Lately I have been receiving a flood of resumes for tax specialists. I am not involved in the hiring process, but I glance at the resumes out of curiosity, and could not help seeing that they are all off-base.
The recruiters that send them indicate to me they are subpar, but more importantly, the applicants do not seem to have a clue about what their role needs to be. If you want to succeed, you have to understand how to build value for yourself and then illustrate that value clearly to prospective employers.
This column concerns tax specialists, but my suggestions can be applied to any specialty.
The common theme in the applicant's qualities are that they do good work, are technically competent, manage client relationships (whatever that means), review tax returns, do some dispute resolution, have expertise in real estate and certain service industries, and prepare tax returns for high-net-worth individuals, S and C corporations, and LLCs. Actually the resumes from each recruiter are basically the same, with just a difference of a few words. No imagination guiding applicants who seem to have none.
These are for jobs for tax managers with 10 or so years of experience.
None of the resumes I've looked at would qualify the applicant as a manager in my opinion (which this column is expressing, and no one else's). Managers need to manage staff. Nothing was said in the resume about their management ability or whom they mentored or trained. I do not want a "manager" who prepares tax returns. I want someone who does considerable tax research and planning and has the ability to write tax memos and render opinions. I want someone who has advised clients on pending transactions and has helped craft the transaction. Tell me some of what you did, and with what frequency.
I want to know if the applicant helped anticipate and identify planning opportunities that led to additional assignments from clients. How much have they been published? How often have they presented speeches and to which groups (e.g., clients, industry leaders or CPE). Do they do in-house training and to which level of staff? What industries are they expert in and how is this manifested by being the firm's "go-to" person, and is there recognition of this industry expertise outside the firm?
If these applicants had all of these features, which would make them very attractive candidates for any practice, then why are they leaving, or why is the place they are working at setting them up to leave? My guess is they are probably proficient "workers" and not managers or anyone with serious growth potential. A second guess is they likely had three or four jobs beforehand, which in my opinion is a perfect way to have stunted growth (please note that there are always exceptions to what I say).
I realize that anyone in such a position reading this would think I am out of touch, but I know from my experience that what I am suggesting is the reality for these applicants. Also, keep in mind I am referring to resumes for a manager with "10 years' experience." In my way of thinking, the applicants with these resumes are dead-ended and probably do not understand that reality. There are some ways they can reverse this but doing it with a new job is not the way. These recruiters have a steady income with these staff since they can place them elsewhere every two or three years. Maybe they figured out the business model that works for them, but not for the accounting firms they are placing these people with.
I have a clear takeaway: If you are the firm doing the hiring, pass on these people and build and grow your own future tax managers. If you are that 10-year tax manager, use my job requirement suggestions above as a guide for how you should reshape your career. It might mean a step back, but it really means a determination to work at bettering yourself and growing your skills, with a lot of this needing to be done on your own time, since your firm needs you to be the workhorse they hired you for.
I know some of you will redo your resume to include a lot of what I wrote. If you cannot back up your claims, all you will be accomplishing is to accelerate your termination from your next job. Do some soul searching and be realistic about your abilities. Look at the resumes of the tax partners you aspire to become and make the necessary changes in your career path. It is not too late. Use this column as a wakeup call.
Do not hesitate to contact me at
