Rutherford Cross’ Daryl Harper shares his insight following the latest in the ‘Planning Your Career Journey’ series, with an emphasis on adding value and knowledge for recently qualified accountancy and finance professionals.
Edinburgh hosted the latest in the series of the Rutherford Cross ‘Planning Your Career Journey’ in partnership with Franklin Templeton, Tentel, and Blackcircles.com. The purpose of these events is to help ambitious and career minded finance professional to make valuable connections in the Scottish market, and also to gain some insight into the potential career paths available to them, whether it be now or in the future.
What is apparent in the Scottish market is that career opportunities out weight the availability of candidates at newly qualified level. This has created real competition for high calibre finance professionals who now have more choice than ever before as they consider making their first or second career moves. With this level of choice comes difficult decisions, and at Rutherford Cross our focus is on ensuring the candidates we work with are supported with relevant career information, including having direct and close access to the best Scottish employers through our ‘Planning Your Career Journey’ series.
Adrian White of Franklin Templeton, Daniel Halliday of Tentel, and Lynne Thomson of Blackcircles.com provided some valuable insight and learnings from their own careers. Each having very different paths, but all having led to senior positions in highly respected businesses. What the event clearly demonstrated was there is no one route to your ultimate career destination, and in fact over focussing on the final goal can lead to the wrong decisions being made. The mentors you learn from along the way are potentially more pivotal than the actual roles you undertake, and sometimes it’s the opportunities that come out of left field that provide the greatest reward. Expanding your horizons through experiencing working in other countries enriches you both personally and professionally. And always being prepared to take on projects, and in fact asking for increased responsibilities ensures that you are always in scope for future career development.
Whilst each of our speakers had very different experiences, there were some common threads shared including:
- Don’t be afraid to take risks in your career, you don’t ask you don’t get and senior decision makers notice those who push the boundaries of their capabilities
- It’s never too early to build a network of like-minded people and advisors, invest time in this to ensure you remain well connected
- Nobody is more invested in your career than you, build your own personal brand and maintain an awareness of how the roles you undertake and skills you develop impact on your future career opportunities
- Asking for development opportunities ensures you are in line of sight of key decision makers
- Be prepared to move internationally to widen your skill set and perspective
- Flexibility in your approach is critical to success particularly in small or growing companies. When cash flow is critical be prepared to take responsibility for other areas of the business, it will build both your capabilities and also respect amongst senior decision makers
- Differentiate yourself through accepting new projects – achievements and ownership of projects are key to showcasing your capabilities
- Always challenge the status quo and don’t be afraid to take a stance on important decisions in the business environment
- Show loyalty and trust to your team especially during the toughest times, it pays dividends over the longer term
By expanding their networks through events such as ‘Planning your Career Journey’, finance professionals can access senior people within their field whilst also building their peer network and ultimately positioning themselves well for success.
The next Rutherford Cross Planning Your Career Journey event will take place at 200 St Vincent Street on 9 June 2016. If you’re interesting in building your network or attending our events, please contact [email protected]
