And the Earlier, the Better
Accounting professionals early in their careers are used to hearing advice about everything from earning the CPA credential to expanding their skills to gaining exposure to different industries and company sizes.
Talk to someone who has spent decades in corporate accounting, built teams, and navigated organizational change, and they’ll tell you there’s something else that matters just as much…and it doesn’t show up on a resume. It’s the relationships you build with colleagues, bosses, mentors, and people in other departments over the arc of your career.
The Value of Your Network
Many senior accounting professionals attest to the importance of a strong network. Opportunities have come their way through personal connections and referrals—especially for senior-level roles like director, controller, VP of finance and CFO. The more specialized the position, the more likely it is that a trusted person in a hiring manager’s network gets the call before a job posting goes live.
This supports what we at TGRP Solutions believe too: maintaining a relationship with a recruiter you trust throughout your career is a smart thing to do.
A good recruiting firm is an extension of your network. The right firm has recruiters who have spent years building genuine relationships with companies and candidates. When the time comes, a recruiter is the warm connection that can facilitate an introduction that a cold application never could. That’s true whether you’re a candidate seeking your next great opportunity or a hiring manager who wants to meet candidates with the background, skills, and personality that align with your needs and culture.
The opportunity cost of not investing in relationships compounds over years, until you need a door to open and realize you haven’t kept up with the people who could open it.
The Career Lessons that Last the Longest
Last fall, Nicki Orr joined TGRP Solutions as our director of consulting. She leads TGRP’s team of consulting professionals, who work with private and public companies across Denver. Her focus is ensuring the right consultants are matched with the right clients and ensuring that both sides feel supported throughout the engagement.
Previously, Nicki spent 26 years with First Data Corporation (which spun off Western Union as a separate public company during her tenure). There, she moved up the ranks from accounting manager to director of accounting. Over the years, she led accounting teams through periods of intense growth and change and hired and developed many accounting professionals.
For Nicki, building relationships was never a deliberate tactic. It happened organically, driven by her genuine interest in people and how things worked at Western Union. “I always asked a lot of questions, and I was willing to take on whatever challenge or project came my way,” Nicki says.
She also liked getting to know people, both in and outside of the accounting department. “Whether we were in meetings together, saying hello in the hallways, or I was on conference calls with colleagues in different states or around the world, I enjoyed talking to the people behind the work.”
That curiosity about others and the broader business led to a variety of opportunities throughout Nicki’s Western Union career. And years later, it was a longtime relationship that led her to TGRP. “I was a client of TGRP for many years, and I was excited to join the company in a ‘people management’ role,” she says. “Mark truly cares so much about the people here and TGRP’s clients. That has set the tone for a great work environment.”
The Curiosity-Relationship Connection
TGRP’s team of full-time consultants fulfill clients’ short-term or project-based needs. The consulting team has a range of skills, experiences, and strengths, but curiosity is the trait they all have in common.
“The professionals who can succeed at any company are genuinely interested in different companies and think critically about everything they do,” Nicki says. “They don’t just accept things as they are. They look for opportunities for improvement, and they also do a good job communicating their ideas and findings in a professional, constructive way.”
Research supports Nicki’s experience. A study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that curiosity predicts strong job performance, even after controlling for personality traits and cognitive ability. Another study from Harvard Business School found that curious employees think more deeply and rationally about decisions, generate more creative solutions, and collaborate more effectively. In other words, this type of employee (or consultant) is more interested in understanding others’ perspectives than defending their own.
“Our clients appreciate working with consultants who can talk with anyone, approach conversations the right way, and figure things out quickly,” she says. “The technical skills might get you in the room. But everything else determines whether you stay.”
Advice for Early-Career and Experienced Professionals Alike
Whether you’re thinking about your next move, considering consulting, or you’re happy where you are right now, the relationships you’re building matter more than you think. And they’ll matter for longer than you expect.
Here are a few things we’d encourage every accounting and finance professional to keep in mind:
Stay in touch with people.
The colleague from a former job. The manager who advocated for you two companies ago. The person in operations or IT you got to know because you were interested in what they were working on. These connections don’t always lead somewhere obvious or quickly, but over the course of a career, they are often helpful in unexpected ways. Don’t let them quietly lapse.
Relationships are not a one-way street.
The best professional relationships are built on reciprocity, not just reaching out when you need something. When a mentor you’ve leaned on for advice calls you up to tell you they’re making a career change, ask how you can help. When a former coworker lands somewhere new, send them a congratulations or invite them to meet up for lunch to hear about it. The people who are known for showing up for others are the same people that others show up for.
Stay curious and adaptable.
Separate but related: the professionals who immediately come to mind for a new opportunity, a big project, or a consulting engagement are almost always the ones who ask thoughtful questions and embrace new challenges. They make the people around them feel like their perspectives matter, and they take pride in their work. Those qualities earn people’s trust, and trust is what creates relationships that can shape your career.
At TGRP Solutions, we are committed to the professionals we work with, both clients and candidates. Relationships aren’t a strategy. They’re just how we operate. We want to be a resource for insights, introductions, and honest conversations about the Denver market and accounting industry, before and after a specific opportunity comes up.
