9 Ways to Stand Out Among the Talent

As a qualified South African Chartered Accountant, you already have a lot going for you.

The rigorous hoops you had to jump through for the CA(SA) designation are well known, and appreciated by global auditing firms. They’re one of the reasons so many South African accountants find themselves working overseas, gaining invaluable work and life experience.

But with great reward comes great competition. And not everyone will be chosen.

What can you do to differentiate yourself from your talented peers when sought-after international secondments become available? We have 9 tips for you.

1. Write better.

Effective written communication saves corporates time, money, and face. At the very least, they want people who’ll represent their brand in a professional manner, and nothing screams unprofessional like poor writing.

In addition, sharp writing skills can be used to build better relationships – we’ve all received that email where we instantly dislike the sender – and increase your ability to influence key stakeholders in pursuit of the company’s objectives.

If your writing is good enough, you’ll even find that others come to you for advice when putting together important communication and content. This is a position of power that can open doors wherever you go.  

2. Always be learning.

Studying in your early 20s and then parking off in the same job or career for 50 years? Well and truly dead. With technology leaping and bounding, creating new jobs and making others redundant, you’ll need to periodically reinvent yourself to survive.

Demonstrate to the market and to your employer/s that life-long learning is something you take seriously. How much do you read? What do you read? What new skill are you learning? Do you have a mentor? Do you search for, and strive to understand, opinions that contradict your own? What have you recently changed your view on, and why?

3. Brand yourself.

Credibility is priceless in the world of business. And while developing interpersonal relationships will always remain an important piece of your personal brand, it’s the effective transferal of that brand into the digital space that can differentiate you from your peers.

Besides giving many people the ability to gauge your credibility without your being there, the process of building your brand online is packed with learnings that propagate the skills many corporates are hungry for.

If you know how to represent yourself professionally online, you’ll be able to add additional value to the corporate that you work for.

4. Think big(ger).

We toyed with calling this tip “Develop problem-solving skills”. But because the challenges facing today’s companies are becoming ever more complex, being able to see the bigger picture, and put things in context, is now a skill that all employers treasure.

Practically, this comes down to understanding the broader purpose that is served by your efforts, and by the application of your skills. Instead of head down, you really need to keep your head up. Cultivate a habit of being curious about the way things work and why things are done the way they are, so that when an opportunity to affect positive change presents itself, you’re able to recognise and act on it.

5. Find the right partner.

So, let’s say you’re super-talented. And let’s say you already have the softer skills we’ve alluded to. But a key differentiator is partnering with the people who know the hiring managers of the global audit firms you want to work for.

We’re SAPRO; nice to meet you.

We partner with the best South African accounting talent, like you; helping you to navigate what can be a difficult and stressful hunt for international secondment opportunities and matching you with the right companies, at the right time. All you need to do? Put your best foot forward.

6. Get camera-comfy.

Digital video interactions are the new normal and if you want to be employed by an international auditing firm, the video interview is a hurdle you must clear.

Unfortunately, presenting well over the likes of Zoom is not something that comes naturally to most of us. We have to work at it. (Yes, this is another example of the always-learning attitude we mentioned earlier.)

If you’ve read up on the basics of how to use VC platforms properly – camera level, lighting, background objects, connectivity – you’ll have minimised the chances of giving a poor first (and maybe last!) impression. Because it’s not easy, you’ll stand out if you do it well.

7. Be cross-culturally sensitive.

You aspire to work for global accounting firms. This means you’ll be working with people who come from backgrounds different to your own.

To be effective in such an environment, you need to humbly question what constitutes appropriate or diplomatic behaviour.

Learn to listen intently and to ask questions before imposing yourself. Not only will this make you a more valuable team member, but it’ll also see you build relationships that will improve your experience and amplify your personal development.

8. Converse powerfully.

In the accounting world, as with many technical or service-based professions, your ability to have meaningful, impactful conversations is key to showcasing your technical prowess. In other words, your success can be hamstrung by an inability to converse effectively with coworkers and stakeholders, even though you’re brilliant with numbers.

By exploring and developing skills that’ll help you become more influential in face-to-face settings (try David Carnegie), you’ll find that your technical skills garner more attention.

9. Know what matters.

Don’t rattle off a list of values like integrity, empathy, and conscientiousness. Spend some time reflecting on why you do the things you do, what drives and motivates you, and how you want to live your life.

You need not have everything figured out. And it’s OK if your compass is a little obscure – indeed, authenticity is more important than certainty. But work to demonstrate to companies that you care about your journey; it’ll give them comfort that you’ll care about theirs.

We’re here for you: talent@sapro.com