Job Tip #3: Batten Down the Hatches!

Work is no place for wallflowers. You should strive to be visible and proactive at your current job, according to Bruce Friedman, associate director of recruiting at KPMG LLP. Friedman and other presenters shared tips for making yourself indispensable at your current job, along with strategies for finding a new one, at a recent NYSSCPA Banking Committee event.

To make yourself more indispensible, generate revenue through business development or cost-saving initiatives, and strive to perform at the top 10 percent of your peers, Friedman recommended. As trends in accounting shift, develop the skills that will be most in demand: namely, IFRS, Fair Value Accounting and Forensic Accounting.

Targeting Your Job Search

Should the worst happen and you find yourself among the projected 9 percent of workers looking for a new job by the end of the year, take a focused approach. Think guided missile, not blitzkrieg. Rather than email-blasting your resume to 1,000 people, use your network to find contacts to send your resume to. Make sure to take full advantage of LinkedIn, one of the most popular online networking tools. (Read tips for using LinkedIn here.) Many companies and associations, such as the NYSSCPA, maintain group or company pages on LinkedIn where you can search for contacts. “If you are not personally known or recommended, your candidacy will be at a disadvantage,” said presenter Michael Rosenblatt, president of the Quest Organization. Research a company and find contacts to whom your resume can be sent. “Do not randomly apply to companies in a broad range of markets,” Rosenblatt said.

You can view the webcast of "Accounting Opportunities in Financial Services: Outlook and Strategies for the New Year" here, or read coverage in the Trusted Professional.

Read Job Tip #1: Stick to Your Day Job (If It’s Accounting), and Job Tip #2: Tap the Power of LinkedIn here.

Stay tuned for the next tip: interview do’s and don’ts.