Big 4 First Movers: What You Must Consider Before Making a Decision

After years of hard work, late night studying and dealing with all sorts of clients, you are finally a qualified Chartered Accountant and are ready to begin your journey in the competitive corporate world. If you are thinking of making a move to commercial accounting with one of the Big 4, there are a few things you should consider when making this very important first career decision.

• You need a mentor. Hopefully, by this point in your career, you already have one, but if that’s not the case, look for a career counsellor who can give you objective advice and guidance when you are working towards a specific goal. Make sure this person is a high performing industry professional who you would aspire to be.

• Look for learning and professional development opportunities. Understand even though you just achieved you CA qualification, you still have a lot to learn, so look for employment opportunities that will challenge you as a professional and help you expand your skill set and help you grow. Look for potential employers that run different development workshops.

• Widen your horizons. Just because you have never audited a certain business or industry, you shouldn’t shy away fr1om interviews and opportunities. You have made it this far, you are intelligent and you can learn anything, so if there is a challenge, accept it – as long as it is a reasonable opportunity.

• Be realistic. While it is important to set yourself ambitious career goals, you must be realistic and smart about how you can achieve those. Instead of applying for your dream job – and be rejected, maybe it is worth applying for a lower position at an amazing company. Once you have been working there and a new position opens up, they will recruit internally, and you will have greater odds of landing that job.

• The company’s values and yours are aligned. After all, if you are going to invest at least the next 2 to 3 years working there, make sure you fit in.

Finally, keep in mind that this is your first career move, not your last. While it is a very important decision, you need to consider where you want to be in 5 years, and whether this company can help you get there.