Is Accountancy the right role for Me?

Following on from my blog last week on how to find a role in accountacy, I thought I'd look at how to know when accountancy is the right career path for you. It is important when looking for a career, which you will satisfy you, to think about what your strengths and weaknesses are and the kind of things you enjoy doing. Clearly, you have to be realistic. You may enjoy playing football but unless you had the good fortune to be spotted by a top club at an early age, you are unlikely to have a career in it. Equally, you may love singing, but how many people are going to be another Taylor Swift?  

It can be very hard to work out what your strengths and weaknesses are, so you may have to ask people, who know you wel,l to help. Make a list and then when you have that list look at different job roles and if possible find people who do them and ask them what personality traits are needed to be good at their job.You will find that a lot of older people will be more than happy to help and advise so use their knowledge.

Having interviewed hundreds of accountants over the years I have been in recruitment, I would say the traits I find in most accountants are as follows:

Attention to detail

A logical mind

An enjoyment of solving puzzles ( they often like doing things like crosswords or Sudoko)

Many are people who are quite calm and unruffled

They have always liked numbers and can easily remember phone numbers

They break down problems in an analytical way in order to resolve them

If this sounds like you, then maybe you would enjoy accountacy.

Next week I am starting a series on different qualifications you can study for your career in finance. Till then have a great week. Jeanette Robinson FREC (Hon)