This time last year I was approached by @Calibre Business Advisory, to join their new Global Search division. What I did not expect was for an Accounting firm to build out a Global Search division leveraging off the technical skills of CA or CPA qualified accountants to deliver recruitment services within the Accounting & Finance industry.
Considering the personal experience I’ve had as a client and a candidate, I knew straight off the bat this was a unique value proposition and I would be able to add value and offer something unique entering the recruitment market.
As a proud CPA accountant, I loved everything about my profession. If I was to reflect back on some of the highlights of what I enjoyed the most, the mentoring, coaching and counselling aspect was definitely one of them.
Helping others build their careers, advising them what was missing to get to the next level or when to pivot into a more business partnering role and what fundamental qualities, metrics were needed to deliver excellence was something I consistently enjoyed and I felt that was my calling as I was building my own “dream team” as Senior Finance Manager.
So why did I leave this all behind?
I did at the same time ask myself the usual questions a traditional accountant would before I made my decision to join Calibre (always conservative in our approach/forecasting!). Was I leaving something I love? Was I leaving a career I built so hard for? There were certainly a lot of mixed emotions before I concluded that I was not leaving any of those expectations behind. Instead, what I was doing was transitioning into something I loved which was adding value into a profession I loved.
Nearly a year in, it gives me great joy to say that I still love every moment of what I do now because it allows me to combine my technical knowledge with my personal hobby of scouting and drafting talent across the world. Yes, I must confess I am a huge fan of NBA fantasy drafts and playing Football (soccer) Manager in my younger days. Nothing got me more excited than scouting players, signing players and seeing them turn them into all stars.
To be able to do that now professionally for a living is really a dream and something I can truly call my own. So, I would encourage all accountants like myself who are thinking of adding more into their daily roles or even thinking about transitioning into recruitment to genuinely think about it. If you want to know the daily in’s and outs of what it looks like to do recruitment under the umbrella of an international accounting firm, certainly reach out. I am more than happy to share my journey of how I transitioned from a reliable defensive midfielder to now playing the number ten role like how my idol Juan Roman Riquelme did and change the dynamic of the game!
Accountants in Recruitment, ten months and counting!
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