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How To Be a Partner
By Stacie Clifford Kitts
Many students leave college with aspirations of becoming a partner. If this is your goal, here are three attributes that signal a person’s ability to progress to partner level:
1) Partner candidates take reasonability for their professional growth. Partner candidates never sit around the office waiting for someone to teach them how to do their job. When situations arise that require new knowledge, a partner candidate takes the initiative to learn what is needed to get the job done. Partner candidates do not push off incomplete work for someone else to figure out. Partner candidates are a driven group who take a proactive approach to a clients’ needs and actively search out information about new or proposed laws, regulations or pronouncements.
2) Partner candidates put in the time. Aside from what is consistently said about work life balance, partner candidates put in the extra time. They definitely stand out from their peers. A partner candidate never leaves the office when there is work to be done. A partner candidate volunteers to help other staff and partners without being asked. A partner candidate is present, punctual, and committed to the job.
3) Partner candidates establish relationships with clients and referral sources. Although it is the nature of many accountants to dutifully sit behind a desk and “crunch” numbers, partner candidates are present in the outside world meeting with clients and nurturing relationships with referral sources. Partner candidates understand that they must market their skills in order to attract business. Partner candidates rarely eat lunch alone. They regularly invest their personal time as members of business and social groups, and are generally active in the community.
ACCOUNTING STUDENTS -Don’t put yourself at the bottom of the potential hire list
1) Work an internship during college. An internship is a vital part of the learning process. It gives the accounting student the opportunity to learn skills and office processes that are not taught in a classroom environment. It can help new accountants determine the size of firm they feel comfortable working for. It also provides an opportunity for students to narrow career focus by providing opportunities to try out their real world skills in areas such as tax return preparation or income statement audits.
2) Attend the career events or “Meet the Firm” events hosted by the accounting associations at your college. Many firms send a representative sample of partners, managers, and staff to these events. Firms are often looking for students who are outgoing and display personality traits that will meld easily into their firm culture. Firm members who attend these functions often gather resumes and discus which students they believe should be offered an opportunity to interview for an internship or for a permanent position.
3) Maintain a higher than average GPA. The closer to 4.0 the better your chances of standing out from other candidates. Although there is some debate regarding the relationship between a low grade point average and work performance, a low grade point average does tell a potential employer several things about the student. Here are some examples of what a low GPA may convey to potential employers:
a. The student may not understand the material or may not be able to grasp accounting concepts. Students who have difficulty grasping basic accounting concepts in a college setting will most likely need to learn them on the job. Firm managers and partners are busy running engagements and managing clients. This leaves little time to teach concepts that should have been learned in school. Firms are becoming less and less tolerant of students who enter the workforce without having learned the basic concepts of accounting.
b. The student doesn’t test well. This concept is based on the theory that the testing process is not representative of a student’s actual ability. The problem with this philosophy is that the nature of public accounting is similar to test taking. As public accountants we are often handed a set of facts and based on those facts we are expected to dissect, analyze and conclude. Basically this is the same process one goes through when taking a test. Therefore, public accounting may be unsuitable for someone who doesn’t “test” well.
c. The student didn’t have time to focus on school. For accounting students, college is an essential step towards moving your career in a positive direction. College provides you with the basic technical skills, the basic organizational skills, and the basic social skills necessary to survive in this demanding field. Students who are unable to maintain an acceptable GPA because of other commitments may not be able to perform at his or her highest level in a work environment for similar reasons. Maintaining a “good” GPA even when you have outside life commitments demonstrates good management skills and a commitment to your career choice.
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