It’s not uncommon for employees to venture out of public accounting to pursue industry-specific careers. If they do, it’s equally common for them to return to public accounting and continue developing their careers. What does this look like? Talent Acquisition Specialist, Michelle Montabana, discusses what “boomerang” employees can expect when they come back.
Jen: PKF Texas is where you go to grow personally and professionally. We are dedicated to appreciating your career while making you feel appreciated all along the way. I’m Jen Lemanski and I’m here with Michelle Montabana, our Talent Acquisition Specialist at PKF Texas. Michelle, glad to have you here.
Michelle: Thank you. Thank you.
Are You Returning to Public Accounting?
Jen: Looking forward to talking about some recruiting topics here. So, as a Talent Acquisition Specialist, you probably see all sorts of case scenarios with employees that we’re recruiting or potential employees that we’re recruiting. What do you recommend if somebody has left public accounting and they want to get back into it?
Michelle: First of all, update your resume. That’s always a good one. But what we’re going to start to do is you see all the different niches that you might have gone into, because sometimes in industry you’re going to go a little bit further into one section of tax or audit or something like that. Look and see what you might match along with the job description or any job description, and then just jump right back in.
Jen: Is it okay for somebody to leave public accounting and then come back?
Michelle: Oh, absolutely. We always want people to come back to us. It is very common nowadays. People go into the industry and they’re like, “You know what? Maybe I might like this.” And then they miss that fast-paced life and that professionalism that public accounting can bring. So, they just come back and jump right back in with us.
How to Come Back
Jen: So, if somebody’s looking for a position coming back, are there things that you look at on their resume of experiences that they probably could or should have had if they weren’t doing their whole career in public accounting?
Michelle: As long as they’ve either had an internship or at least one, maybe two positions at a public accounting firm, that’s pretty much good enough for me. A CPA (designation) is also a good place to start. But other than that, those are the big three that I look for.
Jen: So obviously we’re an accounting firm, like you said, CPA, looking for those all the time. Are there other designations that people may have that we’re looking for or is a benefit to their resume?
Michelle: Yeah, there’s a couple. There’s the CFE, CVA, EA, and the CEPA. So, any of those or any other additional licenses or anything like that would be great.
Jen: Perfect. Well, we’ll get you back to talk about some more recruiting topics. Sound good?
Michelle: Sounds good to me.
Jen: When we say Approachable Advisors™, we mean it. Our team is available and eager to assist you in your career. At PKF Texas, we call that appreciating you. Visit PKFTexas.com/Careers to learn more.
