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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!
Hey, y'all. So I wanna talk about something today. Couple of things, actually, but really have a conversation with y'all about when you leave a job or when you decide to leave a job. And it I am on the go right now. I'm on my way to pick my son up, and I'm going down the street.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And I see these 2 kids, had to be in middle school, and they're walking side by side. And this guy is walking with his hand just smack dab on this girl's right butt cheek, and it was so funny to see. It's like, this is this is how y'all are walking down the street. Maybe not even old enough to drive. That was funny.
Nikki Winston, CPA:But, anyway, the conversation today is something that we absolutely need to address as far as professional etiquette and your personal brand and just how you move and how you navigate in corporate America. And this stemmed from a conversation I was having with somebody recently, and this person's perspective was people just leave their jobs, and then they'll blindside the manager like, oh, hey. By the way, I accepted an offer for another job. I'm leaving in 2 weeks. And and these days, 2 weeks is a generous notice.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And so he said it would be nice if people would have these conversations before they accept an offer to let the manager know what's going on. And, I mean, a lot of times, that's how it happens. I've been in that situation where I've had people resign and say, I'm putting in my 2 weeks notice. I've had people say, I resign and I quit right now, and I'm walking out the door, like, right this second. And maybe once or twice, I've had somebody come come to me and say, hey.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I have a offer that I'm entertaining. Are y'all willing to match? And I remember one specific instance of that where somebody came to me with that, and it turns out they were actually bluffing. They did not have an offer. They were trying to use that conversation as leverage to get more money.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And I laugh about that scenario because it's like you didn't even have to go through all of that. You didn't have to conjure up some story that you had a offer and they're paying you 20,000 more and you wanted to see if we would match it. You could've just came and said, I'm making x amount right now, and I feel like I need to be making z. So I wanna have a conversation about money and how much I'm being paid for this job. It's a conversation that rarely happens, but it's so necessary.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And a lot of times, it doesn't happen because employees feel like I don't wanna feel awkward. I don't want my employer to think I'm being greedy. There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for more money Because what you're doing is asking. And when you ask, they're either gonna say, yes. We'll we'll accommodate you, or they'll say no.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Or in some cases, not right now, but let's revisit this conversation in 6 months. So you don't get what you don't ask for. It's not like I got 10 years of experience, so I should be making this, or I've done this, this, and this, so I should be making that. You there's there's no obligation and you don't get what you deserve. I I tell people this all the time.
Nikki Winston, CPA:You don't get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate. And so going back to the original thought, I'm sitting here, like, are my windows this foggy? Do I need to go wash my car, or is this the small gas at? Whatever.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I don't know. But going back to my original point, when when me and this other person was having this conversation, I was like, it still blows my mind, the number of people who do not have conversations with their manager. The number of people who don't have weekly, biweekly at a minimum, monthly, some type of interaction, some type of conversation with your manager where you're checking in to say, this is what I have on my plate. This is what I'm working on. These are some ideas that I have.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Here are the days I'm gonna be off next week or the week after or whatever. And so my question for people like that is when you when you do decide, okay. This job is not paying me enough money or I need more flexibility or I just I'm not interested in the work I'm doing anymore. When you get to that point, my question is, what kind of conversations have you had with your manager? These are the types of things that are necessary.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Oh, I just needed to turn on my father, Lord Jesus. Because now my windows are crystal clear. But this is the purpose of scheduling time with your manager to check-in on these things, to let your manager know what you're working on, what you're dealing with, how they can help you, what your career goals are, what do you wanna accomplish in the next 3, 6, 12 months. And if you're working in the job where you don't have these conversations on a regular basis, then what are you doing every day Is my question. How do you know that the work that you're doing is meaningful, that is contributing to the overall objectives of what the company is trying to do, how can your manager shout you out and advocate for you in terms of your deliverables if they don't even know what you're working on.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And don't assume that, oh, my manager knows what I do. My manager knows this. My manager knows that. Don't assume that because what you have to keep in mind is that in a way your manager is just like you in terms of trying to manage their career and trying to keep their deliverables in order and the conversations that I'm telling you that you should be having, your manager is most likely having these conversations with their managers. And, an unfortunate reality is that a lot of the lack of conversations are happening or in this case, not happening with the junior people, the staff accountants, maybe the senior accountants.
Nikki Winston, CPA:But when you get to manager, assistant controller, director, whatever that hierarchy looks like, most of these employees are having the conversations. And so if you are an accountant with you know, forget the title for a minute. But if you're an accountant with 5 years or less experience, there's a good chance that these conversations aren't happening. And some people have this misconception that it's up to your manager to put these put this time on the calendar, and that it's up to the manager to prioritize your career development when the truth is that falls on you and you only. Now your manager can, like I said, advocate for you.
Nikki Winston, CPA:They can guide you on and coach you on certain things. They can direct you to resources, whether it's a a course or a certification or a conference, a professional conference, they can direct you to different resources to help you develop, but it is not your manager's job to manage your career. And don't expect that to happen. Now if you are in that category of people that I just mentioned and, really, I'll take the experience off the table. A lot of times, it is the the junior people, but I don't wanna put a cap on what junior can mean.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Right? There there's people I know who've worked in accounting for 10, 15 years, and they're staff accountants or senior accountants. And so I don't wanna put that experience cap on this conversation because I I just don't wanna do that. But I I will say, and I know for certain, that most people at a manager or senior manager level and above are absolutely having these conversations. And in some cases, you have a manager who is invested in your career and really wants to mentor you and see you do well.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So you might have those managers who will book that time to say, hey. Let's catch up for 30 minutes once a week, see where you're at, see how I can help you, how I can support, and offer me feedback as well. But then, again, there's those managers who listen. You work here. You're an adult.
Nikki Winston, CPA:You know what to do. If you're trying to build your personal brand, these are the things that you have to do. And so my advice to you is don't stick around to try and see which manager you have. Take ownership of your career and of your brand, and initiate those conversations. If you're not currently having those conversations, I dare you book 30 minutes on your manager's calendar and say, hey.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I'd like to share some updates with you with where I'm at or what I have going on, or I wanna get your your feedback or your thoughts on something. So book that first 30 minute meeting, prepare an agenda, have some items that you wanna talk about, whether it's high level. FYI, these are the projects I'm working on. This one is going well because of a, b, and c. This one, not so much because I'm waiting on a report from this person on this team to do this and do that, and they've been out of office and blah blah blah.
Nikki Winston, CPA:We all know how that story goes. You could also have, an an administrative or housekeeping point in the conversation. Oh, by the way, I'm gonna be out on Thursday Friday of next week. I put it on your calendar, or I will put it on your calendar, whatever. And then you can say, I booked this time.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I just wanna get your thoughts on my performance, some things you think I could work on. What do you think I'm strong in, and really get that advice and get that feedback from your manager because these are the people who have the most visibility into what you're doing. And sometimes working in whether you're in the office, virtual, hybrid, especially in the virtual and the hybrid situations, it's easy for your manager to lose sight of what you're actually doing. If there's a large team of people and you all have different responsibilities, it's a lot for a manager to juggle. And so, again, you don't wanna be the one sitting around wondering if your boss knows what you're doing or wondering why nobody's shouting out the project you worked on, it's probably because they didn't know what you were doing.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And so I do have a one pager I put together to help create your agenda, put together your talking points, and even the follow-up to the first meeting to say, I appreciate your time and the feedback. I would love for us to have this conversation again. Do you mind if I put 30 minutes on your calendar once a week to check-in or every other week? Most managers are like, yeah. Absolutely.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Like, I I'd love this. And then they end up loving it too. And then they'll say, oh, well, I had this conversation with Nicole, but there's 6 other people on my team, and I would love to get this time with them. So then they start initiating conversations with other people on the team. And so there's nothing wrong with you being the game changer or you being the catalyst for the professional development and the engagement and the relationship building to happen on your team.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So when you do get to a point of you feel like you're leaving a job or it's time for you to start looking for a job, you might say, hey. I've been in this role for 2 years now, and I'm I'm ready to do something different as far as my job responsibilities. And then you can have a conversation with your boss. Oh, you know what? This this team the this department over here needs a person to work on a, b, and c, and I think you're really good at that.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Or you know what? I get it. You've done a fantastic job here. What you're looking for is not we don't have the opportunity here for what you're looking for, but I'm happy to help you land where you wanna be. Now, again, I'm speaking from my perspective as a manager.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Not every manager is gonna do that. But if I have somebody on my team that we have these conversations and through one of our weekly one on ones, they say, hey. You know what? I'm I wanna do something else. I I've done general accounting.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Now I wanna flip and do compliance, or I wanna do tax or whatever. If there's an opportunity, then I would make an effort to align that person with those opportunities, whether they're on my team or not. And then if there's not an opportunity, if it's one of those situations like, oh, well, you wanna be the accounting manager, but there's no upward movement unless the current accounting manager leaves, and then you apply to backfill the role. If it's a situation like that, I'll be transparent and say, look. What you're trying to do, I apply what you're trying to do.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I don't know if this is the right place for you to get to where you're trying to go professionally, but here's what I recommend. Or if you wanna go work on an internal controls job, I would say, you know what? Check with compliance. Check with the financial systems team. I'll put some fillers out there and see.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Or I would say, you know what? X company is hiring for a senior internal controls manager. So it's not really all about trying to keep people. The bigger goal is positioning people and plugging people into opportunities to get them closer to where they wanna be. Because if I was to say, well, you know, I think you're doing fine.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I don't think you should go anywhere, and we really wanna keep you on the team. And here I am trying to keep you on the team for selfish reasons because I don't wanna be short staffed, but I know that you're not happy, nobody's winning in that situation. And so I'm not gonna be driving a bus that I know is not in a winning situation. So if it means that you're better suited elsewhere, it's okay. I would much rather have somebody in the role who's passionate about it, who's willing to learn, and it's totally okay to outgrow a position, to outgrow a company.
Nikki Winston, CPA:If it's more like, hey. I make 75,000 right now, and I wanna make 90. That's not a reason for you to say, you know what? I'm not to update my resume, and I'm just gonna sign me another job. That's an opportunity for you to bring that up in a 1 on 1 with your manager and say, hey.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I wanna talk about my pay, this, that, and the other. And they might say, hey. We value your contribution. You're a great team player. We we think you're a huge asset to the company.
Nikki Winston, CPA:We'll give you x or we'll can we meet in the middle at this? Or they might flat out say, you know what? It's not in the budget. So no. Or they might say, not right now, but let's revisit the conversation again.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I had a manager say that to me before. And, interestingly, he left a few weeks after that. But, don't be afraid to own your career. Don't be afraid to speak up and say what's really on your mind and forget worrying about feeling awkward or I don't want them to think I'm greedy or I'm just gonna go somewhere else. Get in the habit of using your voice, amplifying your voice, doing so with tact and respect because there's there there's a way to do that.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Everything doesn't have to be so emotionally involved. And and do what works for you. And the the the disclaimer I don't wanna say a disclaimer. The the statement with the asterisk that I'll put on all of this is if you're working in the job and you leave in because it's a toxic environment and the culture is not there or there's any type of illegal activity going on, then walk out the door, run the other way fast. And it's a best practice to give a 2 weeks notice in general when you resign from a company.
Nikki Winston, CPA:But working in accounting, we know how the accounting cycle goes. And I feel like if you work in accounting and you leave a job for a reason other than bad culture, illegal activities, unethical things, etcetera, I feel like you really should give a month's notice. Because if you're the AR manager and you're leaving after 2 weeks, there's no way to get another person in there, to get them up to speed, to get them onboarded, and pick up where you left off. You're probably listening to this like, well, that's not my problem. That's the company's problem.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I get it. I get it. But we're thinking about your personal brand and the importance of leaving the company and leaving the job better than you found it. So imagine if you were the person coming into a new position, and your first day is just full of hodgepodge and chaos because they're still trying to pick up the pieces from the person who left the job for you. Think about all of the cleaning up, all of the unnecessary chaos that you'll have to navigate through instead of just getting up to speed and onboarded in your new job.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So you don't always have to take the selfish selfish approach and say, well, I'm out in 2 weeks, and they better figure it out. That's not that's not the mark you wanna leave. And I'll tell you what, the accounting industry is big, but it's also small. And to say everybody knows everybody is an understatement. And so when you encounter these people again, you wanna make sure that it's on the best terms as possible.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And if you really wanna make things easier and smooth, you can create your own transition and say, I've put together a list of all the things I have to do or checklist or guidance documents or something that can help the other person learn the job, but also make things easier for your manager trying to manage and work through this transition. So if you are in a position where you feel like I'm ready to leave my job and this ain't working for me, have the conversations with your manager first if the rapport is there. Because especially if it's a company that you like. If you like the company but you don't like the job, have those conversations. Is there an opportunity for me to work on a project, to move internally to a different department, to get the $10,000 raise that I'm asking for?
Nikki Winston, CPA:And if you're one of those people where the company values your contribution, then you can probably make more progress where you are than if you leave. But it's such a it's so subjective, and there's always a but. And, again, if you've brought if you felt like, you know what? I've done everything I could do. I'll stay here as long as I could stay.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I'm bored. They don't pay me enough. I need more vacation time. Whatever your thoughts are at the end of the day and the beginning of the next, you have to do what's best for you. And doing what's best for you means having the necessary conversations.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I've been doing it for years now. If I'm working for a manager who has not put the 1 on ones on my calendar, I initiate it. And most times, I end up putting the the one on ones on the calendar before they even get a chance to because I have my own way of onboarding into a new job. And so my personal onboarding plan, that's one of the items I check off my list when I start a new job. Let me make sure the 1st day of work, I have a conversation with my manager.
Nikki Winston, CPA:We chat. We lay out expectations, and then let them know. I'll put some time on your calendar, check-in, get to know each other. Just have a have a conversation. It doesn't have to be all stuffy and professional.
Nikki Winston, CPA:It well, professional. But, I mean, it doesn't have to be formal. Like, you have to put on a suit and walk in a boardroom to have these conversations. They can be very laid back, casual conversation type, and they don't all have to be about work. And so that's what I wanted to share for now.
Nikki Winston, CPA:I'm close to picking my baby up. I'm also close to the 30 minute mark, which I know y'all time is valuable and precious. So I appreciate you spending a little bit of time with me to to hear what I have to say about career navigation, development, mostly in the accounting industry. But a lot of the career advice that I share, it can be applied to any industry that you work in regardless of how many years of experience you have, where you work, how you work. And so if you found this valuable, I would appreciate if you would share it, if you would subscribe to where you get your podcast from, Apple, Spotify, Iheartradio, all that good stuff.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And tell somebody about it. If you found something that really struck a nerve with you, that really stuck out to you, that made you break out and take some notes or something, definitely share that. And if you choose to share it on social media, make sure that you tag me at nickwinstoncpa, n I k k w I n s t o n c p a. There is something frolicking around in the back of my truck, and I don't know what it is. But I don't like the sound of it either.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So okay. Again, thank y'all for tuning in to the career series of the working mama's podcast. I hope that you will go back and check out the other amazing episodes that are published and stay tuned for the new episodes that are coming out. So if you have any career questions, feel free to reach out to me, hello at winstoncpagroup.com, and I will gladly work through your questions, see your response with some guidance and some recommendations. And I might even invite you onto the podcast one day.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So thank you again for tuning in. Y'all be good, and we talk soon.