How to land your dream job in industry

This newsletter we’re taking a break from the salary guides and inviting a very special guest on to talk about landing your dream job in industry. As a current accounting manager at Google, and someone who publishes awesome content on succeeding as a CPA, I’m really excited to have Mike Manalac as a guest writer for this edition.

But first, picture this: You’re sitting around the Christmas tree sipping hot cocoa and everything is right, when suddenly a thought pops into your head: you’re way behind on your CPE credits for 2023! With the holidays just around the corner, it’s a good time to get your CPE or CPD wrapped up, so today’s newsletter sponsor, LumiQ is offering subscribers 5 free CPE / CPD credit hours!

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If you're thinking about leaving public accounting for industry, Mike Manalac, CPA (aka Mike From Accounting) has this to say.

Know What you want

You probably have 3 things in mind:

1. A pay bump

2. Work-Life Balance

3. Exciting work

Most people settle for two out of three. If you want all three, you're approaching dream job territory where the competition is stiff. These tips will help you get an edge on landing that role.

Define the Competition

The toughest competition will be CPA’s that have a combo of Big 4 on the public accounting side and Fortune 500 on the industry side. 

Level set your expectations and bring your best. If you’re playing the long game, you can keep this in mind in planning your career path and make yourself the most attractive candidate.

Find your competitive advantage

If you want to work for an unconventional company, you have to be an unconventional accountant.

To get an edge, break the stereotype.

There are tons of accountants that lack creativity, are socially awkward, and are boring introverts etc. Those are not the ones landing the dream jobs.

Whichever stereotypical traits DO NOT describe you, lean in. That's your competitive advantage.

During my interviews with Nike the interviewer touched on needing a self starter and someone who likes to learn new skills. I mentioned how I taught myself how to play guitar, piano and drums and we spent the rest of the interview talking about music. 

They booked me a ticket to Portland for an on-site later that day. 

Get Noticed

Spruce up your linkedIn profile and send personalized connection requests to finance recruiters working at ALL the companies you want to work for. 

Sharpen your one page resume with one liner impact statements. Make sure your impact is quantified and each line starts with a verb. 

Be different. Instead of my resume saying I was an expert in excel like everyone else, I simply had a bullet that said “Excel =IfError(Index(Match,Vlookup,SumIfs),0)/Pivot”. I had interviewers at Facebook, Salesforce and Amazon mention that bullet specifically.  

Be Unforgettable

When the recruiter accepts your LinkedIn connection, message them to express your interest in an open role. If you do it right, they'll ask for a resume and then a phone screen. 

When you chat, answer the “tell me about yourself” question with the goal of being not only impressive, but unique. Notice the emphasis on the need to stand out?

In the last few minutes, hit them with your sizzle reel. A well prepared run down of your careers greatest hits, leave them wanting more. 

Don’t end with “hope to hear from you”, tell them you can’t wait to continue the conversation next time. Send the message that this conversation is not over. 

If you play your cards right, you'll then be scheduled to meet with the decision makers, a milestone that few applicants reach.

Put your game face on, bring your best self and go land your dream job. You got this!

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If you're picking up what Mike is putting down, follow him on LinkedIn.

This type of content is completely new to Big 4 Transparency - If you like this format I’d love to hear from you! Happy holidays everyone!