Wow, this one strikes a personal note with me. I worked for a small benefits firm for 5 years because they hired me straight out of college (something the local CPA firms wouldn't do). But they didn't have any CPAs in their office. When I left that firm for a more prestigious firm, one of the [many] reasons I cited was the presence of CPAs on staff that could certify my year of experience as required for my long-term goal of becoming a CPA. As a plot twist, I got pregnant after six months of working for the new firm. I discovered the good news in the middle of busy season. When I was fired at 38 weeks, one of the few [seemingly illegitimate] reasons cited was that I had not mentioned sitting for the CPA exam the entire year I was there.
I'm not sure about the scope of your project, but my personal thoughts of the situation include many factors. First, my direct supervisor was a new partner and having a difficult time keeping up with the added responsibilities. In addition, she had a history of high turnover due to poor training (which my experience was supposed to remedy). She also shared with everyone her personal experience in trying to start a family, which sadly ended with a miscarriage and recent divorce. I felt for her, and still do, but does that excuse her behavior? Second, my project list always consisted of the more complex retirement plan administration on our team. While I did make mistakes, they were few comparatively when considering everyone on our team, including the supervisor/partner. And finally, my first “annual review” ended up being an exit interview, and plainly disclaimed that my areas for improvement were too many to list, but were not related to my knowledge of retirement plan administration.
Long story short: I think my boss fired me for being pregnant. If taking the CPA exam was a real priority for the firm, I would think it would have been mentioned at some point before she showed me the door.
I know I wasn't lying about pursuing the CPA designation, but I could see how it would appear. Nothing shows your ability to see a difficult project to completion like having that credential. But still, I have to agree with Study Chair, a solid Quality Control system would have prevented a lot of confusion. And if a company doesn't like you, there's not a lot you can do to keep from getting sacked. Likewise, if a company really adores you, there's little you could do to fall out of favor with them. I've run across bigger liars than that in my short experience in the real world… ethics and all.
FAR -- Just getting started!
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