The Office

No, not the tv show, unfortunately. This is the place they put you when you are unassigned. Ultimately, the goal is to have the least amount of people in the office, because that means they are out at clients a.k.a. bringing in revenue for the firm. However, with current market conditions, companies are definitely not spending any money on consultants. They are struggling to make it through the mortgage meltdown and remain a going concern.

For people like me, this means not much to do, or so I thought. When my six month long project wrapped up last Friday, I have to say I was excited to go to the office. I figured I'd get some nice downtime, do a little bit of work and get to study for the CPA exam during the day rather than having no life when I'm not at work. Boy was I wrong. I think I have been more busy in the office and working later than when I was at the client. Because of the interesting turn of events (Bear Stearns bail out, Bank of America/Countrywide merger, etc.) and the continued bottoming out of the market, there is a lot to do to prepare for when things turn around. Once the market recovers, a lot of companies are going to need help becoming operationally sound again.

Meanwhile, I have been busy working on internal initiatives and building relationships with my colleagues in the office. This is a perfect opportunity to work on proposals and learn how to sell work, after all, this is how you make the real money and that's what we all want, isn't it? Well, who knows...that could be for another post.

History Major, Consulting Profession - Does It Work?

Definitely. Believe it or not, many firms in the business world (investment banks, consulting firms, etc.) are looking to hire people that were NOT business majors. For them, it's a different perspective,; someone who doesn't necessarily know how the market is supposed to work, but can think logically and have done well in other disciplines. Honestly, most of what you learn in school doesn't apply in the real world, so anything you will need to do in your job can be taught to you. Thus, the things that are most important when you are trying to get into consulting is your ability to learn quickly, ambition, working hard and keeping up in a fast paced environment.

However, you will likely get the question, why consulting? If you are an English major, firms are going to want to know why you want to do consulting instead of going to grad school, being a writer, etc. Make sure you have a good answer (and don't say you're in it for the money). Although it is true that consultants probably make a pretty penny more than writers starting out. If you don't like to follow the market or have genuine interest in the business world, consulting probably isn't for you, but if you truly think that you will enjoy a career in this field, you should go for it.

The best ways to get your foot in the door are:

1. Apply for all jobs/internships - the more times you try, the better chance you have of getting an offer.
2. Read the Wall Street Journal.
3. Prepare to make your case about why you should get the job over a business major.

If you have any other specific question please comment, I would love to help you out!

The CPA exam is taking over my life...

For some awful reason, I decided to sign up for the CPA exam. Even though it is not mandatory because I do consulting, not accounting, it is encouraged when you work for one of the Big Four. Since I am in consulting and do not need to have a CPA license to sign off on financial statements, I decided to take the exam through Colorado, rather than VA, DC or MD. This way, I don't need 150 credit hours. I was an accounting major in college and have all of the necessary accounting courses and I definitely was not about to go back to school for 6 credits. That's tough while you're working!

What's also tough while your working is studying for the CPA exam. I knew it would be difficult, but my social life has virtually disappeared, especially since I decided to take FARE (the financial accounting section) first. The CPA exam has 4 parts and you can take them at different times. So, you study for one, sit for the exam, hope you pass, then start studying for the next one. Once you pass a section, you have 18 months to pass the other 3 sections. Believe it or not, some people pass 3 and then don't pass/take the 4th part and all 3 of the passing sections expire and you have to take them all again. I DO NOT want that to happen to me.

I decided to do the Becker Self Study program and it worked out great because I could order the materials through my firm and never had to pay a dime out of pocket. They pay for the exam too, but only the first time around. If I fail any sections I have to retake them and pay for them myself...so I'm hoping I don't fail.

Being a CPA looks great for consulting and finance because it means you know how a balance sheet, income statement and statement of cash flows works and how they interact. That knowledge is invaluable when evaluating companies for investments, or for any other reason. If you want more information on taking the CPA exam, go to nasba.org.

The Best and Worst of MS Excel

First of all, I'm sorry this post is a day late. I would have written last night if my Microsoft Excel hadn't crashed about 349127812 times while trying to finish the work that my boss needed before today. I mean, Excel is great at times, but when you start having a lot of calculations, lookups, pivot tables, etc. then the problems start.

I must admit, I am pretty excited that I am finally getting to do some data analysis at work. I know it sounds really nerdy, but I like numbers and after working on business requirements (word documents) for 6 months, this is a nice change. The first week I was completely lost, as I forgot how to do everything in Excel except for the basic calculations (=B5*C5). But with a little help from some coworkers and my boss, I am slowly turning into an Excel ninja (that's what we call people that are really good at Excel). There are a few important points that come out of my new found appreciation for Excel (minus when it quits on me).

• Where I went to school we only had a 1 credit course that met once a week for a semester that went over how to work with data in Excel. For any job in the business world, that is simply not enough. You MUST learn Excel. Take time on your own to play around with vlookups, pivot tables, sumif statements and the like. Trust me, it is worth it.


• If you were not fortunate enough to receive extensive Excel training, don't be afraid to ask for help. There are so many things that you can do so much faster in Excel if you just ask the right person. Usually it only takes them showing it to you once for you to pick up on it. Then you will be able to use the trick all the time in the future. Don't be embarrassed that you don't know how to do something, but don't ask the same question more than once.

Wedding Bells

You know you are officially getting old when your friends are getting married. This weekend I was in Florida for a wedding and it was amazing. Though I am certainly not getting married anytime soon, there are several reasons why going to a wedding is great.

• It's an excuse to take time off from work.
• It's an excuse to turn a destination wedding into a mini-vacation. Stay a few extra days, you might as well, especially if you're in a warm place like Florida.
• Open bar. Enough said there.
• You get to meet a lot of new people, especially if it's a big wedding.
• Most importantly, it's a reunion. I love being around all of my friends since I don't get to see some of them very often. The couple that got married live in Portland, Oregon...that is quite a hike from Washington, DC.

On another note, I'd love to respond to Jenna's comment about what you do when you don't really like your job. It's a tough situation and handling it correctly is imperative to your career. Fortunately, I think I was just having a bad week and things aren't so bad anymore. Then again, I just got back from Florida, so I am in a good mood.

But if you really don't like your job, there are many different approaches you can take.

1. First of all, you have to suck it up for a little bit because you can't just complain whenever you feel like it. It's not professional and you will seem inflexible.
2. Talk to your boss. Be completely honest and give them as much detail as possible about what the problem is and why you are unhappy.
3. Give the situation time to play out. You can't expect for something to happen the next day. Give the people in charge enough time to make something happen that will improve your situation.
4. Find something else to occupy your time. Sign up for the CPA (if you're eligible) or the CFA. It might help to take your mind off of the normal work day activities.
5. If all else fails, look for a new job. I would consider this a last resort unless you have been working somewhere for at least one year (and that's cutting it close).