Career advice, will staying at small firms hold me back?

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  • #2084145
    hoopsfan2014
    Participant

    Hi everyone. So I’ve been at my small firm for quite some time. I’ve been applying to jobs on LinkedIn at smaller, quality firms in my area and have a few interviews lined up. I’ve always liked the small firm feel, better hours etc. I was just contacted by an outside recruiter for a job at a larger, nationally recognized firm. I told the recruiter that my goal would be to work at a family office or in private down the road for the quality of life and better hours, and he told me that working at a nationally recognized firm would make it easier to make that transition. Working at smaller firms has no name recognition and makes me less marketable. I’m confused what to do now. I haven’t had any luck getting private roles so that’s why I’m looking to stay with small firms for now. Any advice would be great thanks !

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  • #2084223
    Iceman
    Participant

    What do you do?

    By family office, do you mean private wealth advisory – https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/family-offices.asp ?

    If so, I would suggest a CFA if you don't already hold it.

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    #2084262
    hoopsfan2014
    Participant

    I work in tax now, mainly individual tax work and the related entities for high net worth individuals. I mean more along the lines of working for a wealth management firm that has a tax department. There are a bunch of those type of jobs in the city I live in but the jobs seems pretty competitive and I’m wondering if maybe it is because of my background at small firms. I get requests for interviews at cpa firms but rarely if ever at private shops.

    #2085531
    DM
    Participant

    Hoops, you gotta know EXACTLY what you want to do. If you want tax exposure to corporations and private enterprises, then go CPA firm. If you want to stay individual/high net worth tax and asset management, then stay in private and get CFA or CFP. You are in the interview pool with industry peers and CPAs from accounting/advisory firms. Since you have more competition, you will need a really good CV explaining why you belong at a bigger firm, if you stay private. I suggest going to all CPA firm interviews and see what type of work you will be doing.

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