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Survey: Working Moms in Accounting Firms Could Have It Much Worse

Posted on by Caleb Newquist

Our friends at Vault are still cranking out surveys and last week they debuted a new one that focused on working parents. Now, I don't have kids so I suppose that disqualifies me from commenting on juggling a professional life and trying to rear a helpless baby into something that slightly resembles a human being and, therefore, I really don't have much say in what accounting firms should or should not be doing to make that juggling act a little easier, but to hell with that.  

Seems like everything is fine anyway because working moms at accounting firms have it pretty good compared to a lot of industries:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how accommodating is your employer of working mothers?

(Women who work in) Accounting: 7.66
Finance & Banking: 6.96
Education: 6.758 
Law: 6.45 
Consulting: 6.44
Jesus, lawyers just can't win. 
 
Of course it's important to remember that work-life balance takes a bit of effort. It's hilarious when people talk about a great work-life balance at their firm but then never go on vacation or use any of the perks offered to them. Flex-time — the most prevalent benefit — is a good example of a benefit that is only as useful as you make it. Sure, it might be easier to insist on using it since there's a brand new human in your house that can't eat, communicate, sleep regular hours, or get after that list of chores without your help, but still! It's one thing to say, "I'm on a flex-schedule," and it's a completely another to make it a reality. I've seen women on 30 hour flex-week schedules working 60 hours a week. And who's fault is that? It's not like the rest of the team was in as much need of a clean diaper as the babies at home. (Well, maybe a couple.)
 
HOWEVAH, the big takeaway from Vault's working parent survey is that if you work at an accounting firm, your situation could be worse. Like the 21% of firms1 that don't offer paid maternity leave. Or the 10% of firms that don't even offer UNPAID maternity leave. Or the 23% of firms that don't offer flex-time options at all. Just think of the lack of sleep!
 
So you've got it better than most, accounting moms; just don't forget to work that work-life balance. Think of it this way — if you take your flex-time as serious as you take blowing up your Facebook feed with pictures, then you'll be just fine.
 
 
1 Law: 26%; Accounting: 14%; Consulting: 10%; Education: 8%; Banking/Finance: 5%; Healthcare: 5%; Human Resources: 5%; Technology: 5%; Nonprofit: 3% — Yes, this is a useful footnote.

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Career Fairs: The Do’s and Don’ts of Emailing Recruiters

127. That is the number of unread emails in my inbox at this very moment (Wednesday @ 2:28pm). Two meetings, a list of high priority to-do’s, and a number of phone calls to return when I hit my desk before 8:00a this morning. What’s the point? We professionals are busy creatures and as much as we appreciate the thoughtfulness of a “thank you” email when we meet you at a Career Fair, we don’t want to hear about your interest in IFRS issues. In an effort to build off the advice in the comments of Monday’s post, here are some things to keep in mind before hitting send on your thank you email to us.


Do: Keep it short, but personal. When we attend a career fair, we can meet upwards of 200 students in an afternoon. Even if 25% send emails, that’s 50 interspersed amongst our regular business inbox. Keep it short, to the point, but also relevant so it doesn’t seem like you sent the same message to every firm. Tip: reference something professional the two of you spoke about, reference to the recruiter what professional you met, or thank them for the invite to an event later in the week; something to make the connection to your brief in-person encounter.

Don’t: Regurgitate your cover letter. It’s a “thank you” email, not an opportunity to over-sell your candidacy.

Do: Triple check your grammar. Nothing takes you out of the running faster than a misspelled name or the incorrect verb tense in a sentence. Sure, accountants are notoriously bad with spelling and grammar, but leave the misspellings to the managers. When you sign off, go with “sincerely” or “regards” followed by your name.

Don’t: Make us feel old. Mr./Miss/Ms./Mrs. are all off the table. We are not our parents, capisce? More importantly, you need to put yourself on the same level as us. You want to be treated as the adult you are, so speak to us as equals. This goes for everyone up and down the hierarchy (first-year professionals to partners). We’re all on the same level when it comes to addressing us in emails.

Do: Capitalize. keep the lowercase sentences to yourself. and your texting buddies. okay? okay.

Don’t: Attach your résumé. Submit through the website like the recruiter mentioned 32 times.

Do: Keep it light. Remember – we enjoy spending time on campus and interacting with the future of our firms. We had a great time meeting you – remind us of that.

Don’t: Get offended if you do not receive a response. Oftentimes the professionals will just forward the emails to the recruiter to keep track of. You wouldn’t expect a “you’re welcome” note if you were mailing a thank you note, would you?

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What Can a Big City Big 4 Auditor Expect at Small City, Second-tier Firm?

Back with another edition of “Decide My Life for Me – Public Accounting Edition.” Today, an antsy Big 4 employee in a large city wants to know if moving to second-tier firm in small city will mean a demotion or cut in salary.

Do you have trouble matching your socks? Need help making sense of your cryptic performance review? Are you worried that someone with a bun in the oven is also capable of doing their job? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and someone will try to straighten you out.

Back to our “Should I Stay or Should I Go” du jour:

Hi,

I was curious if you had any information on employees jumping from Big 4 firms (auditing) to upper-mid-tier (i.e. McGladrey). Do you find that they are often promoted? I am currently in a large city and am uninterested in staying in the city long-term. I was thinking of moving to a 300,000 person city with some firms like McGladrey, Grant Thornton, etc. If I am jumping ship as a senior or manager, where should I expect to come in at? Same level? Same salary?

Thanks
Jumper

Dear Jumper,


Had it with Big 4 life, eh? Let me guess, the groupies got to you, didn’t they? Every damn time.

As to your inquiry, here’s the deal – you won’t be promoted if you decide to accept a position with McGladrey or Grant Thornton. Why? There are a few reasons: 1) You don’t have the experience; 2) You don’t have the experience; 3) You don’t have the experience. We all know that Big 4 auditors think they’re pretty special and that anyone who doesn’t soil themselves after looking at their stellar résumés followed by an immediate job offer is simply stupid. So it comes as a shock to many when this scenario doesn’t play out. As far as second-tier firms go, they definitely want Big 4 talent when they can get it but they’re aren’t about to throw you a bone because you worked at E&Y Chicago or PwC New York.

What you can expect – if you’re senior associate or a manager at a Big 4 firm, you can reasonably expect to be offered (not a guarantee, obv) a similar position at GT or Mickey G’s that you currently have. If you’re moving to a smaller city, you could see a similar salary but you should not expect a raise. You’ll receive the market rate for your position in your new city. The firm may put you at the high range of pay for your group but be prepared to be reminded of that fact come merit increase time.

Anyone made a similar move with different results? Share below.