Accountant and Bookkeeper Articles

By Amy Lindgren — Knight Ridder Newspapers

When people get stuck in their job searches or career changes, it’s sometimes because of poor technique.

Their resumes need revision or they interview poorly, for example. These problems are relatively easy to diagnose and repair, provided the individual is not too discouraged to keep on trying.

But sometimes the problem runs deeper. If jobs are difficult to find, should the job seeker switch fields, or dig in and try harder? If a new career requires relocating, should the person go for it or hold off until the kids have graduated?

In my experience, almost every “stuck” job search has at its root an unmade decision.

Career changers who don’t actually change careers but spend years complaining about their current work have not made up their minds to stay or leave. They live in limbo instead, finding it easier to suffer loudly than to accept the situation gracefully or act to change it.

Likewise, job seekers who don’t send out resumes or who won’t network are practicing a type of job search sabotage that stems from not being committed to the work they are seeking.

If you don’t really want the job, it’s very difficult to motivate yourself to go after it. That’s not to say these job seekers don’t want to work — they just haven’t decided which job they want and what they will do to get it.

In truth, the act of deciding is more difficult for most of us than the process of implementing whatever decision we make. Part of our problem stems from a lack of training in the practice of decision-making itself. Following are two books, from two very different viewpoints, that may help you develop this key skill.

Decide! How to Make Any Decision, by Karen Okulicz, 2002, $10, available at www.okulicz.com or 1-888-529-6090. Okulicz’s approach to decision-making is extremely simple. In her slim book, she outlines just three steps that relate directly to that task and five more steps to help the reader act on a decision.

The decision-making steps are: exercise, to clear your mind; make a list of current problems and the solutions to those problems; and ask yourself yes-no questions.

The implementation steps include standards such as visualizing the outcome and putting away doubt and fear. On the one hand, this approach is bound to frustrate someone on the horns of a dilemma.

Not sure about relocating? In step three you are instructed to ask yourself, Should I move? And accept the first answer that comes into your head, yes or no. This advice is the equivalent of having an exasperated friend shout, “Just decide already!” Which may be Okulicz’s point.

As she notes in the book’s final chapters, most bad decisions are either reversible or redeemable. If you choose the wrong training program, you’ll still learn something. If you took the wrong job, you can take another one. At least you will have moved forward in some way.

The Problem Solving Journey: Your Guide for Making Decisions and Getting Results, by Christopher Hoenig, 2000, $20. Hoenig’s approach to decision-making is as complex as Okulicz’s is simple.

His six steps all involve graphs and case studies, drawing on resources as diverse as ancient Chinese cultures and modern capitalist product launches. He even includes a scale to help you determine your personal problem-solving style and the flaws and strengths of your style.

As the title indicates, this book is more about problem solving than decision making. In the world of job search, the two are different, though intertwined disciplines.

Your problem may be unemployment, but the decision that will help you solve that problem is which job to go for and how. Or your decision may be whether to solve the problem with a job or through self-employment or some other means.

While this book is not specifically about employment, it does a nice job of differentiating the problem-solving and decision-making steps. This is a good book for those interested in the larger dimensions of problem solving and the decisions that flow from that process. Hoenig’s writing is clear and literary, with practical applications of a very theoretical subject.

If, on the other hand, you’re just trying to make a decision and move forward in your life, you might be better served by the simple, motivational approach described by Okulicz. Can’t decide? Call the library and see which book is available. Then get started.

Amy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgrenpioneerpress.com.

Stuck In Your Career? How to Get Moving Again

Without constant forward motion, careers stagnate. We find it easy to do what we have always done, and get what we have always gotten. So how does one break out of the rut that they have found their career in?

When your employer sees you, is their vision limited by what they have seen you do in the past? You need something to get noticed. It is an established fact that if an employer cannot picture you in a role, they will not put you there either. If you work in Accounting, Bookkeeping, or a related field, the best way to get noticed is with additional training. And the best way to get accelerated training is with the Professional Bookkeeper program. In just 60 hours of video-based teaching that you learn at your pace, you will learn the full Accounting process that will make your boss notice you and picture yourself in internal promotional opportunities as they arise.

Maybe even more important is that upon successfully completing the Professional Bookkeeper course, you will be able to add the PB designation to the end of your name. Bearing the PB designation states boldly to potential employers that you have what it takes to do the entire Accounting process from clerk to Full Charge Accountant with emphasis on small to mid-sized business accounting. The PB designation proves that you have the hands-on skills to work in a variety of Accounting tasks and can be called upon to perform a broad range of Accounting and Bookkeeping responsibilities. With the PB designation, you show that you know!

Learn How to Accelerate Your Career With the Professional Bookkeeper Program

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