 months ago, that accountant is going backwards. A future-proofed accountant needs to move forward consistently. To do that, they need to create value. 3. Systems thinking As we rely on increasingly advanced tools for processing and reporting information, it is not sufficient for an accountant to simply understand which buttons to press. Instead, accountants must understand how these systems work. What are the benefits now, and what are the current limitations? How can these systems be used or enhanced to drive greater efficiency, higher standards of compliance or more useful business insights? 4. Influencing and communication skills It’s refreshing to see more leadership teams ditch the notion of “that’s the way we’ve always done it” to justify their course of action. Instead, successful leadership teams seek ideas from all levels. Suppose a good idea is brought forward by a junior accountant who hasn’t been there long enough to get swept up in ‘group-think’. In that case, the ability of that accountant to confidently voice the idea and influence upwards could be the reason the idea is adopted. And happily, the junior accountant may also be rewarded or promoted in time. Adam Leahy is  Co-Founder of The Finance Tech Forum and Senior Finance Manager  at Microsoft Ireland. You can read this article and others in Career Guide 2021/2022. 

Gina London shares her tips for negotiating a comprehensive and competitive benefits package. You did it. After how many rounds of interviews and follow-up meetings, you have finally been offered the job. Congratulations! Now all your research, role-play sessions and diligent preparation work is over, it’s time to settle into the role. Wait a minute. What about your salary and benefits package? Have you negotiated that? No? Then there is still much work to be done. If you’re one of those people who thinks you should just take whatever is offered, I have good news for you. In today’s hybrid, employee-centric marketplace, employers expect candidates to discuss their salaries and benefits. 1. Introduce negotiations when you’re offered the job If you feel uncomfortable reading this first tip, you’re not alone. While the research I refer to above states that 70% of employers expect to engage in negotiations with their would-be employees, the same research revealed that just over half (55%) of candidates brave the waters to negotiate their packages. But as someone who coaches and trains business professionals all over the world, let me give you some inspiration as to why you should join the few who decide to take that plunge. When you negotiate your salary, you are demonstrating to your manager that you are confident and comfortable discussing your value and worth. This kind of communication is likely what helped you land the job in the first place, so keep building on this foundation of strength. Your courage to initiate what many consider a difficult conversation is what will set you apart, establish you as a leader and position you for promotion. Consider, too, the other side of the coin. What happens if you simply accept, without any discussion, whatever salary or benefits package is set before you? You may be considered a follower rather than a leader. Even worse, depending on what you receive, you may be accepting a salary far below the market or your needs. Imagine, for instance, that you accept a wage 10% beneath your desired salary. If you’re later provided an average cost of living increase of 4% annually, it will take you more than two years to attain your original desired starting point. For those reasons and more, the positives of negotiating outweigh the negatives. So, let’s explore how to be as successful as possible during this process, even if you don’t move the monetary dial as high as you envision. 2. Understand your value The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly impacted the workforce. The International Labor Organisation (ILO) shows that unemployment remains at record-setting levels. This means you are valuable as an employer investment. You have more leverage than you may realise. Don’t forget to factor in your years of experience, level of education, leadership, and other related skills as part of that leverage. While the pandemic is still affecting the world’s economy, it doesn’t mean you need to steer clear of discussing your value in the ecosystem of your new company. The events that shaped our lives during the pandemic, and now beyond, have promoted both employers and employees to examine their career opportunities, culture, values, and lives. What is important to you? You likely want to be in a company that makes a difference. Employers, too, are looking for people who can positively influence their teams. That is a value in itself. Seek to define that. 3. Do your research While you’re putting a value on your own worth, conduct some research on the value of your potential new employer. Can you determine how badly they were affected during lockdown? Many companies lost revenue. If so, how are they doing today? Other companies continued to chart financial growth during the pandemic. They hired new team members, granted promotions, paid increases, and even provided year-end bonuses. Try to inform your research with as many sources as possible. Also, consider asking some of these questions as part of your interview. This will set you up nicely for your package negotiation. 4. Prepare and practice your negotiation conversation I work with my clients to understand that even their most seemingly informal, off-hand conversations become a part of their brand. Therefore, please understand that if you ultimately accept your new offer, your negotiation conversation will become a part of your employer’s perception of you. Your conversations are not neutral. They are positive or negative. Knowing this, seek to make this conversation a positive one. Start off with gratitude. Once you’ve been offered the job, thank your manager, HR professional and whoever else was part of the process. If you are asked what your anticipated salary would be, don’t limit yourself to a single number. State a range with a spread of about €10,000. Make sure your bottom range number is something you can realistically live with. Don’t low-ball yourself here. 5. Summarise your qualifications Remember how I suggested you understand your value? Well, here is where you need to not only understand this, but also be able to articulate it. Write out your points of distinction and rehearse these lines out loud. The more you can be clear and confident here, the stronger your case will be. 6. Make suggestions beyond money As companies move into the unchartered waters of hybrid working and other new workforce of the future models, here is your opportunity to suggest a range of benefits and ideas beyond the salary range you have already proposed. Consider discussing a possible signing bonus to compensate for accepting a lower salary than what you suggested. Can you nail down a work from home schedule? Annual leave days? Are there any other perks that your employer can come up with? Ask them for their own creative ideas. This is not a competition you have to win in one go. Rather, I encourage you to approach this conversation as a means of establishing yourself as an engaged and active employee who is a confident and courageous leader – not only for your teams, but also for yourself. If you keep your composure, you will plant positive conversation and leadership seeds that will grow over time – regardless of whether you land the salary and benefits package of your wildest dreams. Gina London is CEO of Language of Leadership, LLC. She guides global companies and executives to better connect and engage with their employees, their boards and themselves. Her Fortune 500 clients include Salesforce, Oracle, Google and more. Gina is an Emmy award-winning former CNN anchor and correspondent. You can read this article and others in Career Guide 2021/2022. 

Tana Storani explains how to build a pandemic-proof personal brand that will boost your career as the hybrid working model emerges. A brand is a figurative representation of a product or service. You are also a brand. Your personality, network, communication style, education, know-how, and experience is packaged in a title, such as Chartered Accountant, and sold to the market. Your personal brand is essentially a combination of your image and reputation. Branding is the management of a company’s image and reputation, aiming to make it more desirable and positive in the minds of its customers and the general public. The goal is to differentiate the brand. Similarly, personal branding is the act of developing the strategy and actions to guide and manage your brand to either advance your career or be chosen by potential clients. It is acting and positioning yourself in such a way that your audience clearly understands who you are and what you offer. To thrive in this new hybrid environment, where virtual is the ‘new frontier’, it is important to adapt to the new business models and ways of working. To do so successfully, you must strategically develop a hybrid personal branding strategy and project your image and reputation to your target audience to set yourself apart. In other words, you cannot simply go back to the old way of doing things — the post-pandemic world will be a combination of online and offline, whether you like it or not. I have helped individuals and companies unlock their full potential through personal branding and professional innovation since 2012. I do this through the ten golden rules of personal branding in a hybrid world, which are: 1. Create a strategy: Develop an online and offline personal brand strategy and stick to it. Use the Personal Branding Canvas to develop your personal brand strategy. 2. Complete your LinkedIn profile and create a personal website: A personal website and completed LinkedIn is the crux of your personal brand. Your target audience will research you on LinkedIn before deciding to work with, hire, or recommend you, so it’s crucial that you do more than the bare minimum. Don’t simply complete the core steps in creating your LinkedIn profile or build a basic, bland website. Be compelling. 3. Gather virtual recommendations: Saying you achieved phenomenal results in a unique way is one thing, but having the beneficiary publicly sing your praises is quite another. Word of mouth is always good, and having virtual recommendations on LinkedIn, websites, and internal groups is essential. 4. Determine your efficient time: This is the percentage of your time that could be used more productively for tasks other than meeting clients in person. Instead of travelling to visit clients, what if you used part of that time to network or seek new prospects? To determine your percentage of efficient time, identify the number of hours you wished you had available each week to be more productive through tasks other than face-to-face meetings. 5. Implement criteria to determine what meetings can go virtual: Look at your agenda for next week and decide what client meetings should go virtual to free up more efficient time for the goal you created. Create defined guidelines. For example, all first meetings with new potential clients are face-to-face, but if the decision-maker attends via video link, you should too. 6. Use CRM software: Humanising your service ensures that all strategies, whether digital or offline, are accurate and achieve the best possible result. Using a CRM system will help you optimise your daily schedule and prioritise tasks, ensuring customers are not ignored and key prospects are contacted on time. 7. Make contact easier using technology: In the hybrid world, virtual selling essentially becomes selling. With that in mind, it is important to ensure you have a clear call to action or an easy contact route for your network. For example, use the WhatsApp tab on your website to enable contacts to reach you without thinking twice. 8. Ask your target audience about their preferences: If you are an entrepreneur or a member in business, your network likely wants solutions that deliver measurable and valued outcomes online or offline. So first, understand their expectations, preferences, and current situation. Then, use technology to offer a broad range of virtual options to cater to their needs. That way, you will become known as a solutions-focused Chartered Accountant who is a pleasure to deal with. 9. Network: Participate and speak in online and offline events. By networking and building relationships regularly, you’re constantly engaging with new people that have the potential to shape your brand by offering new opportunities for personal and professional growth. You can either create your own event to participate in or join an industry event on Eventbrite. Also, develop partnerships that will allow you to host or manage online events where your name will be highly promoted. Whether you’re comfortable with it or not, public speaking is a tried and true way to extend your personal brand. 10. Social media is a MUST: According to Statista, over 3.6 billion people use social media worldwide. Social media creates excellent opportunities for personal branding efforts, both for personal and corporate purposes. Well-planned brand management on social media creates value for your brand – from creating posts to interacting with followers, it all contributes to a solid social media presence which, in turn, contributes to a solid personal brand. These ten rules will help you achieve recognition in your career and even greater results in your business, especially in this new hybrid world. Good luck as you prepare for 2022! Tana Storani is the Founder of Storani Careers and a former recruiter for LinkedIn and HP. Tana specialises in personal branding, career strategy, and leveraging LinkedIn for professional growth. You can read this article and others in Career Guide 2021/2022. 

Neil Curran explains how you can balance connectivity with flexibility as employers plan and refine their post-pandemic working models. The afternoon chit-chat over the coffee machine, office gossip over the water fountain, and the race for the last parking space in the morning… it’s exciting for many to be returning to the office. However, our return to the office will never be the same as hybrid working emerges as the new normal and we seek to balance flexibility with connectivity. Here are some tips to help you leverage the new working model to maximise your workplace engagement while achieving your career goals. Check in with your career plan With businesses adjusting to the changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, you may not have focused much on your career since March 2020. Or perhaps your manager wasn’t ‘in the zone’ for career conversations, especially if your business was going through change. Re-evaluate whether your goals align with your career aspirations, which may have changed since the onset of the pandemic, and consider whether the steps to success need to change. Now may be a good time to engage with a mentor or coach. Be an early adaptor This is a tip that people can and will struggle with, but early adaptors are likely to be the ones that set the scene for the hybrid workplace. So, create the new normal for yourself and reset expectations for your team and manager. We are in new territory, and the workplace is crying out for early adaptors to test what works. This means setting expectations with others as to what your hybrid work style looks like. Communication is critical. Let your manager, peers and stakeholders know when you will be available in person and the hours you are working where relevant. Don’t create a stigma between in-person working and the days you work at home. The pandemic has shown us that people are as productive, if not more productive, when working from home. So, create a perception that homeworking days are regular workdays. Perception is reality in the workplace. Relearn how to socialise It’s important to adjust your communication style to reflect the different demands of the hybrid working environment. Conscious communication, where we communicate with intention, will be a critical skill. Let’s break it down into its key components. Active listening We are all able to listen, but it doesn’t mean we listen all the time. Consider the conditions for effective listening when communicating – not just when you listen, but when you need others to listen too. Consider the appropriate communication method, the time of day, environment, and language to get your message across. If you wait until you are back in the office to communicate important things, you risk selling yourself short. Be aware of your language With the obstacles hybrid working brings, it’s essential to be mindful of how our intention doesn’t always align with interpretation by others. Most of us aren’t aware of our communication style, but we all have cultural and personality traits that influence the words we use. For example, auxiliary language (should, would, could, etc.), lack of assertion with saying no or yes, and making assumptions about those we are communicating with can distort intention and interpretation, thus undermining credibility. Out of sight doesn’t mean out of mind The need for strong relationships will continue in the hybrid model, and we need to balance how we adapt to it. This applies to both formal and informal interactions. In a hybrid workplace, there is a risk that we will keep office communication to a minimum on our homeworking days. This shouldn’t be the case. In fact, with expectations that Monday and Friday will become popular days for homeworking, these are prime days for informal and formal communication. Informal communication, such as asking colleagues about their weekend plans, serve relationship maintenance. (Pro tip: when asking a colleague what their weekend plans are, be specific when asking them on Monday how their weekend was. For example, ask, “How was the hike in Glendalough?”) With formal communication, don’t restrict scheduling important meetings to office working days only. Get the balance right. Similarly, when it comes to one-to-one meetings with your manager or other key stakeholders, don’t cancel meetings if you are homeworking – even if the agenda is light. Checking in with others keeps relationships in check while also presenting an opportunity to catch up on non-essential items. Audit your advocates and support framework As a result of the pandemic, many of us have had infrequent connections with people. Our social capital may have dwindled as a result. Advocates are people who speak highly of you and can be found in your organisation, your sector, and your network. As we move through our careers, we collect advocates who speak positively about us when we are not in the room. It is therefore essential that we audit our advocates to see where improvement is needed. Be the change you want to see It will take some time before the pendulum settles in the hybrid working environment, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be thinking about how our career plan will shape up in the future. Yes, we have extra plates to spin – on top of work/life balance, we have homeworking versus office-based considerations. However, now is the time to shape that engagement while keeping our finger on our career development pulse. Neil Curran is a corporate trainer and professional improviser specialising in effective teams and authentic communication. You can read this article and others in Career Guide 2021/2022. 

When looking for a job after qualification, you can do more than just send a CV listing your previous experience. Here are some steps you can take to make the path to your dream job a little easier. For many of us, the start of a new year is the time that we take a peek at the job market, especially if you are nearing the end of your education. However, you will not be alone.  While you maybe tick all the boxes in terms of qualifications, it is worth considering what can you do over the coming weeks and months that will make you stand out from your peers to land the job of your dreams. How can you impress an employer before you even get your foot in the door? Its worth putting together a list of top 10 companies you would like to join, and then start working on ways to blow them away before you ever even meet them. Here are some steps you can take that may help set you apart from your peers.  Your CV  A well laid out CV is such an important document and will highlight to any potential employer that you take yourself, your own brand and the interview process seriously.  Your CV should advertise and sell your skills to employers. Employers will notice a well-crafted CV and note that if you put time and effort into this document, you take yourself seriously as an accounting professional.  Be sure to target your CV to the job in which you are applying. This will grab the attention of the hiring manager and  help you overcome any artificial intelligence software the organisation might be using to help with its hiring process. Social media Your online profile is another form of marketing for yourself and brand. Make sure that it is done correctly and that your portray yourself on social media in the best possible light. Privatise your social accounts if needs be. If you have public content, be sure it portrays you well. Before you even start applying for roles within your target company, start following them on social media, and like and share their posts. Use your social media presence to interact with these companies in advance of any potential interviews with them. Make sure that your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and is completed correctly. Your online profile should portray the right image of you as a serious candidate so make sure your experience is current and your picture is professional. It is not unusual for hiring managers to go straight to a candidate’s LinkedIn profile prior to the interview, so make sure it lists all your accomplishments.  Tap into your network Up until now, your focus has been on passing your exams. Now that your time as a student is nearly finished, it is the time to expand and utilise your network. Is there a former colleague, friend or family member that works in a company that you are interested in? If so, reach out to them for an introduction to someone involved in recruitment within the organisation.  If they can’t introduce you to someone in the organisation, they still might be able to help you with CV preparation or provide some company intelligence that will give you insight into how tailor yours answers to interview questions. Many companies have a fee that they pay to current employees for good referrals, so keep this in mind when asking current employees of companies for an introduction. Your network can prove invaluable and people love to help.  You can also find the hiring managers and heads of recruitment from within the company on Linkedin. Take a chance by connecting with them, liking their posts and catching their eye with some of your own content. Concepta Cadogan is the Head of Accounting and Finance at Lincoln Search and Selection.  

The most powerful tool in a networker’s arsenal is the ability to give back to your network. By following the 10 key points outlined by Jean Evans, you’re guaranteed to cultivate a strong and supportive business network. One of the first things you learn about networking is the importance of giving back to your network, and most people starting out can become overwhelmed by this notion. You might think you don’t know anyone, or you’re worried that you don’t have anything of value to give to another person in your network. However, it’s a lot easier to give back than you think. Here are 10 things you can do to give to your network. Show up consistently If you’ve taken the time to join a network, I’m going to make a bold assumption and say that you’ve done your due diligence and you know the schedule and the frequency. Put this in your diary and schedule any other meetings around your networking meetings. This time spent networking should be sacrosanct. The know, like and trust factor Schedule one-to-one time with people in your networking groups as part of your networking process. Do a minimum of one of these individual meetings each week per networking group you are a part of to consistently and constantly build up your network. It’ll be noticed and appreciated. Add value As you get to know people and their businesses in your network groups, you’ll start to understand what matters to them. For example, you might come across an article that could be of interest. Why not email it on, share it on LinkedIn, or tag the person on a social media post? Then, they’ll see the article or post and know you were thinking of them. Referrals People generally network to get referrals. Of course, it’s great to be able to refer business to your fellow networkers. A word of caution, however: don’t be hasty. Always do your one-to-ones in advance to learn about a person’s offering before giving a referral. Testimonials If you’ve used a service or product of someone in your network, think about how a testimonial might add value to them personally or to their business. For example, a personal recommendation or testimonial might be put on LinkedIn. If it’s a business testimonial, ask where is best to place a recommendation (e.g. Google Reviews, LinkedIn, or just sending a testimonial by email that can be published on their website). If you include your full name and your company, it’s a little bit of micro-networking for your business too. Get social Find out what social media channels people are on, both personally and professionally. Then, follow them and start engaging – commenting, sharing, tagging others – with relevant content. Get involved and show you care. Be a connector Everyone in business has problems and pain points they are trying to solve. You might not be in a position to help, but you might know someone who could. Make the introduction and connect the two parties. They’ll both remember you for this gesture and the fact that you took time out to help. Share your knowledge One of the amazing benefits of networking is how much you learn from other people in your groups. Most networks have an ‘ed slot’ where five minutes are assigned to a member sharing business insights with the rest of the group. Be willing to share your knowledge. Be yourself Be your authentic self. Know your values, beliefs, and what you stand for, and be sure you can articulate this. This is important as, bit by bit, you’ll want to build a network of people aligned with your values. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Follow up If you offer to do something, be it giving a testimonial, an introduction, or organising a one-to-one, make sure to follow up. This is mission-critical. Everything succeeds or fails based on our ability to follow up. This speaks to your reputation and your reliability. All these actions go towards building up your social capital. If you invest in yourself and build relationships consistently over time, you’ll become known as a stellar networker. It does take discipline, effort, energy and time, but the rewards could be great. Jean Evans is a Networking Architect and Founder at NetworkMe.