[pfloyd]

Hey everyone, it’s been a while! After working for a couple of miserable bosses in a couple of short stints in public accounting I finally found a job I like in private. My boss is really nice and my colleagues like me and we go out and have a couple of drinks after work. However, what I’m doing now can be pretty tedious and is mostly entering vendor invoices and purchase orders, I am hoping I do some financial accounting and analysis. Also, the place is pretty small and can be disorganized since there are no written procedures. The pay is ok, but I feel like I should be paid more for my credentials. I would feel bad about leaving since I have been here less than a year, but was wondering if it was worth it to stick out for a year and a half or two so I have a better resume and demonstrate I can commit to a job. I would also feel bad about leaving my coworkers, behind but I know if we had to downsize I would be laid off. What do you guys think are my best options are early in a new accounting career? I am trying to get in the federal government, but it’s pretty competitive. Thanks!

AUD 5/27/16 74 &#%!! 7/13/2016 86!
BEC 8/17/2016
FAR 11/04/2015 73, 1/4/2016 75 (phew!)
REG 2/26/2016 74. 4/2/2016 79

[Go.For.Broke]

@pfloyd I think it's great you're considering your long term goals as well as current loyalty/”sticking it out.” I've definitely been in your shoes. I currently work for a small company which has been recently building out it's accounting team as it has grown (I'm the “Assistant Controller”). Some of the work definitely seems tedious and doesn't always require a lot of brain power. I've only been there for a couple of months, and the goal is to transition into the controller position when the CFO soon retires (and the Controller moves into the CFO role). A couple of notable things I like about working for a small company (which you could maybe consider advantageous in your situation) are:

1.) Working for a small(er) company without all procedures laid out already (in your case, “disorganized”) allows for updates/revision/change without much effort. You can seek out and voice your thoughts on how things can be done more efficiently, and people will probably listen – given that it's a small(er) company.

2.) Although you may not be working for a fortune 500 company or a company with a household name, there ought to be more room for additional experience/promotion at your company than there would be at a large company.

In a nutshell, if you're not where you want to be for the long run, there's no problem with continuing to network and seek out other employment. It could take a little while to land your dream job, but while you wait, just do your best at your current job. I think that the tasks you named off, for example – though tedious – are great tasks to add to your resume. As long as you're constantly taking on new tasks and learning, I think you're in a good place. Lastly, regarding how long you stay there, I think it'd be fine if you leave after sticking it out for a year. But that's up to your discretion and how you'd prefer your resume to look.

Finally, that's awesome that you have a good relationship with your co-workers. That's hard to come by, so that should help you stick it out for a bit longer!

Hope this is somewhat helpful!

[pfloyd]

Thanks a lot, I always try to improve and learn new tasks, because I like to be challenged at work. The good news is that I am doing my current tasks sufficiently, which gives my boss confidence to give me more work. Although some tasks are tedious, they are important and if are done inefficiently could cause some erroneous mistakes. I like your idea of seeing where I am after a year or two and seeing if I could hopefully move into a more responsible role. I could also passively search by working, but right now I am committed 100 percent and am trying to add value. I understand what you say about getting along with your coworkers. I've been on the other side of the fence and it can be a nightmare. I am happy I have a job because it is a brutal job market and took me a dozen interviews to finally land a position.

AUD 5/27/16 74 &#%!! 7/13/2016 86!
BEC 8/17/2016
FAR 11/04/2015 73, 1/4/2016 75 (phew!)
REG 2/26/2016 74. 4/2/2016 79

[Anonymous]

I am in a somewhat similar position. This is my second job and have been there just over a year. Things have been pretty crazy it is just myself, the controller, and CFO of an over $500 million revenue company and we are constantly tucking in new acquisitions making things even more complicated. The controller has been doing most of the books because I am swamped with doing the internal reports and other miscellaneous stuff like setting up wire templates and other banking stuff. I also do all of the bank recs. I don't really feel like I am doing great accounting and the only thing really keeping me there is I get along well with the controller and CFO.

I decided to start passively looking and found what I think could be my dream job as I had a phone interview and loved everything they told me about it. I have my interview next week, so my advice would be just to keep grinding away but keep your options open and at least see what's out there.

[Author]

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