[FinallyFree]

Hello everyone :o)

I am thinking about leaving my current job, but I need to give some background before I can ask for your advice.

I currently work at a bank. My boss is usually pretty nice, but occasionally he just goes off the deep end and tears me apart. He’s kind of a terrible communicator. Everyone else that I work with is alright. The benefits here are pretty good, but annual raises are only 2% to 2.5% each year, which doesn’t even keep up with inflation. The bank’s excuse is that the banking industry has been hit hard by the economy (and it has). That doesn’t stop the CEO and his friends from going golfing on the bank’s dime every weekend, but who am I to judge. 🙂 Also, all of the male officers get together every week and go out to lunch.. and do not invite any of the female officers. All of the men went on a camping retreat together a couple weekends ago too.. again on the bank’s dime… and the women didn’t get anything. There is definitely a boy’s club feeling around here, and since I’m female I do see that as a problem.

My boss told me while I was studying for the CPA exam things like “trust me, it will be worth it to you.” I assumed that meant I would get some kind of raise and/or promotion when I earned my CPA. What I got: a 2% extra raise. Not exactly what I was hoping for. If someone had told me two years ago “If you work really hard and get your CPA license, you will get a 2% raise,” it wouldn’t have been enough to motivate me. He said he really wanted to give me more, but he couldn’t convince the higher-ups because the bank is having financial problems etc etc… basically he didn’t fight hard enough for me. I can tell that he really doesn’t want me to leave, but also that I am never going to get a decent raise here. Apparently the officers (I’m not an officer) haven’t gotten any kind of a raise in a couple years.

As for my job, my title is “staff accountant” but I prepare about 8 pretty hefty reports for the bank every quarter, to both the FDIC and Federal Reserve Bank. I help with our SEC reporting and work with external auditors. I also handle all investment and fixed asset accounting for the bank, along with a bunch of other miscellaneous reconciling. My responsibilities and stress have increased dramatically since I started in this position a little over two years ago, but my pay has only barely increased (2.5% first year, 4% second year including CPA “bonus”). I don’t see a lot of room for growth here since the CFO is relatively young, and the Controller is also pretty young and I doubt he’ll be moving up until the CFO moves on.

I currently live in a small city with NO job prospects unless I wanted to go back into public accounting, which I don’t. I saw a job posting in a city about 7 hours away that I have been interested in living in for a long time. I’m qualified for the position, it sounds very similar if not easier than what I’m currently doing, has a better title.. and it pays $15-$20k more per year. I submitted my resume and cover letter to the Robert Half recruiter who posted the position, and I got a call the next day. I’m going to call her back today.

Does anyone have any experience with Robert Half recruiters? I just want to know what to expect. Also any job advice would be welcome too.

Thanks in advance.

[senbi575]

@FinallyFree have you actually discussed your compensation package with your boss directly? I think a large percent of managers have a distorted view on what the current market value is for employees, and you would be surprised at what you can get if you just ask. If the boss is giving you more responsibility, which you indicated earlier, I am sure they value you as an employee/team member and would probably be willing to give you a pay increase to prevent you from leaving the company.

[Author]

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