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Welcome to Career Convos with Nikki, where I share my experiences as both a leader and an employee in corporate America. In these episodes, I cover everything from finding a job and landing that promotion to managing employees and navigating the unwritten rules as a black woman and disruptive millennial in the workplace. I also answer career questions from my audience, offering advice and insights to help you find professional clarity and pursue your career goals with confidence. I'll talk about accounting a lot as that's my area of expertise but this career advice you can apply regardless of what field you work in. You're in charge, and you deserve it!
And one thing the pandemic has done from a career or a professional development perspective is opened up many opportunities for people. Opportunities that in pre COVID times may not have been an option. So now that we have more flexibility to be location independent, there's more reconsidering career moves, giving things second thoughts, and feeling bold and feeling froggy out here when it comes to our careers and our jobs and the amount of power that we actually have that we may not have realized until the pandemic happened. So despite the many horrible, tragic, and adverse reactions opportunities, new opportunities, bigger opportunities, where people are out here winning and able to take advantage of this, quote, unquote, new normal that we all seem to be operating in. I read the other day where what was I reading?
Nikki Winston, CPA:Wall Street Journal, New York Times, LinkedIn, something I was reading. And it said that more than a third of employees are looking for new jobs. And in the last 2 months, 7 7 or 8,000,000 people have left their jobs, for whatever reason to for their entrepreneurial passions, for bigger opportunities, to take a sabbatical, whatever the reason is. But that's a lot of people. But when you think about the rapid change, the burnout, or soon having to ditch your new normal and go back to the office, it has employees definitely exploring other options.
Nikki Winston, CPA:One thing that I've done recently is I've gone back to my gym physically. I I struggled with it a long time. I was trying to do the virtual workouts, which was cool, but when everybody's on the network and the boot camp class gets to buffering, and I'm spending my whole time trying to fix my Internet, and I'm in the middle of a a move, but then it's buffering. But now they're on something else, and the kids are calling my name. The The dog is barking.
Nikki Winston, CPA:It just was not working out for me, and I felt myself getting out of control with the pandemic pounds. And I said, something has got to give because this is just not the same vap. Like, I need the trainer or whoever's running the class that day to bounce around the room. And if I'm bent over trying to catch my breath, you got to tell me to keep going. Like, I need that ass kicking as crazy as it sounds.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And that's part of what kept me going. And so I said, I gotta go back to the gym. I gotta get back with my trainer, and I gotta get back to boot camp on a consistent basis. So I felt weird at first, but I'm fully vaccinated. I have no qualms or issues about saying that, number 1.
Nikki Winston, CPA:But number 2, I know how my family over at Effect Fitness that sounded crazy. Effect Fitness, I know how they operate over there, and I knew that they were following all the protocols and all of the cleanliness and sanitation and things like that. So I wasn't concerned at all. I'm actually glad that I went back, and now I'm like, why didn't I do this sooner? But I've been on a consistent streak of working out, showing up with my trainer full hour, then I go do boot camp full hour.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So that's something that I have blocked out time on my calendar to make sure I can do that, to spend that time taking care of myself, doing what I need to do and want to do for me. So that's part of my new normal that I'm gonna have to readjust when I go back to the office. I am gonna go back to the office at least maybe 2 or 3 days a week, but still work in my training sessions and my boot camp. Just weave it in throughout my calendar like any other priority. But for those of you who feel like I don't wanna ditch my new normal or these new habits that I've adopted that bring me all kind of joy, or if you're like, do I really wanna go back to this office?
Nikki Winston, CPA:Do I wanna start looking for something better? I really want you to think deeper and think more critically about the decision. And similar to a conversation that I had recently when we were talking about kind of the same topic, like, the great resignation is coming and people are feeling froggy and exploring more options. You have to ask yourself, what are you running to, or what are you running away from? And if you've ever took a new job, hoping for something better.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Right? You you work in this company. It's not really culturally what you want. You're probably not doing the job that you signed up for. And so you take this new job hoping for something better, only for it to be the same or worse than your last job.
Nikki Winston, CPA:You can't really blame the company. That just means that you need to be more intentional in foresight to see it. And then when you land there, you're mad at the company for being what they have always been when you were expecting or more so hoping and praying for it to be something else. So asking the right questions could have given you more perspective and what more foresight on what it was gonna be like working in this new place. And this is your career.
Nikki Winston, CPA:We are all in the driver's seat of our own career, so forget about feeling awkward about asking certain questions to hiring managers, all of those typical questions are out the door. And I wrote a post about this for Forbes. It's called unlock your dream job. And one of the things that I said is that, you know, when we don't ask these questions, what's it really like working here? Why did the last person leave?
Nikki Winston, CPA:You know, how can I be successful in this role? What does the career trajectory look like for somebody in my role? Forget about what's a typical day like and all those other things. Asking the right questions is important to make sure you land where you intend to land. It's when we don't ask these questions, when we find ourselves working 8 plus hours a day in a job that we don't enjoy, a job that, you know, we feel like I should've negotiated more money because I didn't know I was gonna be doing all this, or it could be all of the above.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Right? So before you take the leap, for 1, to another job or another company, think about where is it, what that area is that you're not feeling fulfilled in. And if you feel like I've given it my all, I've I've I've asked myself all these questions, I've had the appropriate conversations, and I'm still hitting the brick wall, then maybe it is time for you to go. But as you consider leaving your job for something better, I wanna give you some things to think about so that you don't end up in a different company with the same problems that you're trying to get away from. So first and foremost, what are you leaving behind?
Nikki Winston, CPA:And like I said before, what are you running from, or what are you running to? If it's a coworker or a boss that you don't wanna deal with, maybe a skip level that you don't really get along with, sit down somewhere. Leaving your job because of another person means that you're not even focused on the right things. If you've allowed somebody to get into your head to the point where it disrupts your flow, it disrupts your productivity, and you feel like you can't be successful there, then I would say, you know, if it's don't leave a job because of somebody else. Think critically about is it something that maybe a manager said to you in a conversation, giving feedback that you didn't like, and that's what's driving you to Yeah.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Wanna explore new opportunities? Is it a coworker that you got into it with? Y'all had some drama and now it's awkward. I mean, whatever it is, if it's not if it's something that you feel like, this is a great company, but I don't wanna deal with this person, don't leave a great company because of a bad person. Because bad companies are a dime a dozen, and it's really difficult to in my personal experience, it's difficult to find a good company.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And once you find 1, it's like, let me let me hold on to this with everything I have. If maybe I'm in a great company, but not in the right job, or I wanna do other things, or it was just one of these kinda get my foot in the door at this company kinda job, then work your way up. Navigate and network your way to where you wanna be, but don't make an emotional career decision because of another person. I I have a feeling I'm gonna be coming back around to that, because I I feel like I have something else to say about that, But I haven't found the words, so we might be coming back around to that point. So the first thing is ask yourself, what are you leaving behind?
Nikki Winston, CPA:Another thing I've heard people say, which is probably in many cases, not even applicable now, is that the commute is too long. Now there are some people, because I wanna speak to everybody when it comes to these career conversations. There are some people who have gone back to work 5 days a week. There are people who are traveling on the planes, coast to coast every week, still like it's business as usual. And I've always had a commute of at least 30 minutes.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And part of that comes from something that, actually, my mortgage lender told me when I bought my first house is, don't ever buy a house based on where you work, especially not in Atlanta. And I took that to heart. So I just had to figure out how to make it work. I loved my house. I loved my neighborhood.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I was not willing to move for the sake of a job because at that point in my career, when I had just bought my house, I was switching jobs, like, every year and a half, 2 years for whatever reason. But unless you live in one of these, like, live and work kinda places where you don't have a commute, it's it's really hard to say. Like, I know people who had 5 mile commutes that took 20 to 30 minutes. I live in Atlanta. I just find other things to do on the commute, whether it's listen to a podcast, my favorite playlist, whatever.
Nikki Winston, CPA:When I was a consultant, I started riding MARTA. And for the most part, I've had flexible work arrangements because I'm a mom. Then I went to 100% remote, and then 100% remote again because of COVID. So I've been around the world with the commute situation. But if that is a stickler for you, if it's impeding your ability to be productive, or if it's making you feel a certain way about your job, then just have the conversations with the appropriate people, whether that's HR, your direct manager.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Do what works best for you, and then switch it up as you need to. I know people who were like, yeah. I'll go to the office 5 days a week. I love to be in the office. I love the camaraderie, and then life happens.
Nikki Winston, CPA:They get married. They have children, and it's like, I can't be in the office 5 days a week, so I need a different arrangement. So do whatever works for you. Another thing to consider is think about the work that you're doing. Do you actually like what you're doing?
Nikki Winston, CPA:Is it fulfilling? Is it challenging? Is it forcing you to use your brain? Because I'm a firm believer in doing what I love, and I don't wanna get up every day and do work that I don't love or at least like. So if this is you, if you wake up every day flinging the covers, you mad because you gotta get up and go to the office or go downstairs and log in to that computer, then how did you get to this place that you don't enjoy?
Nikki Winston, CPA:Think about that. Like, how did you get here, and why do you keep going back if you hate it that much? Own the fact that you own your career. We all own our careers. You have the power to do what you wanna do professionally.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I don't know anybody who was forced into a a job, an a corporate job, a office job. We all accepted them on our own free will. So if you feel like this job is beneath me or shit. Maybe the job is too much for you, and you wanna do something else. Have a support system so you can figure out how to get there, how to get to where you wanna be.
Nikki Winston, CPA:You also have to be open to receive the feedback and the perspectives that you're going to receive. You have to have this level of self awareness to receive what's coming your way, because it won't all be sweet and rosy. I have received great feedback, but I've received a lot of, I guess, constructive criticism, for lack of a better term. And I'm not perfect. Nobody's perfect.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So you shouldn't expect all of the feedback to be positive. If you didn't have anything to work on or if somebody said, you are doing a fantastic job, you are knocking it out of the park, there's nothing more I'd like to see, then whatever you're doing, you should package it up and sell it. So be receptive to when somebody tells you you need to work on something. Work and, actually, work on it because more likely than not, they're telling you this out of love. And if there's any type of awkward feeling or discomfort about having that conversation, the person who's delivering that feedback probably feels a degree of discomfort as well.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So keep that in mind next time you're sitting across the table from somebody and you know that you're about to have an uncomfortable conversation. Quick water break. I got plain water today. If you're tuning in for the first time, I all I always have to let y'all know what I'm drinking. It's usually water, lemon water, lemon, ginger, mint water.
Nikki Winston, CPA:It might be some whiskey. It might be some green tea. It might be some peppermint tea. Not never really a lot of pop or juice. I'm not a fructose sucrose dextrose kind of person.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I prefer to have water, have vegetable juices, fruit juices, things that my body will thank me for. So I just had to take a quick sip of water, but I just I want y'all to keep that in mind is look at the whole picture when you're making these career moves and career decisions, not just the sliver of the picture that's driving you crazy or driving you away from your current job. And I say that because change in jobs is an adjustment within itself. But changing jobs and changing companies is an even bigger adjustment, especially, I'm one of those people who started a new job during the pandemic. And so this was my first experience with a 100% virtual starting, onboarding, learning everything.
Nikki Winston, CPA:It has definitely been an adjustment, but I've enjoyed every step of the way. But when you look at why you're leaving or why you're thinking about leaving, is the issue or issues with an s, are those issues that you're not happy with things that are fixable within your current company? Back to the culture thing and back to finding a great company. If it's a place where you enjoy working and you feel like it's something fixable, try to work those things out first. And that starts with having a conversation with your manager, like I say all the time.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Those 1 on 1 ongoing discussions are the foundation to a lot of the issues, a lot of the problems, a lot of the concerns that we tend to have. So use that time to share your concerns and share your thoughts. It's not always going to be a, hey. I did my work. I met the deadlines, and I'm happy.
Nikki Winston, CPA:It's not always gonna be that way. And have those discussions about work, of course, with your manager, those ongoing discussions, but also talk about other things, especially in this ecosystem now where everybody's a video or a profile pic on the computer. This is where you can talk about your upcoming vacations, whether it's to let your boss know, hey. I'm gonna be out x number of days, or whether it's to say, hey. I'm going to the beach for the first time this summer.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I'm super excited, or whatever you wanna share. Ask questions about things going on that you don't quite understand within the business or within your day to day responsibilities. Have casual conversations. Ask your boss about his or her upcoming vacation. Build those relationships and be intentional about doing so.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Because we don't have, right now, at least, the luxury of catching up while you get your coffee or tea out the break room or you standing in the doorway of your boss's office having a conversation just because you wanted to pop your head and then say hi. And then that saying hi becomes a 10 or 15 minute conversation. So the career goals and the networking building hasn't changed. Only the landscape has. There's not as many conferences for in person networking, the virtual meetups that were happening.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Every other day when the pandemic first started. Those have slowed down. Don't get lost in the virtual sauce by allowing the virtual environment to be the reason that you haven't cultivated your network. So if you're listening to this and you're saying, I've tried all of that, or my manager hasn't created this environment for me to have these types of conversations, then maybe it is time for you to bounce. And it doesn't have to be a messy or dramatic exit either, because you'll never know when you run into former bosses, former colleagues, and coworkers again.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So opening doors for each other is the thing. I have had many different scenarios where I have had people work for me on my team that I have adored, that I've respected, that they produce quality work for me and made me look good as a leader. And so when I leave and go to another organization, I might reach out and say, hey. What are you up to? Or they might reach out organization, I might reach out and say, hey.
Nikki Winston, CPA:What are you up to? Or they might reach out to me. So I've had a couple of people that have worked for me on Teams that I leave a company, and I might bring up a company. And I might on Teams that I leave a company, and I might bring them along with me. And so that's the whole opening doors for each other.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And a lot of times, when I brought them on board, they were happy to be working for me again, but it's like, you have no idea what you've done for me bringing your talent to my team. And if I reach out to you or you reach out to me, and we mutually agree, like, yes, I would love to come work on your team again, that means a lot to me as a leader. So I make sure to keep that door open, and to support people that I've worked with, whether directly or indirectly. I had a colleague reach out, a former colleague reach out to me a few months ago, and he's like, hey. I saw on LinkedIn well, he actually messaged me on LinkedIn.
Nikki Winston, CPA:He's like, I saw on your profile that you're at Microsoft now, and I'm leaving, you know, our old company that we used to work for. And he's like, I wanna see if there's any opportunities for me at your current employer, or can you help me out? And this is not somebody who I talk to every day, but we knew each other, and there was a mutual respect there. And so I said, absolutely. I'll I'm happy to refer you to a new role.
Nikki Winston, CPA:There was another moment. This is probably, if I have to think about any of these moments where I've reconnected with bosses or colleagues, this is, like, the funniest one for me. So I had this moment in my career where I was a controller. I had a open role on my team. I was interviewing candidates for this open role.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And there was this person that I interviewed who was very vocal about the frustrations that he had with his current employer. And I I distinctly remember sitting in the conference room across the table from him and just listening to him talk. And fast forward, to make this long story short, I didn't hire him for other reasons. Obviously, like I said, he had a lot to say about his employer and why he didn't wanna be there when I was asking him why he was looking why he was looking to leave. But a few years later, I took another role, and I was introduced to this same person I had interviewed.
Nikki Winston, CPA:He was a direct report of 1 of my peers. And so it was, like, my first week on the job. I was doing all the rounds, meeting all the accounting and finance people, and they introduced me to him. As soon as they said his name, I'm like, oh, shit. Thinking that to myself, like, oh, wow.
Nikki Winston, CPA:That is him. So he didn't recognize me, and I'm not even sure if he remembers this encounter, but I distinctly remember it. And it was so funny and so awkward at the same time. Like, you were literally sitting across the conference room table from me a year and a half ago telling me about why you're leaving this company with no filter whatsoever. And then I get here, and you are still here.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So I found that to be so funny, but you just never know when you might run into people. I have so many other stories of, like, I left one job, and I left. I hated everybody. I I just felt like it was just horrible. I won't say that.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I didn't hate everybody. There were a couple of just horrible managers that had me like, I will never work here again, and I don't know how anybody else is working here. And one of my colleagues had one of my colleagues at that job, I guess, had been fired or something. And he was applying to jobs, and he applied for a open role that I had on my team. And I was just like, absolutely not.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Like, I cannot work with this person. I already know the work ethic. I know the level of accounting expertise that's there. Like, I don't wanna deal with this person. So you never know when you will have these encounters with people again, and you don't know what side of the table you might be sitting on.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So I feel like a lot of times, even when you have conflicts at work or disagreements with people, and like I said earlier, if you wanna leave a job because of a difficult manager or difficult colleague, like, a lot of times, it's it's the work. It's not personal. And in many cases, these people don't really know you outside of the work that you do during the day. So it's it's that's my other point of a lot of times it's business and it's not personal. But, nonetheless, the great resignation has arrived.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And if you are one of those 7 and a half 1000000 people jumping off the porch for better opportunities, make sure that it is the opportunity that's best for you. Make sure that you've thought it all the way through. Avoid making emotional decisions about your career and explore it further to make sure that your next move is your best move. And, of course, leave the job better than you found it. So that is it for me.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I really I enjoyed this episode. It's funny that I've been having similar conversations on this topic in different groups, like, with some of my professional networking groups. And I had a board meeting last week, and we had a similar conversation about careers. And then I found this article. I feel like it was on Wall Street Journal about the great resignation and how employees are making these bold moves.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And so that's one thing that if I had to say something else, every time I get to the end of an episode, I have something else to say. But the one thing to keep in mind is that don't forget that you have the power to direct the moves that you make, and you are essentially making all of the decisions for how your career goes, whether it's up or down. And a lot of those effects can be some some long lasting effects if you make a good move or if you make a a bad move. It might take some time, a couple of rolls, a couple of years to recover from that. So think critically and deeply about moves that you're thinking about making, especially if you're not sure or if you have supporters or advisers in your corner that you can bounce things off of, definitely do that so that you can see a different perspective of the moves that you're making.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Because as I'm recording this episode, I'm having all of these flashbacks about earlier points in my career when I made certain moves that I know for sure I would not make now, and it was out of frustration. It was out of making emotional decisions. It was out of trying to be the one, like, I won. I quit. You know?
Nikki Winston, CPA:So when you get to a point professionally where you have grown up and you can call yourself a seasoned professional, then, it's definitely a great thing. So I was gonna wrap up this episode, and now I'm definitely gonna wrap up this episode because I hear one of my kids banging on my door. So hope y'all enjoyed this episode. Tag me at nickwinstoncpa as you listen to this episode. Of course, use the hashtag workinmamas, w e r k I n m o m m a s.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I also need to get some more water. And I got a couple work things on my to do list that I need to check off. So y'all be good. I'll talk to y'all soon.