How to network your way to a dream job

Garreth Hanley:
This is INTHEBLACK, a leadership, strategy, and business podcast, brought to you by CPA Australia.

Jacqueline Blondell:
Hello, I'm Jacqueline Blondell, and welcome to another episode of INTHEBLACK Career Hacks. In this series, we bring you the latest strategies and tips to help you supercharge your career. Today we're speaking with Aditya Goel CPA, a business service accountant with Bluebird Accounting in Melbourne. Aditya moved to Melbourne from India in May 2023, but despite having qualifications in both accounting and law, and more than a decade of professional experience, he had to take a rather unusual path to finding employment. Welcome, Aditya.

Aditya Goel CPA:
Hi, Jackie. It's a pleasure to meet you.

Jacqueline Blondell:
Lovely to meet you too. Could you please tell us a bit about your career path before you moved to Australia?

Aditya Goel CPA:
Certainly. I'll start off with a very interesting fact. I have actually been an accountant longer than I have been an adult.

Jacqueline Blondell:
Oh my goodness. You were a child accountant?

Aditya Goel CPA:
So I started off as a junior accountant. I was doing the most basic of tasks. After that I joined Deloitte as an auditor, and I learned a lot at Deloitte, but I think one of the things I learned was, I do not enjoy audit as much, and honestly, life is too short to do something you don't absolutely love. Thereafter, I joined Yogesh & Jain. I was a manager there, handling a tool profile of both auditing and taxation. I had an audit season. I was managing audits of nationalised banks and listed entities, and then I had a taxation profile in which I had to slowly grow the clientele. I was promoted to partner after approximately four years. I had built a sizeable clientele there and I spent 1.5 years as a partner in that firm. But towards the end of it, I started phasing a move to Australia as the COVID lockdown in Melbourne, which was amongst the longest in the world, made me realise that I really wanted to be close to my mother who lives in Melbourne.

Jacqueline Blondell:
Then you had a bit of problem finding work despite this stellar career. So tell us, how did you land the job at Bluebird? I understand it all came down to some serious networking?

Aditya Goel CPA:
Well, you would not believe it, but my very first interaction with my then future boss was over a pint of beer. I was facing problems which every migrant faces when they move to Australia, local experience. I gave interviews. A lot of people liked me, but they all end up saying, "We want you to have local experience." I tried the traditional way, applying on LinkedIn, Seek, emailing HRs, but again, the same answer, "We love you. You'll be a really good fit, but you don't have local experience." And I remember it was the CPA AGM. I attended that AGM and I was very nervous, but when the floor was open, the board was taking questions from members. I put my hand up and I asked the board, "I am a migrant. I'm a CPM member. I'm a CA from India. I have experience. What tools does CPA Australia offer to migrants like me so that we can integrate into the workforce?"

That raised a small discussion, but the real, as I say, networking, happened after the event. So many people came up to me, introduced themselves, asked to know about me and my experience and what I was looking for, what problems I was facing. I met people who I would probably never get a chance to meet there. One key person who I met was Richard Ferrier, who said, "You know what? You're a bright young man. Why don't you attend the public practice retreat?" And I thought, "Hey, I've worked in public practice all my life. I want to work in public practice because I have a passion for it. Maybe I should be in the place where all the public practices work in Victoria will be."

That's basically how I end up landing this job. It was a CGT masterclass by Mark Morris. The masterclass had gotten over. I have walked over to Mark, and again, I was very nervous because the second you talk to Mark, you will know that you're talking to one of the legends of taxation. I asked him a few questions about CGT's small business rollover provisions. I drew up a small case scenario on a piece of napkin, which I found there on the table, and apparently that must have impressed him a bit because the very next night, Julian, my future boss, came up to me and said hi while all of us CPAs were having a drink. Turns out, Mark does the tax trainings for the firm where I'm working at, and again, that's the power of networking. It just happens.

Jacqueline Blondell:
Why did you decide to attend the AGM? You'd be a relatively new member at the time. Did you have networking in mind when you made that decision?

Aditya Goel CPA:
It was part of it, but I certainly believe, if you are in this profession, you have to be around professionals. That's how you get that advantages, the know-hows. Even if you don't really get your objective of, let's say, getting a job, you will have taken something of value.

Jacqueline Blondell:
You said were quite nervous, and I can understand that because I'm the world's worst networker, approaching all these different people. And that's not unusual. Most of us do find network networking daunting. What advice would you offer to others looking to network their way into a job in a similar way to you have done?

Aditya Goel CPA:
I think one of the most important things, and this is something I've recently learned, a lot of people associate a very negative connotation and dread to networking. The minute you talk about networking, they sound like, "Oh, we have to be frigid, shrewd, aiming at an objective." But to be honest, networking is very similar to life. Do you remember the first day at school?

Jacqueline Blondell:
Yeah.

Aditya Goel CPA:
Going up and saying hi to people and making friends? All the mates I've made in my life have been while I've been playing soccer. You have a mutual interest, you make friends in it. You like accounting... Well, I hope you like it. Somebody else likes accounting and you have a big common ground. Well, if you break it down to its essential, it's simply finding people who you vibe with who work in a profession. There's literally nothing more to networking.

Jacqueline Blondell:
So it's the commonalities that should make it easier to be able to strike up conversations with pure strangers. So that's what you found worked for you well?

Aditya Goel CPA:
It was certainly part of it. My personality is a bit of an extrovert. I love finding people to talk to. I love hearing about people and their experiences, and I also like talking. I think it's just easy if you relax and you don't think too much about it. If you make it a big deal in your head that you're actually there to network, it sounds a lot more daunting. But if you just relax and think, "Hey, I'm here to have a good time." If I see somebody and I try to have a conversation with them, it might work out or it might not. The more we build it up in our head, the more daunting it gets.

Jacqueline Blondell:
That's a very good attitude to take. Are there any other personal qualities? You say you're an extrovert, and a lot of people aren't. A lot of people can be very shy. Are there other qualities that they could hone to help them network in a similar way to you?

Aditya Goel CPA:
I think one of the... the one quality which is required is, you could be an introvert or an extrovert, but you need to be open for a chat. If somebody puts that slight bit of effort, you have to be reciprocating it. And that's simply it. Just want to know about the person, show inquisitiveness, have some basic communication skills, that will certainly help, and just let the magic flow.

Jacqueline Blondell:
That's a very good attitude to take. Now, let's go back into your professional past. You worked your way from being a junior accountant to a senior associate with Deloitte, and then your way up as a partner in the other firm, and along the way you also obtained a law degree. Were these career moves serendipitous or did you actually plan out your career?

Aditya Goel CPA:
I wouldn't say that they were serendipitous. There was a certain method to the madness. From the outset, it seems like I was all over the place. And I will be honest, everything did come together at certain times, and at certain times I felt, "Why am I doing this?" But one of the biggest things was, Deloitte made me realise that I don't love auditing. It made me realise that I want to work in tax. I love this challenges, understand the complexity and breaking it down, having to pull a balancing act where you want to serve your client and minimise tax liability, but you also have to adhere to ethics. You also have aspects of public interest. It's a balancing act where you actually have to show your expertise. That love for tax, that wanting-ness to be good at tax was the sole reason I did law. I just thought, maybe I should study law and focus on taxation to actually understand the legislation a lot better.

But certainly, that piece has helped me understand law a lot better. I think one of my newest obsessions is case laws. I am currently attempting Australia Taxation Advanced module of CP Australia because as you can probably see, I love studying tax. And you know how most people at night they read novels, I just study case laws. It's my nightly reading. And I was very lucky to actually do something I didn't like and realise what I did like, and ever since then I just went for it. There was always a general plan. I did not micro plan it, but yeah, there was a wide target which I was moving towards, and thankfully all the things just came together.

Jacqueline Blondell:
We hope you're enjoying INTHEBLACK. If you are interested in the latest news analysis, policy updates, and business insights, you should check out CP Australia's With Interest podcast. Join us as we dive into the news and delve into the business issues of the day. Each week we talk to thought leaders from across the accounting, finance, strategy, economic and business spectrum, and you get their expert opinions. Now back to INTHEBLACK.

Jacqueline Blondell:
So what's next on the career front? How do you plan to future-proof your career?

Aditya Goel CPA:
Well, regarding future-proofing in my career, I think I'm still at a very nascent stage in my Australian career here. One of the first things on my bucket list was to attempt all the Australia taxation modules. I have attempted Australia taxation. Thankfully, I got good marks. That was a great validation of me being able to apply all the experience of almost a decade in an Australian context. I'm currently in the middle of the Australia taxation advanced module. That's regarding the current aspects of my work. And regarding future-proofing my career, I think everyone knows the biggest change which is coming is AI, and that is something I'm certainly going to invest a lot of my time in.

The thing is, a lot of people think AI will replace accountants. I am firmly of the opinion that AI will never replace accountants. You know what will replace accountants? AI trained accountants. The thing is, now accounting is starting to be a lot more of a profession in which you actually have to understand the humans around you rather than the numbers and figures, because understanding the numbers and figures base analysis is very automated. I don't know any accountant in the last five years who's actually made a manual balance sheet, but understanding the balance sheet, understandings its implications with the client's goals and targets, that's where the real value lies.

Jacqueline Blondell:
What advice would you give to others, be they migrants, students or those looking maybe to move into the accounting discipline?

Aditya Goel CPA:
Well, I will break that question down. So especially for migrants, because this is a situation I found myself in. When I came to Australia, before that, I'd been one of the high achievers. I had never heard a “no” in an interview before. I had always gotten what I wanted. And when I came into this new country and I got rejected from interviews, it was a big loss. I was like, "Oh my God, what has happened? Somebody said no to me." That element of rejection, that was a big change. I think that's what I need to explain to a lot of migrants, especially from Asian cultures, understand the culture. I think this beautiful country, one of the best things I've learned here is failure is treated as a learning experience. You have to learn to focus, you have to learn to fail, and you have to learn from it and then get better.

One of the biggest things, again, is the culture. You need to exhibit that you will fit into an office, you will be a team player who can utilise your technical skills, you have a collaborative culture. Nobody wants somebody who sticks out like a sore thumb despite a technical excellence. I think that's a big shock to a migrant who comes here. And again, the focus is always not on your degrees or certifications. I come from India where if you are a chartered accountant, that is considered the be all, end all. I came into a culture where once you are a CPA, sure, it helps you to get your foot into the door, but to seal the deal, you need to have the communication skills, you need to exhibit that you can actually fit into the ethos and you can adapt to the systems. It's about a holistic personality. And again, the entire aim of this podcast? Network.

If you come here as a migrant and you're trying to hide behind a computer and trying to send your resume through LinkedIn, through Seek, you can't show your personality that way. You're a piece of paper. You have to be able to stand out. That's basically addressing towards migrants. These are certainly aspects which I utilised and I still talk to lots of people... I have this certain passion for trying to help migrants especially, because it's a daunting task to move into a new country and feel like you starting again. And these are the same things I tell every migrant professional who's wanting to come here. Regarding students, I think accounting gets a really bad reputation. I don't know why. Some aspects of the job are a slight bit boring, but now the job is mostly about value addition, especially with the advent of offshoring on automation.

Most of the boring and routine jobs are actually done by AI systems, accounting software, or offshored. You are in the midst of a revolution. You are in a position to solve complex problems, give valuable advice and make a name for yourself. Your individual quality can actually stand out. I think this is one of the best times to be an accountant. There's a shortage of good people. Any public practitioner I talk to, they say, "Oh, we want good people. We want good people to work for us. We will reward them." It's a profession where it's documented. There's long-term growth. It's a well-respected profession. I think it's the best time to be an accountant.

Jacqueline Blondell:
Thanks so much for joining us today, Aditya. It was a pleasure to have you with us.

Aditya Goel CPA:
Thank you, Jackie. It was a pleasure talking to you.

Jacqueline Blondell:
And to listeners, thank you for listening to INTHEBLACK Career Hacks. If you're looking for more great career content, please check the show notes for this episode for links to CPS Australia Career Resources. Until next time.

Garreth Hanley:
If you've enjoyed this episode, help others discover INTHEBLACK by leaving us a review and sharing this episode with colleagues, clients, or anyone else interested in leadership, strategy and business. To find out more about our other podcasts, check out the show notes for this episode. And we hope you can join us again next time for another episode of INTHEBLACK.