For an associate or senior, networking brings to mind facing people, most likely clients that you are to ‘mingle’ with at either a cocktail, a client event or a conference. It is expected that you make conversation with several people that aren’t from your firm, exchange cards and if you want to be spectacular, return with a brief / piece of work.
If you are those charismatic individuals that have the gift of garb and can sell salt to the ocean, this is child’s play. The main thing to consider is who to speak to at these networking events meaning the person that has power and influence to support you in getting that brief and landing a meeting. Easy peasy. Done! You have moved up several rungs up your career ladder to Partner.
But the natural reaction for other less charismatic individuals, especially those who break into a cold sweat when faced with the prospect, is to tend towards our colleagues or those known to us at the event and wait for an appropriate time to leave. As you can imagine, this doesn’t help us in building those relationships or returning with those briefs and getting promoted.
So, how does Audit help?
Thankfully, the nature of audit work is such that you can still meet the same objectives, perhaps even better, without having to work your way around a chicken wing, an art form in itself, while making idle chit chat. The nature of the audit job is networking and relationship building; something auditors,either consciously or unconsciously, do on a daily basis.
Think about it, the audit team (associate and seniors in particular) go to a previously unknown or known client at an often unfamiliar location (client premises) and work with strangers to gather information, data, materials, aka the information they need to do their job. They need to exercise judgement in who to ask for what, who is more likely to be a faster avenue to meet their objectives and who is the true holder of the data needed to get a good handle of the true picture. If I was to expand this further, an auditor needs to also speak with PAs, tea ladies, guards and others on the ground to ensure that they can get anything from parking to a clean tea cup. Building those relationships quickly makes the difference in whether the engagement will be done within budget, quality and to the satisfaction of the client.
But how can this work to the Auditor’s benefit?
So, how can you use the networking opportunities presented to you to build your brand?
1. Communicate your value to your peers
Your peers will likely be leading the market and industries in a decade or so and your working in teams allows you close access to each other. While it makes sense to share your frustration and general ‘bile’; the stuff that builds real relationships, it is also just as important to communicate your abilities, interests and expertise to this group. The future call with the ‘opportunity’ that made someone think of you is seated right next to you, make it count.
2. Find ways of connecting with your seniors
How do careers grow? Who can impact your growth within the Firm? Who can recommend you outside the organisation? Do they even know who you are?
There are those bold souls who reach out to their seniors and seek mentorship from a pretty early stage, an invaluable way to get someone to fight for you behind those closed doors. Mentorship is indeed useful, but the management of the messaging is also crucial. When you have a mentor, you have chosen a mouthpiece that must communicate the ‘right’ message about you which will require your having discussed your goals and objectives, lest they communicate their perceptions and assumed plans for you which can be completely different from what you are wishing to portray. Not all good press is good press.
For those who find the spotlight unsettling, it is tempting to ‘be invisible’ in a bid to avoid potential conflict with the higher ups. Unfortunately, that is also a sure way to avoid being thought of for opportunities within the firm. Out of sight; out of mind. Audit work provides the opportunity for mixing across levels, if at the very least during the review process. Take advantage of the visibility and communicate your expertise and knowledge when these opportunities arise. How? Your work. How is your output coming across? And even more importantly, does it stand out (in a good way)? What are you known for?
3. Get to know and be known by your clients
Audit by its very nature is a ‘client intensive’ career. It involves auditing, in teams, the financial statements of many organisations. Assume two per month making 24 clients per year. The auditor deals with sensitive information and provides a report that impacts the future of the organisation providing the auditor – at almost every level- access to the management at the organisation.
This can serve as a very key level to which to communicate your value to a prospective employer, investor or collaborator. Are you in their line of sight? Do they know your name? Do your competence come across or are you trying as hard as possible to be as subservient as possible?
The nature of the audit job is networking and relationship building; something auditors,either consciously or unconsciously, do on a daily basis.
