When it comes to starting your career as a new accountant, mistakes are bound to happen. However, many professionals believe that this helps grow them personally and professionally. If you’ve decided to start your education in accounting, it’s important to know the top four mistakes every new accountant is bound to make.
Pushing Yourself Too Thin
Overworking is common for many new professionals, as a yearning to use your skills, is fairly common. You want to be able to impress your peers and superiors, however, this can lead to burnout. Many accountants will have a busy season with work weeks that stretch beyond the 40-hour mark, but the fact of the matter is, this shouldn’t be your regular work schedule. Pushing yourself over the limit will lead to burnout, which can impact your job satisfaction negatively.
Lack of Attention to Detail
There are many new responsibilities every professional has after they leave college. As An accountant, paying close attention to detail is incredibly important. This is going to be much different than paying attention in college--your tasks require your utmost attention, as there is very little room for error. Quick lapse of judgment will bear more problems down the road, so make sure you tune up your attention to detail.
Not Staying Focused When Trained
Let’s be honest, employee training isn’t usually luxurious, but that doesn’t mean you should snooze off while being taught the principles and regulations of the organization you’re working with. Every firm does training differently, and even if you thought you knew something from college or a past job, it might not apply to this specific circumstance. New accounts need to invest every minute of their time early on to learn as much as their company is showing them. Not only will this help guide you in the right direction in the early stages of your career, but it will also help you be less negligible in the future.
Every firm does mandatory employee training to keep their staff up to date on the current software, accounting principles, and changes in the regulations. Sometimes, however, employees can neglect the importance of the content presented during training. In turn, their knowledge falls behind and they are not up to date on the current issues. Meaning, new accountants should invest the necessary time to learn everything that the firm showcases to them during training. Doing so will make them less likely to cause errors of negligence that can be quite expensive. Additionally, it will present them as reliable team members who have the necessary skill sets.
Putting Zero Effort Into Networking
Like most graduates, accountants may believe they are done with networking once they snag a job. This can be fatal to your career, as you should always be expanding your network. The chances of you staying at that one job for the rest of your life are pretty slim. So what happens if you want to transition, but your network is abysmal? Networking is an ongoing process, and you should try to connect with as many relevant professionals in your field. You just never know what could pop up in your LinkedIn feed or message box!
While this list may be short, there are many more problems that accountants can make in their career. However, understanding which pitfalls to avoid will help you achieve great success in your career.
