If you are considering a switch from accounting to financial planning and analysis (FP&A), you may be feeling a mix of emotions as you consider this new path. Therefore, here is a short tip for people wanting to change jobs. However, people don’t like this advice, but it’s the easiest way to transition into a new career.
Let’s imagine two people: John and Sarah. They both work in accounting, and they both want to transition to a new career, in this case, FP&A.
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John’s Story
John is applying to many FP&A positions outside his organization. Unfortunately, he always gets a negative response. Furthermore, the number one feedback he receives is that he lacks experience in FP&A.
Sarah’s Story
Sarah chooses another strategy. She contacted the FP&A department of her organization. In addition, she asked what tasks they were performing with the accounting figures Sarah was giving to the FP&A team. Then Sarah proposed to perform some of these tasks to support the FP&A team and make more sense of the whole process. A few months after, Sarah extended her scope of work, being a mix of accounting and FP&A. After that, somebody in the FP&A left. Finally, Sarah applied and got the job.
Why? This happened because:
- She is already working for the company (no recruitment costs, faster process for HR)
- She already knows the finance processes and tools
- She demonstrated that she could work with the FP&A team
- She already showed that she could learn the FP&A skills
The Bottom Line – Develop A Strategy to Transition to A New Career
People don’t like to hear this. But often, the easiest solution is to start small and be patient. And if you read this and you know somebody who needs to read this, please do share it with them.
My goal is to inspire people who want to transition to a new career in Finance!
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