Staying Marketable in a Down Economy

By Steve Schott, president – Partner Finance

The U.S. economy stands at the edge of what could be a significant recession, fueled by a collapse in the mortgage industry, a declining stock market, slower consumer spending and rising unemployment. Since August, companies have shed over 100,000 jobs, raising the total of unemployed citizens to 9.4 million and an unemployment rate now topping 6%. In the financial markets, investment banks are collapsing, being sold at huge discounts, and are downsizing in record numbers, causing a flood of job seekers in a job market where far too few positions exist.

In this economic environment, it is more important than ever for finance and accounting professionals to remain focused on becoming indispensible to their employers. Finding a new job (or keeping your current position) in a weak economy can be daunting. While the economy may deter finance and accounting professionals from reaching out to new opportunities, it doesn’t have to. We must play to our strengths, work to make these strengths visible in our companies, and acquire new skills.

Sharpening the Saw
It can be easy for finance and accounting professionals to settle into a routine, get comfortable with their jobs, and find themselves in a position of doing the same repetitive work day after day. This is quite normal for many CPAs, analysts, controllers, bankers and auditors. The problem this creates, however, is that in a sea of sameness among job seekers, you may face the risk of appearing no different than anyone else. Standing out takes effort and calculated risk. Get your CPA, go to grad school, study a foreign language or pass your Series 6 even if you don’t need it yet. Start a blog, write about your industry, submit articles to community and trade press, and position yourself as the Purple Cow. You’ll benefit from the acquired skills, be given more challenging assignments, and you will become much more attractive to potential employers

Become a Problem Solver
Every organization needs a great problem solver – that go to guy that seems to get anything done well. You really can – and need – to become that person to your employer. In this economy, odds are good that there won’t be a flood of new employees for some time. Work load is high and capacity is strained. Find a way to work through that and get more done. Focus on results. Seek out new challenges and come to the aid of others outside your immediate area of responsibility. Collaborate with existing teams or build new ones. Spend time with your boss and find out what her 3 big problem areas are. Offer to take one of them head on. Outline your plan and update her on your progress. Bosses love employees that make them look great.

Build a Large Professional Network
You don’t have to search far to find this piece of advice. It’s many, many years old, yet most people still don’t do what it takes to grow their sphere of influence. Hey, we’re accountants. We like sticking to our comfort zone and pumping out returns. In fact, a recent Google search for “social network for accountants” turned up just 4 results. Wow, can you say introverted? But who wouldn’t like the sounds of the first result that came up.

Unfortunately in today’s economy, we simply can’t afford to continue down this path. It’s time to come out of our shells, make some new friends, and do whatever we can to help others in our networks. Form a networking group for your peers to share common challenges and find collaborative solutions. Pick a few people in your network each month and get out of the office for lunch. Figure out what they’re challenged with and find a way to help them. You’ll soon become a valuable part of their network, you’ll demonstrate your uniqueness, and it could just land you your next great job – good economy or not.

Keep an Open Mind
Another key to becoming successful within the tough times is to remain open-minded. Job opportunities may not be exactly what you had in mind or workloads may be different, but it is important that you take these challenges on with a willingness to try something different. This is a great time for finance professionals to do a “self-audit” in which they determine their goals and sharpen their skills. By doing this, professionals are able to see what is important to them, what they can offer companies, and what they should work on. Once these areas have been established, it should be easier to determine the next employment move.

Let’s not dwell on the challenges of the current economy, but find ways to use them to our advantage. Sharpen your saw. Become a problem solver. Build your network and keep an open mind. You will stand out among your peers and find that over time, your career choices begin to multiply.