Build resilience through your training journey

Obtaining your Chartered Accountants Ireland qualification isn’t an easy journey. By building resilience, you are arming yourself against the challenges of your training and your career, says Grace Tighe.

As trainee Chartered Accountants, we face many obstacles on our path to membership. Balancing work and study while taking exams is a challenge, not to mention attempting to find time for family, friends and, most importantly, yourself. 

When we think about resilience, we often think it’s about overcoming major life obstacles, and we don’t always consider the resilience we build by pushing through our daily struggles. 

We define resilience as the capacity to prepare for, adapt to and grow through adversity. Resilience isn’t an ability that some people have and others don’t. Resilience is based on a skill set from which you can learn, implement, and grow. 

As students, there are vital aspects in managing and overcoming obstacles we may face. 

Relationships

Relationships are a crucial aspect of overcoming adversity and building resilience. These relationships should be with people you trust and with whom you can openly and honestly communicate your struggles. 

Having a friend or fellow student who relates to your experience is also essential. Whether they are going through the same exam cycle or have previous exam experience, it’s ideal to have someone you can talk to who understands the challenges you face. 

Often, we can feel isolated in our problems, but chances are, someone close to you has faced similar obstacles on their path to membership. Ask friends how they dealt with similar issues. The solution may be simpler than you think.

Remember your purpose

When overcoming challenges, it’s important to remember your purpose and what you hope to achieve. 

Study leave and exam periods can be stressful; therefore, it is crucial to keep the end goal in your sights. 

Set boundaries

One of the critical skills in overcoming a challenge is knowing when you are stretched to capacity. 

It is important to set boundaries, especially regarding work and study balance. 
Chartered Accountancy students are ambitious people, and this ambition can often lead to biting off more than we can chew. 

If you find your workload challenging in the exam run-up, raise this with your manager.
It’s important to be realistically optimistic about what you hope to achieve or how much work you aim to complete. Don’t sell yourself short, but also be honest with yourself about how much productivity is possible.

Reflect

When overcoming obstacles, knowing what resources are available to you can help, especially if you your exam result is not what you had hoped for.

CA Support is available to all students to help them through a rough patch. The Institute’s education resources are also there to help you succeed in exams, so use them. 

Many successful accountants have struggled with exams, but the resilience you build overcoming this obstacle will stand to you for years to come. 

By building resilience, you will have developed newer and deeper perspectives on what is important to you. You will learn that life can be a rollercoaster of ups and downs rather than a smooth and steady path. 

By facing and overcoming adversity, you equip yourself with the tools to take on challenges and push yourself to achieve greater things. 

Grace Tighe is the Chairperson of CASSI.