The Current Job Market

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

I'm in the military and I plan on getting out. I have a bachelor's and ms in finance. And working on ms in technology. What's your suggestion on getting into the controller route? Do you think I should get my CPA? What skills do I need to develop? What type of people are successful in this path?
Because become a financial controller/ executive could be my pathway to becoming a multi-billion industrialist.

What finance/accounting positions have you held previously? Walking into a controller role without prior experience is damn near impossible. CPA never hurts. Skills.

Hard skills include being dope in Excel. Not average, not good, not great. Be a wizard. Goes without saying, knowing your way around a balance sheet and profit and loss statement.

Most of my job is communicating with others. Of course I have my staff, ten people deep. I've pushed for this however. Breaking down silos. I pushed to have finance meetings monthly with site directors for example. We'd send them financial statements but I was never sure they read them. In other instances, I got the COO on calls to discuss initiatives.

It's to the point that no one does anything without finance being in the loop. It wasn't like that before. Change agent is used a lot but you need to be that as a controller.

 

[DEANBIGBROTHERALLMIGHTY18]

What finance/accounting positions have you held previously? Walking into a controller role without prior experience is damn near impossible. CPA never hurts. Skills.

Hard skills include being dope in Excel. Not average, not good, not great. Be a wizard. Goes without saying, knowing your way around a balance sheet and profit and loss statement.

Most of my job is communicating with others. Of course I have my staff, ten people deep. I've pushed for this however. Breaking down silos. I pushed to have finance meetings monthly with site directors for example. We'd send them financial statements but I was never sure they read them. In other instances, I got the COO on calls to discuss initiatives.

It's to the point that no one does anything without finance being in the loop. It wasn't like that before. Change agent is used a lot but you need to be that as a controller.

I graduated from a non-target university for investment banking / private equity recruiting. And I struggled to get into that sector. But I worked as a broker for a retail boil roomish firm and advisory for a small period of time ( nothing to brag about). I thought about the controller path because financial management is one of the fastest-growing careers with 30% increase over the next 10 years, I have a finance degree and I can use this to pivot into private equity or when i start acquiring companies.
1. What are some pathways to go in this field after coming from the military?
2. Any sources you can refer to help me to become an excel wizard?

 

[B1G_controversy]

I'm a Finance Exec for an elite university on the east coast. I have a staff of about 50. Job market is improving for employers.

I had 10 applicants for a $125k finance manager position last year. I had 30 applicants two months ago.

I had 12 applicants for a $90k grants accountant position last year. I had 30+ just last month.

There is a method to securing employment:

1) Have a professional work on your resume and cover letter
2) Apply to jobs all over the US
3) Have a professional give you a mock interview.
4) Have STRONG references lined up
5) Have SUPREME confidence in interviews, never be desperate

Oftentimes African Americans aren't hired due to implicit bias from hiring managers. Target companies that have a sustained commitment to DEI.

Good luck fellas.

 

[DEANBIGBROTHERALLMIGHTY18]

I'm a Finance Exec for an elite university on the east coast. I have a staff of about 50. Job market is improving for employers.

I had 10 applicants for a $125k finance manager position last year. I had 30 applicants two months ago.

I had 12 applicants for a $90k grants accountant position last year. I had 30+ just last month.

There is a method to securing employment:

1) Have a professional work on your resume and cover letter
2) Apply to jobs all over the US
3) Have a professional give you a mock interview.
4) Have STRONG references lined up
5) Have SUPREME confidence in interviews, never be desperate

Oftentimes African Americans aren't hired due to implicit bias from hiring managers. Target companies that have a sustained commitment to DEI.

Good luck fellas.

How did you get into that field? educational background or experience?
What was your career path in this field? what role is considered the apex of that field?

 

[B1G_controversy]

How did you get into that field? educational background or experience?
What was your career path in this field? what role is considered the apex of that field?

My degree is in Management with a concentration in Finance. I worked my way up from Financial Asst to Financial Coordinator to Business Administrator to Finance Mgr to Asst Director to Director. I didn't skip steps, and I'm still under 40.

For me, I'm one step away from Vice-Dean of Finance & Admin (equivalent to a COO). In my role, I oversee a grant portfolio of $100M, I'm in charge of audit, payroll, purchasing & procurement, financial reporting, training and development, and ensuring we meet our financial targets (overall financial portfolio is over $1B). The exposure I received to diff areas throughout my career journey prepared me to thrive. You need a strong knowledge base to draw from, and people skill to succeed as an exec.

I built bridges along the way (with colleagues), I became a subject matter expert in financial and HR systems, and I was hungry to learn and do more.

This current climate is the greatest opportunity to learn & get ahead. Can't stress that enough.

 

[PrnzHakeem]

For my function HR-Compensation, it's on fire. This month alone, I've had 10+ recruiters from actual companies contact me through linkedIN or straight up guessing my gmail address and cold emailing me.

Most of it is due to hitting the 1 yr mark in the tech industry. Prior to that, I wasnt getting that many hits to my inbox. I'm a breh, so I think part of it may have been me putting up a B&W headshot with my new locs #HandsomeGang. Probably didn't hurt to be a diversity candidate, but I also interview well so I dont even mind being put in the pipeline for that reason alone.

Currently sticking out a very interesting situation, but keeping my eyes and ears open in case shyt goes left and I need to bounce.

HR Brehs, feel free to connect with me.

Spoiler: Cuz I'm used to Blind App

TC of $390K

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

My degree is in Management with a concentration in Finance. I worked my way up from Financial Asst to Financial Coordinator to Business Administrator to Finance Mgr to Asst Director to Director. I didn't skip steps, and I'm still under 40.

For me, I'm one step away from Vice-Dean of Finance & Admin (equivalent to a COO). In my role, I oversee a grant portfolio of $100M, I'm in charge of audit, payroll, purchasing & procurement, financial reporting, training and development, and ensuring we meet our financial targets (overall financial portfolio is over $1B). The exposure I received to diff areas throughout my career journey prepared me to thrive. You need a strong knowledge base to draw from, and people skill to succeed as an exec.

I built bridges along the way (with colleagues), I became a subject matter expert in financial and HR systems, and I was hungry to learn and do more.

This current climate is the greatest opportunity to learn & get ahead. Can't stress that enough.

Breh, I'm the same way. I volunteer for everything. I work in the non-profit sector. I do way more than my predecessor ever did. Closed mouths don't get fed so I speak up take on everything. My supervisor is a 62 year old white woman but she gave me a shot and I took it. That's why I'm being groomed for her position when she retires in a few years. Healthcare company so I'm in charge of things like budgets, month end close, purchasing and procurement, RFPs, accounts receivable, accounts payable, audits and inventory at our pharmacies. How I was talking about breaking down silos, having meetings with the grants team or directors at our various sites.

All in all though, there is a general progression in the profession so some grinding will happen.

 

[DEANBIGBROTHERALLMIGHTY18]

My degree is in Management with a concentration in Finance. I worked my way up from Financial Asst to Financial Coordinator to Business Administrator to Finance Mgr to Asst Director to Director. I didn't skip steps, and I'm still under 40.

For me, I'm one step away from Vice-Dean of Finance & Admin (equivalent to a COO). In my role, I oversee a grant portfolio of $100M, I'm in charge of audit, payroll, purchasing & procurement, financial reporting, training and development, and ensuring we meet our financial targets (overall financial portfolio is over $1B). The exposure I received to diff areas throughout my career journey prepared me to thrive. You need a strong knowledge base to draw from, and people skill to succeed as an exec.

I built bridges along the way (with colleagues), I became a subject matter expert in financial and HR systems, and I was hungry to learn and do more.

This current climate is the greatest opportunity to learn & get ahead. Can't stress that enough.

awesome. Thanks for responding. Continue blessings, wisdom, health and strength Black man.

 

[Magic Mulatto]

Black Excellence all up in this thread…

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

I graduated from a non-target university for investment banking / private equity recruiting. And I struggled to get into that sector. But I worked as a broker for a retail boil roomish firm and advisory for a small period of time ( nothing to brag about). I thought about the controller path because financial management is one of the fastest-growing careers with 30% increase over the next 10 years, I have a finance degree and I can use this to pivot into private equity or when i start acquiring companies.
1. What are some pathways to go in this field after coming from the military?
2. Any sources you can refer to help me to become an excel wizard?

1. How good are you with the numbers? Like, I'm assuming that you are rather knowledgable about how to navigate the basics like balance sheet, profit and loss statement, etc?

2. 30 Excel Functions in 30 Days 30XL30D

I've given that link to both former students of mine and staff. It's a good primer. Where would you rate yourself? Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced? What can you and can't you do?

 

[DEANBIGBROTHERALLMIGHTY18]

1. How good are you with the numbers? Like, I'm assuming that you are rather knowledgable about how to navigate the basics like balance sheet, profit and loss statement, etc?

2. 30 Excel Functions in 30 Days 30XL30D

I've given that link to both former students of mine and staff. It's a good primer. Where would you rate yourself? Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced? What can you and can't you do?

Thanks for responding.
1. Good with numbers? How are you defining that? I have always done well in math class. I was taking Advanced( Calculus) math in high school. I double majored in finance and accounting and also have an ms in finance. But I would say, I have to brush up on math concepts because I haven't used them for a while since being in the military ).

2. Excel: I'm just at the beginning of the intermediate level. I know to do pivot tables.

 

[morris]

It’s so fukking hard man. I’m a recent graduate that’s been applying to jobs for 6 months and I’ve been to multiple interviews but nothing works out. I’m dead sick of this shyt man. I’m not sure if it’s me putting my race in because I spoke with another recent graduate that was white and they got hired right after graduation.

Keep on keepin on. I did it for a year before I got 2 offers in a row. Some interview I had to learn from and to do better, others were not a good fit (salary & lack of benefits), and some were auto-no emails with no feedback. And for some, I simply was not qualified based on experience.

Are you taking notes during these interviews? I did that to learn as I am employed in tech (SaaS) and some questions you ask and will be asked are universal.

I’ve applied to close to 60 jobs this year, and I’ve gotten to 2 recruiter screenings, 1 actual interview (got denied on the third round), 2 interview reach outs that I ended up not doing, and 1 DM inquiry about a role. I work in tech as a contractor, and am currently trying to find a ABP or sourcer/recruiter/HR role at a tech company.

Not gonna lie, shyt is hard out here, everyone looking for jobs, so there’s hella competition, and the big salary jobs want more people with experience (I only got 3.5-4.5 years depending on job)

My resume not bad, but I realized it’s pretty wordy, so I just re-did it. I’ll test out how it does next month.

Make sure your resume has at least one or two quantitative highlights (Reduced support tickets by 30% or Onboarded customers in under contracted period to boos revenue; or increased customer adoption by exceeding weekly initiative goals reaching 90% consistent rating)

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Thanks for responding.
1. Good with numbers? How are you defining that? I have always done well in math class. I was taking Advanced( Calculus) math in high school. I double majored in finance and accounting and also have an ms in finance. But I would say, I have to brush up on math concepts because I haven't used them for a while since being in the military ).

2. Excel: I'm just at the beginning of the intermediate level. I know to do pivot tables.

1. So, for accounting, my bad for not offering clarify. I'm speaking from just an accountant perspective, like knowing some items that gets accrued, like payroll, how to look at a schedule and know what is going on, like a prepaid schedule, fixed asset schedule or even a note payable schedule. Accounting is math and it isn't at the same time. It's math in that you have debits and credits and those are always the same or you can't complete a journal entry, invoice, etc. It's not in that a lot of what we do is classification of revenue and expense and the aforementioned reading the balance sheet and/or P&L and noting trends, bright spots, basically doing a SWOT analysis at least during every month end close.

2. One of the differentiators that I've had from others in my career is my usage of excel. Utilization of index and match for example, which is essentially vlookup for multiple criteria. Dashboards are key too because a lot of times, you are giving financial data and information to non-financial people. Case in point below, I sent this out early Wednesday morning to directors. See below.

In here, I'm using slicers for example that is built on top of pivot tables to quickly allow non-financial people to slice and dice finances in whatever way they desire. Everything can be selected at the grants do move.

We are a nonprofit healthcare organization that is why we have grants. The grant listed is the American Rescue Plan Act grant, i.e., Covid funds. That shyt is gone March 31st of next year.

If you have any questions about this or other things, continue to keep them coming.

 

[KingBeez]

Keep on keepin on. I did it for a year before I got 2 offers in a row. Some interview I had to learn from and to do better, others were not a good fit (salary & lack of benefits), and some were auto-no emails with no feedback. And for some, I simply was not qualified based on experience.

Are you taking notes during these interviews? I did that to learn as I am employed in tech (SaaS) and some questions you ask and will be asked are universal.

Make sure your resume has at least one or two quantitative highlights (Reduced support tickets by 30% or Onboarded customers in under contracted period to boos revenue; or increased customer adoption by exceeding weekly initiative goals reaching 90% consistent rating)

Yeah I followed googles XYZ formula

X is for “accomplished what?”, Y is for “measured by”, and Z if for “by doing what?”,

 

[BaldingSoHard]

I'm not in the job market but I can speak for myself.

Controller of a healthcare company.
MBA in healthcare management
Bachelor's in accounting and marketing

I'm being groomed to be CFO when current one retires in 2 years. I'm a decade plus in the field. I did just put up a senior accountant position due to the current one taking a job in California recently and I need a replacement.

Is your resume wack? I don't know what ultimately constitutes a good resume, but I can spot a bad one a mile away. It's all about just getting to the interview and conducting yourself like a normal person that understands the job at hand.

May I ask... how many hours do you typically work in a week?

Everyone I know in accounting does ridiculous hours. Tried dating an accountant once but she never got off work before like 8:00 so it didn't go anywhere.