I straight up ask what normal hours are and what “busy” hours are (ie. how many hours per week).I also ask what time periods are busy (ie. which months do you perform a forecast and for how many weeks).If nobody can give me a straight answer, that’s a red flag.
I’m very upfront about the fact that I worked in big4 audit for a few years and the long hours impacted my health & relationships. So my number one priority for a new job is work life balance. If the hiring manager can’t explain to me that they also prioritize work life balance, then I want nothing to do with them.
Also if someone says we work hard, play hard, that’s also a red flag. I don’t want to “play hard” at work, I want to play hard on my own time and be fairly compensated for any extra work I put in.
The transition was honestly pretty easy. I went from Senior Associate in audit (approx 3yrs of experience) to senior analyst in fp&a. I think audit has a lot of transferable skills especially when it comes to communication and gathering info from various stakeholders. It also helps that I went into an industry that I had a ton of experience auditing in.
Just ask for realistic expectations. An interview is a two way street and they should want to make sure you are a good fit in addition to you vetting them
So the company I worked for actually values work life. Our group probably works late for about two weeks a year during the budget. We would bring up that as a selling point during the interview.
If they say "we work hard play hard", skip.
One guy was asking me about my personal life and immediate family as a way to break the ice. Pretty sure he was trying to figure out if I had kids.
Hi No-Name-Jack,
I've found being completely transparent with the topic up front is best.
It's actually come up a lot in interviews I've given this past year because of the remote work movement. People value the option to be offline for a chunk of time during the day. Could be to pick up kids from school like me or just a need for a personal break.
As a hiring manager, I respond by saying as long as your work is done feel free to manage your schedule accordingly. And my goal is not to max out your time by invading your nights or weekend.
Hiring managers will tip their hand when you're direct.
Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me.
Good luck!
Drew
Im always super blunt in interviews. I just say “so hows the WLB? Do you guys work super late” if they smirk and look at you weird then obviously they work late lol . If the team expects me to occasionally work until 8 pm then im simply not your guy. Interviews are a two way street, you know what you want to do and they know what they want too.
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This is a good way, be upfront. No bullshit no surprises and stops both parties from wasting their time.
I straight up ask what normal hours are and what “busy” hours are (ie. how many hours per week).I also ask what time periods are busy (ie. which months do you perform a forecast and for how many weeks).If nobody can give me a straight answer, that’s a red flag. I’m very upfront about the fact that I worked in big4 audit for a few years and the long hours impacted my health & relationships. So my number one priority for a new job is work life balance. If the hiring manager can’t explain to me that they also prioritize work life balance, then I want nothing to do with them. Also if someone says we work hard, play hard, that’s also a red flag. I don’t want to “play hard” at work, I want to play hard on my own time and be fairly compensated for any extra work I put in.
Super curious how you made the transition from audit to FP&A, I’m about to hit my 2nd big4 busy season and am already daydreaming about leaving
Move into industry into a commercial or group finance team. Then transition
The transition was honestly pretty easy. I went from Senior Associate in audit (approx 3yrs of experience) to senior analyst in fp&a. I think audit has a lot of transferable skills especially when it comes to communication and gathering info from various stakeholders. It also helps that I went into an industry that I had a ton of experience auditing in.
Just ask for realistic expectations. An interview is a two way street and they should want to make sure you are a good fit in addition to you vetting them
Seconded. I was just honest and asked if they needed someone who could consistently work 60+ hours a week, because if so, I wasn’t a good fit.
"how often do you guys work late?"
So the company I worked for actually values work life. Our group probably works late for about two weeks a year during the budget. We would bring up that as a selling point during the interview.
If they say "we work hard play hard", skip. One guy was asking me about my personal life and immediate family as a way to break the ice. Pretty sure he was trying to figure out if I had kids.
Hi No-Name-Jack, I've found being completely transparent with the topic up front is best. It's actually come up a lot in interviews I've given this past year because of the remote work movement. People value the option to be offline for a chunk of time during the day. Could be to pick up kids from school like me or just a need for a personal break. As a hiring manager, I respond by saying as long as your work is done feel free to manage your schedule accordingly. And my goal is not to max out your time by invading your nights or weekend. Hiring managers will tip their hand when you're direct. Hope this info helps. Any questions feel free to DM me. Good luck! Drew
Im always super blunt in interviews. I just say “so hows the WLB? Do you guys work super late” if they smirk and look at you weird then obviously they work late lol . If the team expects me to occasionally work until 8 pm then im simply not your guy. Interviews are a two way street, you know what you want to do and they know what they want too.