Four Tips for Working Parents

Jennifer Whaley, CPA

Working full-time and being a full-time parent can be challenging, especially if you have a career in public accounting and you are in the middle of tax season. It may be difficult to divide time between work and family. Having to juggle responsibilities at work and at home may become stressful. Being a full-time CPA and full-time mother of two under two, I am very familiar with these challenges. However, there are several tips working parents can apply to help balance a professional career and parenthood.

1. Obtain support from friends and family

After returning to work eight weeks after the birth of my first child, I had mixed feelings. I was excited to jump back into my career but sad that I wouldn’t be spending as much time with my little girl. There were even times when I felt guilty about returning to work. Learning to lean on my husband, friends and family for support helped tremendously. I was able to discuss my thoughts and feelings with friends and coworkers who had been in my shoes and were able to offer advice. Knowing I was not alone and that there were others who had similar experiences was encouraging.  

2. Get organized

Keep an up-to-date calendar to help you plan, prioritize your responsibilities and manage your time wisely. Also, getting ready to leave for work in the morning is much more of a challenge when you have children to get ready as well. I found that planning for the next day the night before made things less stressful in the morning. Small things such as laying out my daughter’s clothes and packing her lunch the night before helped me not to be rushed the next morning.

3. Accept that there will be good days and not-so-good days

I am a planner. I love a plan. I need a plan. However, sometimes plans must change. Waking up to a child with a fever, or getting a call from the daycare center telling you your child is sick can quickly change the day’s agenda. There will be things that happen that are out of your control. That is a part of life and pertains to anyone whether you are a parent or not. For planners like myself, learning to be flexible is key to maintaining your sanity and coping with days that don’t go as well as others.

4. Talk to your employer

It is important to communicate your needs and concerns with your employer. You may be surprised to learn how understanding and flexible your employer may be regarding your specific situation. Some workplaces allow you to work from home when the need arises. Overnight travel may be reduced or eliminated based on your needs. Hours may be adjusted to match your schedule.

These are just four things that worked for me. We all live life differently, and as such will need to approach each situation differently. For some, trying to be a parent and a full-time professional is not an option. I love my family and I love my career. Thanks to the love and support I have received from my family and friends, I have been able to find the balance between the two.


About the Author
Jennifer Whaley, CPA, is an auditor at Brown Edwards & Company, LLP in Kingsport and a member of TSCPA's Young CPA Workgroup.

What Do You Look Forward To?

by David Jensen, CPA

Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC

For those of us in public accounting, busy season is right around the corner. While this time is rewarding in many ways, eventually the long hours can become overwhelming. In my experience, the best way to keep a positive attitude during this stressful time is to have fun activities planned. Having something to look forward to can be a big help in getting you through a long day, week or month. Here are three activities that help keep me going during busy season.

Daily
Last busy season, a couple of coworkers and I got together at 6:00 p.m. every day to do push-ups. We started with one and added an additional push-up every day, so that by April 15 we reached 100 total. It was a quick and fun team-building activity that was also goal-oriented. If push-ups aren’t your thing, take a walk around your office with some coworkers. Having a little something to look forward to on a daily basis can be a big stress reliever. The key is to find something that is quick, so that sticking with it doesn’t become a burden.

Weekly
I also wanted to create something that accomplished more than a quick daily tension relief, so I started a weekly running club within the firm. We meet once a week, running a one-mile loop starting and ending at our office. Participants can do as many loops as they like, but usually we are all done after 30 minutes of exercise. Last year, about 20 percent of the office participated. We even created a leaderboard where we competed for the fastest lap time.

Monthly
The staff in my office gets together after work once a month. Usually we go to dinner or find a happy hour near the office where we can unwind. The first time we played trivia together we won. There aren’t too many adrenaline rushes in public accounting, so the high we felt after that win stuck with us for days. We haven’t come close to winning again, but we still talk about that night as our greatest collective achievement. Finding a couple of hours to relax and vent some frustrations can really go a long way to preserve the sanity of the entire office.

Each of these activities have a few things in common. First, they don't require a big time commitment, which is key because there isn’t much time to spare. Second, they are scheduled ahead of time, so that they can be something to look forward. Third, they involve coworkers who can help keep you accountable; it is much harder to work through a scheduled event if you know that other people expect you to join. Getting other people involved builds camaraderie and a support system that only those in this industry can understand.

Before busy season begins, schedule a few fun activities and invite your coworkers to take part. The key is to focus on activities that will keep your spirits up and enable you to have a positive attitude.

The Most Important Words in the Real World

By Blake Clauben, TSCPA Student Ambassador at Rhodes College, Memphis, Tenn.

For a rising senior, very few things are more daunting than the thought of finding a job upon graduating. As a collegiate baseball player with hopes of making it to the next level, I spent my summers playing in the Collegiate League to showcase my abilities to scouts. Therefore, I knew I was a little behind in terms of recruitment for the Big 4 Accounting firms, as several of my friends had utilized their summers working in the field which would aid them in securing an internship upon graduation. 

Instead, my route towards finding a job began by talking with alumni at our annual Meet the Firms program. They introduced me to several managers and partners of their respective firms. I made several contacts, and received many business cards, learning a lot about the different firms. But the greatest lesson I learned in regard to success with my job search came from my accounting teacher- "Say thank you!" 

Sending a thank you for a gift is something I have been doing for years, but writing a thank you for meeting someone was new to me. However, I soon realized that this type of etiquette was far more important than I first understood. 

As overwhelming as that night was for me and as many people as I met, the accounting executives met far more. I discussed my career as a baseball player and as a private pilot- in hopes that something I did or said would make me stand out.

But knowing that they had just met a great number of qualified applicants, I needed some way to reinforce the impression j made.  I used my thank you as an additional way to remind them who I was and what I could offer their firm. Included with the typical "It was nice to meet you." I also reminded them of our brief discussions of baseball, or flying, or my home state of Texas." I definitely feel this helped some of the recruiters remember me and peaked their interested in me further, leading to some follow up interviews. Those interviews were in turn followed up by additional thank you notes, each becoming even more personal until a closer connection began to form. 

I was very fortunate to be offered an internship, and now a job with Ernst and Young. I definitely think the thank you notes helped remind some of the recruiters about me and lead to this great opportunity. So while a high GPA and a lot of experience is what attracts the Big 4, I also believe that I made it to where I am today all because of the 3 words my college accounting professor reinforced:  Say thank you! Because not only are you being polite, but it definitely gives you the opportunity to say much, much more.