Alternative Career Options for Accountants

Here at CareerWise, we work with professionals in many disciplines and we are often surprised to hear that people feel limited by their choice of career. Although it isn’t always easy to think outside the box, we often encourage our clients to consider how their skills and qualifications could be translated into a career that is exactly what they want to be doing.

Career options for accountants, you have the skill set to step into several different types of careers depending on your own experiences and preferences. Here is a guide to some of our recommendations, and the reasons that you might want to consider them.

Ideas For Accountants with Ambition

Experienced accountants are in a great position, with these skills in high demand. This means that it is possible to design an exciting and challenging career for yourself if this is your background. Here are some ideas you may not have considered that may work out well for your career options as an Accountant:

1. Managerial role. Managerial roles often demand accounting skills and involve preparing reports, working with specific budgets and keeping up accountability. If you are a problem solver and a good organiser and communicator, this could be an ideal application of your skills and may provide the future career pathway you are seeking.

2. Self-employment. As an experienced accountant, you will have seen many different businesses and probably have a better idea than most of what works and what does not. Coming up with your own product or business concept and applying your financial know-how to make it successful is a fascinating way to create a future that excites you.

3. Business Analyst. If working with data is what makes you tick and you’re keen to use or develop your programming skills, a Business Analyst role could be the perfect solution for you. Roles vary depending on the company and sector you are considering, so you should be sure to gather as much information as you can about what such roles entail.

4. Specialist in Investor Relations. Are you a people person? Excellent communication skills are essential for a career in liaising between an organisation and its investors, including analysts and shareholders. If you have a head for managing reports, analysis and reporting, this is an opportunity to shine and may also offer chances to work with the media, which may provide additional appeal.

5. IT Specialist. Many companies are streamlining their practice by integrating finance and IT professionals, and as such, an interest in IT alongside accounting experience can be a great combination. This may be a career to consider if you’re interested in technology, want to take on further training and are not afraid of building skills in software development and other relevant areas.

How to step into a new career

Making the transition into a new career is not an instant process but it can be very rewarding if you are prepared to put in the effort required. Planning and preparing carefully will mean that you set yourself up for a smooth transition process that doesn’t feel like jumping into an abyss, so consider the following carefully as you decide what your next moves should be:

• Assess your existing skillset. The key to this process is honesty, so be prepared to look at yourself from an objective perspective and assess your current skills, your qualifications and your experience to see where your current strengths and weaknesses lie. As an accountant, you may have specialised in one field which now seems irrelevant to your desired career path, but you can optimise this experience by building on it to design a career that is more suited to your plans.
• Look into further training or education. If you want to shift your career in another direction, it is helpful to consider retraining or taking further training in areas that appeal to you and developing your skillset to make this possible. Look at your dream role and see what the requirements are so that you can work out the best way to bridge the gap between your existing position and where you would like to be.
• Research your options. Use every tool available to you to find out as much as you can about opportunities in your desired field and talk to as many contacts as you can in the process. It may be that your dream role is not as obvious as others, and it may be that someone in your network has heard about an opportunity that would appeal to you. Keeping an open mind and finding out as much as possible about your options can help you to make the best choices about your future career.
• Gain relevant experience. When you are looking to move into a different type of accounting work, gaining experience in this new field will be invaluable to you. This is another area where networking can be extremely helpful, and seeking opportunities to gain practical experience will make you more desirable to a potential new employer as well as confirming for you that you wish to make this change. You may need to consider opportunities that are voluntary or not as well paid as your current role, and you can see this as part of the process of moving towards your goal.
• Polish your CV. Once you get to the stage of applying for new roles, you’ll need to customise your CV and your cover letter to highlight the skillset you need for the job you want. Include all work experience you have accrued and work towards the position you have identified as your goal. It’s a good idea to emphasise your transferable skills, as you will have developed many of these in your accounting role. Include reference to your creative problem-solving skills, attention to detail and analytical thinking, giving examples of these wherever possible. Be clear about why you have decided to pursue an alternative career with your accounting experience and be prepared to discuss this at the interview.
• Be prepared to take risks. If you want a new and exciting career, you may have to be brave and take a risk. Applying for positions that are at a lower level than your current position may feel frustrating, but this may be a necessary move in the short term to gain the experience and/or qualifications you need to build your new career. If you are continuously seeking out opportunities to expand your knowledge and skills, you will find yourself moving quickly towards the life you want.

Career Options for Accountants – Are You Looking For Recruitment Agencies In Cork?

A recruitment agency such as CareerWise can help you to navigate the Irish job market and assist you with the application process, including helping you polish your CV and honing your interview skills so that you can secure the job of your dreams. We work with job applicants and organisations in the recruitment process so that we can build productive and positive connections and match top talent with the best roles available today.

CareerWise is Ireland’s leading specialist recruitment firm, based in Cork, Shannon and Galway, and we work with individuals looking for new roles as well as businesses in need of new talent. We specialise in the Engineering, Supply Chain, Science/Pharma, IT and Accounting industries in Ireland, and we look forward to working with you. Contact us online now or call us at +353 (0) 21 206 1900 to arrange a consultation with one of our experienced team today.

Joe Robbins

(Director) BBS (Hons), MBPICS – Shannon Office

Joe Robbins is co-founder of CareerWise Recruitment. A graduate of the University of Limerick (Degree in Business Studies, 1985), Joe worked in the UK for five years where he specialised in materials management, production management and plant management for a number of companies.

He returned to Ireland in 1992 to become Operations Manager for a Cork-based start-up, FMC Automotive Division which was subsequently taken over by Snap-on Equipment. Joe managed the business re-location of this company to Shannon in 1997 before setting up CareerWise Recruitment in 1999.

He is a committee member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Mid-West region, and a former Director and Vice President of the Shannon Chamber of Commerce. Joe is former Chairperson of the Sixmilebridge Camogie Club and current Chairperson of the Clare County Camogie Board.

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