Accountant and Bookkeeper Articles

We’d all love to have a formula that would help us decide what to do with our lives. Richard Leider, counselor, author, and speaker, spends much of his time coaching high power executives on the power of purpose. After years of working with countless professionals, Leider believes he’s discovered a simple formula to help individuals make significant career choices.

T + P + E x V

“T” represents the most important element to consider when making a career choice: talent. You may want to become another Picasso but possess no artistic abilities. In this case, painting would make a nice hobby, but not a good profession. Focus on your strengths, the things you’re good at; and generally those are also the things you enjoy doing. Take inventory of your life and note those things you have a knack for; these things are crucial to consider when making career choices.

What are you passionate about? Or maybe a better question is, what is your purpose? Talent plus passion and purpose is a powerful sum. Aristotle once said, “Where the needs of the world and your talents cross, there lies your vocation.” Most people want to do more in their lives than make enough money to pay their bills; most people want to make a difference. Dedicate your talents a purpose, something you can get excited about. If you like accounting, and are passionate about not-for-profit organizations, learn all you can about accounting for non-profit organizations and work with businesses you believe in.

“E” stands for environment. What type of environment promotes your best work? And this doesn’t just refer to a particular climate or region (while most of us would work best in Hawaii , that’s not always realistic). Work environment is obviously an important element to consider when making career choices. You want to choose an environment that will foster both your talents and your passions; and finding a good match can take time.

When I interviewed employees one of my questions was, “Do you enjoy being micro-managed?” I was amazed at how many applicants said they did! I was the type of manager who appreciated proactive employees who didn’t need much supervision. But I quickly realized that work preferences are as diverse as employees are, and while some prefer to be micro-managed, others prefer freedom to work without much supervision. Be willing to find a career that appreciates your talents, passions, and work environment preferences.

And finally, you multiply these three elements by your vision: V. Leider describes vision as the way you see your life. Your life vision goes beyond your career, taking into consideration all the different facets in your life: family, religion, health, finances, etc. Vision is the puzzle, career is a picture in the puzzle, and talent, passion, and work environment are pieces of that picture in the puzzle. Ask yourself where you want to be in life, and vision will help you prioritize everything else.

So What’s the “So What” Factor? How can knowing this help me? When you are aiming for a particular position, and when you are in the interviewing process for that position you always get that question, “Tell me a little about yourself?” By following the simple formula of Talent, Purpose, Environment and Vision you will be able to structure your answer that will not only enlighten them about your experience but will impress those looking to hire you. It is a excellent tactic to use in the hiring and promotion process. Just giving you one more quill in your quiver to use on your way to your professional goals.

While life won’t be managed with a simple formula, it can help to know which elements to consider when making significant career choices as well. Taking a step back to look at your talents, passions, work environment preferences, and life vision can ultimately be a step forward in your career.

If you are searching for more to incorporate yourself better into your company mix, consider the education that can change your whole outlook when you enroll in Universal’s Professional Bookkeeper’s Program. Gain the knowledge of how it all works in the industry so you can better address those challenges that arise in your department. Check us out by clicking here.

(For other Leider tips on making significant life choices, visit an extended interview entitled “Are You Deciding on Purpose?” )

Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen. - John Steinbeck

You know the type. They’re always thinking, always innovating, always solving problems, always getting the boss’s attention. The idea person is invaluable to a business because he/she discovers how to improve processes, enhance services, and increase profitability. When you become the idea person you secure your position in a company and increase your chances for promotion and advancement. Use the following 8 tips to begin generating your own business-building ideas:

1. Do your research
It’s important to exercise your mind. When you research other ideas your mind is better prepared to do the thinking required to discover fresh, innovative ideas of your own. Get started by looking at trade magazines, scholarly journals, and influential websites. The more you read the more valuable resources you’ll discover.

2. Question everything
But not out loud; you’re trying to become the idea person, not the Doubting Thomas. However, you only discover new ideas when you question old ones. Get in the habit of assessing how ideas work and then questioning their viability. When you ask the right questions you often come up with great new ones.

3. Collect and review ideas regularly
As you research and question, you’ll find that new ideas come to you more often. Collect these ideas in an idea log and review them regularly. Like Steinbeck says, when you recognize how to best manage your ideas, you’ll find they grow and multiply. It’s important that you write these ideas down so you don’t loose track of them.

4. Recognize how your thought process works
Only when you recognize how your thought process works are you able to take advantage of it. Do you think best when things are quiet or do you need background music? Do you come up with more ideas when you’re trying to solve a particular problem or are you a free thinker that generates ideas without focusing on a specific issue or need?

5. Be quick to recognize problems
Generally the best ideas are solutions to current problems. Is your company experiencing a bottleneck in production? Is customer service lacking? Would the business benefit from enhancing or increasing services? If you’re able to recognize and pinpoint problems you can generate ideas that respond to current needs.

6. Set idea quota
Sometimes it helps to require yourself to generate X number of ideas per day or week. Recognize that not all of them will be stellar, but from those numerous ideas you will probably discover a winner or two.

7. Scrutinize before sharing
Just because you have an idea doesn’t mean you should share it. Get in the habit of scrutinizing your own ideas before going public. Jump back to tip #2 and question every angle of your idea. If it helps, imagine how your coworkers and supervisors might respond. When you can recognize weaknesses you can improve on your idea or maybe even watch it evolve into something better.

8. Learn how to best share your ideas
You don’t want to become that annoying pest who thinks they can change the course of the company with their brilliant ideas. Delivery is key. How can you best share your ideas so that their value is recognized and appreciated? Play matchmaker. Which method of delivery works best for this particular idea? Should you email your boss, take some time in staff meeting, or gather your department together for an informal presentation? You’ll find that you’ll learn by doing and become more aware of what works best for you and your employer.

Becoming the idea person can propel your career in a new and exciting direction. Take the time to incorporate these 8 tips and you’ll quickly notice a difference in your thinking. And within no time you’ll notice a difference in your career.

Back in the day, Ward Cleaver got hired to a position that promised job security and frequent promotion on his chosen career path. Life was beautiful, and all was right in the cosmos. Boy have times changed! These days, if you want a promotion you need doggedly chase it down yourself. Here are eight ways to achieve the career advancement you have in your sights:

It’s hard to get what you want when you’re not even sure what it is. Sit down and figure out where you want to be in 5 to 10 years. Once you state your career goals, write them down frame them, laminate them, whatever it takes to keep them front and center in your mind. It becomes easier to see and concentrate on what it will take to achieve them.

2. Go the extra mile
Come to work 15 minutes early and stay 15 minutes late. This gives your boss the impression that you’re more interested in doing your work than you are in watching the clock. Doubly important, is perform to your best abilities, give more than asked, quicker than asked for and more professionally then those in your department.

Remember the mantra: do more than what is expected of you. Ask for more responsibility, volunteer for different duties and tasks, and be a visible team player.

3. Be proactive
Create your own opportunities by seeing what needs to be done and doing it yourself. Many just like you have gotten the promotion or the pay increase by just being observant of the processes around them and offering cost effective solutions to the management. Make sure you do it in such a way that you are not only benefitting the company, but it can be seen coming from your efforts.

4. Network
Networking not only helps you to get the job, but it can also help you trade that job in for a better one. Get to know more people within your organization and, when possible, help others achieve their goals. This increases your value to coworkers and superiors who will be more likely to sing your praises when given the chance.

5. Document your achievements
Track your achievements, measuring results when possible. While it helps to say that your proposal saved the company a lot of money, it means more to your boss when you explain how your proposal reduced production costs by 30%; numbers always speak louder than words alone. One trick I have heard about, that you can keep a “score card” of the accomplishments you were directly responsible for, and at the very least you will be able to bring that out to reference at your yearly evaluation with your supervisor.

6. Communicate
At first it may feel awkward to sing your own praises, but unless your boss knows how valuable you are, it’s difficult for him/her to give you the promotion you deserve. You need to share your achievements with your boss, maybe in a monthly email that states your progress on certain projects and lists your recent achievements. It’s also a good idea to tell your boss you’re interested in a promotion. Who better to help you achieve your career goals?

7. Act professionally
Professional is as professional does; Imagine where you’d like to be in five or ten years and then dress the part, speak the part, and act the part. Avoid complaining, take responsibility for mistakes, and be a team player.

8. Increase your skills and expertise>
Nothing shows your willingness to advance like increasing your skills and expertise. Often employers will pay for programs designed to help employees learn new skills or stay current in their field. Seek out chances to expand your skill-sets, and be sure to share your new knowledge, abilities, and enthusiasm with your boss.

A great way to increase your chances for that promotion is through Universal’s Professional Bookkeeper Program. If you want to increase your accounting skills and earn a professional designation, Universal Accounting Center has the program for you. UAC’s Professional Bookkeeper Program will teach you the day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping needs of small business, enabling you to become a Professional Bookkeeper (PB). The Professional Bookkeeper Program teaches you the skills that you need to skip over the entry level positions and get right to those job opportunities that might take someone with a traditional accounting training years. Your employer may be willing to pay for your tuition. Come visit Universal Accounting today.

Stay tuned for the next newsletter in two weeks for the next article,“Movin’ on up: How to Ask for That Promotion (Part II of II).”