Blog Archives

4 Major Ways to Stand Out in the Accounting Field

3/29/2020

If you have ever looked into the different types of jobs offered in the accounting field, you know that the work being done in different positions can seem to be very similar. Financial accounting, public accounting, tax accounting, etc. all are doing similar work. The major difference is that the work is being done for different segments of people. Accounting helps keep a business’ financial records in check, along with providing an overall efficiency for the company.

When working in the accounting field it is significantly more difficult to differentiate yourself because of the similar skills being performed by everyone else. In any accounting position or job it is important to create your own brand, and it will always require extra effort.

I contacted a UBWA alumna, Samantha Borchers, to get insight about this topic. Samantha graduated from OSU in 2013 in accounting. She has given me a lot of good advice about how to achieve your own personal brand while doing very similar work to everyone else in this field.

I have compiled 4 different strategies to help you stand out in the accounting field with the help and insight of Samantha.

1) Develop an attitude of learning.

It is vital in your work to be willing to learn other aspects of business, not just in the sector you reside in. Being knowledgeable about other areas in the business besides your own (especially if you are working in accounting) looks very attractive to employers and other co-workers. Researching concepts you don’t understand or things you would like to know more about is very important for an attitude of learning. Don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to only knowing or learning about things in accounting.

2) Get involved in other things outside of work!

To further develop your personal brand in accounting it is especially important to define yourself as a person. The things that you are passionate about, in work and out of work are what make you, YOU. These things will be the major factor that differentiates you from your co-workers. Lots of people can have the same skills as you, but few people can have exactly the same passions that you do. Samantha stated, “But, don’t let your professional life be your only life. I believe getting involved outside of work can be a great stress reliever. Volunteer at a local charity or participate in a book club…whatever will help you reset your body and mind outside of work. A well-rounded life can bring confidence in interacting with new people, practice in time management, and empathy in difficult or unknown situations, all crucial in a professional environment.” The idea is that getting involved in things you are passionate about outside of work has many advantages that may help with relieving stress and creating your personal brand. After all, who you are as a person and what you enjoy defines your personal brand!

3) Put emphasis on what you want people to remember you by.

Recognize what you want co-workers and your employer to remember you by. Whatever it is, make sure you put more effort into working those parts of your persona into your everyday life while at work. Samantha said, “The accounting skillset I’ve learned since graduating has coincided with an attitude of empathy, respectfulness, and dependability. I want to make sure people are remembering me through positive contributions.” Determine what part of you that you want to stand out the most and cultivate a lifestyle of working to emphasize it. You can be remembered by your skills, personality, passions, knowledge, and many other things. For example, if you want to become a more diverse person and be remembered by your inclusivity, work to put yourself in uncomfortable situations and perhaps educate yourself on views totally different than your own.

4) Make your work ethic reflect your values personally.

As stated earlier, you will be able to stand out more with things that are personal to you. If you believe in working hard until the task is almost perfect, reflect that in your performance. If you believe listening to others and socializing is more important than working independently, cultivate those aspects into your profession. You can stand out if you shape the accounting tasks to be done in ways that reflect you and your values. If you try to differentiate yourself and let your true thoughts, values, and virtues be shown in your maybe boring or tedious everyday work, you will be able to stand out.

Even though I connected these tips mostly to accounting, they are important in any area of business to try to stand out and develop your own persona within the company. Accounting can be very tedious work that makes it hard for your personality to show. My hope is that these tips will help bring out your own personality in your work and inspire you to let your personal self show more in a professional environment.

Thank you to Samantha again for providing me with great insight into how she has developed her personal self in the accounting profession. If you have any questions regarding my post, feel free to reach out at brandenburg.61@osu.edu.

Mallory Brandenburg

Editor: Ellie Jadrych

3 Comments

Creating Inclusive Environments: Advocacy and Promotion in the Workplace

3/15/2020

0 Comments

More than ever, there is a shift to implement diversity initiatives into workplace environments. Different perspectives are increasingly being sought out in the corporate environment. While these efforts are making a difference, the gap between leadership opportunities and pay for women is still an immense problem. How do we ensure that the efforts and perspectives of all employees are appropriately recognized for the merits they bring into the workplace?

This question is where a conversation about advocacy needs to begin. Advocacy goes beyond merely “recognizing” an idea, and helps push a narrative to be heard through action. After interviewing two UBWA alumnae, Sarah Prill and Joy Schwartz, I was able to hear their perspectives on what advocacy should look like in a professional world and what we can do as future leaders to make it happen.

There are two main components to advocacy that help to foster inclusive environments: self-advocacy and sponsorship. Self-Advocacy is an essential piece to the greater conversation about recognition. Joy Schwartz, speaking from her 16 years of experience in talent management, explained how specifically in a new role at an organization it could feel like “treading water.” Wanting to emphasize your expertise and value to an organization should start with two pathways of action: networking and collaborative behaviors. Joy explained that throughout her career, she regularly schedules one-on-one conversations with co-workers, even outside her function, to share a conversation about each other’s work and skills. Sharing your accomplishments with senior leaders allows you to control their narrative about your capabilities, which is important when looking to start conversations about moving up in responsibility at a company.

The second piece of self-advocacy can sometimes be much more complicated: shifting mindsets. Joy explained that when she transitions roles, she looks to take on a new, learning mindset: “a set of collaborative behaviors, and an approach of insightful inquiry to help build up some organizational currency. After that, I try to achieve some “quick wins,” or small projects or initiatives leveraging my past experience to demonstrate credibility.” Demonstrating reliability not only through words but with actions is incredibly powerful when looking to be promoted. When you have a background that showcases your capabilities, it will only make the promotional process easier.

The second component of advocacy in the workplace is sponsorship, which, as Joy describes, is “finding one or more individuals who can speak to your skills, accomplishments, and behaviors that align with the implicit or explicit success measures of your organization or function.” Sponsorship can sometimes be more intimidating, but after laying the initial credibility groundwork of experience and networking as previously mentioned, it should be easier to find advocates. Joy shared her experience by saying, “When I already laid the groundwork with my key stakeholders, it often only took a couple of phone calls or emails to land my next opportunity. You must also seek others to advocate for you, as sponsors, after initially demonstrating the mindsets and behaviors that lead to strong performance in your organization and then exceeding expectations with your work.” Finding someone to speak to your work can limit confirmation bias about role qualifications and boost confidence to continue pursuing new leadership roles.

Finally, it is significant to mention a company’s culture and mindset when it comes to growth. Sarah Prill, a UBWA alumna and current Business Systems Analyst at Epsilon, explained that it is vital to pursue a workplace that wants you to learn and internally develop talent. Building employee equity should be relevant to the company you work with, particularly if you are looking to move into more leadership roles in the future. Joy also explained that, “In cases when opportunities aren’t offered after the investment is made and high performing women are being passed over for opportunities, I usually coach clients and colleagues that it may be time to reevaluate the fit of the organization and consider transitioning elsewhere.” If your skills as a professional are being undermined even with self-advocacy steps being taken, it might be time to reevaluate if a company is a good fit.

I hope this information proves valuable in fostering conversations about advocacy and, ultimately, translates into your workplace experiences. Understanding how essential self-advocacy and sponsorship are to a promotional process will help build your strategic decision making skills in the workplace. I want to thank you for reading this post as well as Joy Schwartz and Sarah Prill for their insight in writing this post. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about advocacy, feel free to email me at perrin.83@osu.edu.

Emily Perrin

Editor: Erin Chambers

0 Comments

5 Tips to be Your Most Confident Self to Land Your Dream Job

3/1/2020

0 Comments

If there’s one thing I have learned in college, it’s the importance of confidence and the belief in your capabilities. Having confidence, however, is easier said than done, and most people would agree it’s sometimes difficult to portray this quality in intimidating situations, such as interviewing or talking to a recruiter.

To articulate how to develop this skill, I gained insight from UBWA alumna Emma Galasso. Galasso graduated in 2018 and currently works as a Stunt Team Assistant for a Stunt Coordinator on a Netflix superhero movie. During her time at Ohio State she worked for Marvel on the Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Endgame movies. Due to the competitiveness of the entertainment industry, confidence plays an essential role to her success.

Galasso said, “I know what I’m capable of and how I can succeed. I don’t doubt my abilities. Being able to confidently say ‘I’ll solve this problem’ sets me apart from other people in my position.”

Here are five tips to help you find your inner confidence, so that you can land your dream opportunity.

1) Expose yourself to a variety of experiences.
           Exposing yourself to a variety of experiences will enable you to anticipate and solve problems faster. Getting better at problem solving will give you confidence in your intellectual capabilities and your ability to contribute to teams that you’re working on. Feeling like you can add value to a team will make you feel more comfortable and confident in both the current opportunity you are working on as well as future teams that you may join.

2) Do things that scare you.
           One of the tips that Galasso gave was, “anything that makes you nervous (the kind of nervous that just means you’ve reached outside of your comfort zone), do it.” Growth happens when you challenge yourself to do things that you don’t normally do. Accomplishing new things will enable you to have a ‘can do’ attitude and grow your mindset as to what you believe you’re capable of which will develop your self-confidence.

3) Become comfortable with yourself and take pride in who you are.
           Developing comfort with yourself enables you to be able to rely on yourself and develop a sense of independence to take on new challenges. Taking pride in who you are and being able to showcase what makes you unique is tremendously important in order to portray your confidence.

4) Think about the opportunities that excite you and visualize yourself in those roles.
If you imagine yourself achieving your dreams then you will continue to go for opportunities that will bring you closer to accomplishing your final goal. Having the mindset that you have the capabilities and talent to end up where you want to be in your life is a sense of confidence that others will appreciate.

5) Be patient, persistent, and express gratitude.
           Confidence doesn’t show up overnight. It takes practice in order to shift your mindset and to be able to portray that shift to others. Surround yourself with confident people and continue to follow the other tips above, and eventually you will experience growth. Be sure to thank the people in your life that act as role models, mentors, and your support system because they will help you to flourish and become who you want to be.

Developing your self-confidence isn’t easy. It takes time, effort, and practice, but it is a trait that you can train continuously to improve upon. Once you are able to find your inner confidence and portray that to others, it will help you to achieve your dream jobs, internships, and opportunities, as Galasso was able to do.

I would like to thank you for reading this post as well as Emma Galasso for her insight in writing this post! If you have any questions or would like to learn more about developing your self-confidence, feel free to email me at chambers.487@osu.edu.

Erin Chambers

Editor: Mallory Brandenburg

0 Comments