Becoming stuck or 'type casted' in a certain industry
Hello all.
So I’m a CPA looking to expand my career into FP&A. (I currently have a role that does financial reporting and financial analyst work.)
I may have an opportunity to land an FP&A role for a large financial services company (wealth management). Specifically, in their shared services group, not their corporate group.
I do want to get into FP&A, but financial services is not an industry I really care that much for. I’m generally not that interested in the product, service or the industry.
If I were to accept this job to get experience and to stay there a few years, would I effectively brand myself as financial services FP&A only? Or can someone in FP&A move from one industry to another.
What industry are you interested in?
Thanks for the reply,
I not too picky, Financial services just happens to be the one industry I had no interest in.
But, overall, I'd be interested in manufacturing (generally), advertising, entertainment, tech, hospitality, etc.
With your experience, you can definitely get into one of those industries. I’d honestly say that you shouldn’t take the offer if you’re more passionate about some other industry and looking to jump
Why would you apply to an opportunity you are not interested in?
I'm still fairly early in my search and I figured it would be good experience to go on an interview for the type of job I wanted, though it may not be the industry I want.
Worst case scenario, I gain some interview experience. Best case, I actually really like the opportunity and pursue the job.
Just my two cents: Earlier in your career, I don't think people care for (if at all) industry background as much as technical background. If you have a proven track record of applying the technicals, any decent manager should be able to get you up to speed on industry nuance. Technicals aren't going to change across industries, strategy and relative importance will. I work in an F50 company (not FP&A, but I work with the area quite a bit) and see plenty of people hired on from different industries (granted these are analysts/associates that I work with). That being said, though, I'd imagine that the higher up the chain you are, the more you would be expected to know about the industry.
But in the end, unless you absolutely have to take this first offer, I'd say screw it and go straight for the target industry!
Good luck in the job hunt man!
When I was in pharma I thought it was the "best" industry. I've since moved on to industrials and enjoy my role even more. My thinking on industry has evolved to products vs. services. This clearly isn't a technical definition and there are still differences within those buckets, but I'm definitely a products guy. I have gotten calls about great jobs on the Services side and I dont even entertain them because that's not where I want to be.
What I'm hearing you say is that you want to be FP&A for a products company, but you're considering taking a Shared Services role at a services company. I know you say it's FP&A, but shared services is generally thought of as accounting. At face value, that doesn't make sense to me and I'd pass. Since I don't know your background or this position, there are a few other questions I'd ask to prompt your thinking:
There are certainly a few ways to go about things. Just to preface: is shared services similar to intercompany accounting? Perhaps I've just misunderstood the term.
I don't think that the CPA will typecast you in financial reporting or SOX type roles if you are early on in your career. I've seen a few colleagues go from Big 4 to F500 after 2-3 years into various FP&A roles for different industries (e.g., tech, biotech, ITO, pharma, industrials). One thing of note though is that there are many FP&A roles at the junior level that really are similar to accounting, where you are consolidating and putting together various decks much of the time. You get some exposure to forecasting, but it's more FP than A as they say ;P
You can always use the MBA to rebrand, but this should be treated as a nuclear option that you use should you want to access a few industries that require the same like consulting/banking. The CFA may have some marginal impact in fleshing out your story of where you would like to go ("I started off studying for the CPA and beginning at [x accounting firm]. While there I worked on a strategic project that involved financial analysis, and I realized that I wanted to focus on FP&A as a next step. I completed [ ] levels of the CFA and have further bolstered my knowledge. Long term, I'd like to be a well established finance professional in [ ] industry). This is obviously a bit boilerplate, but definitely a defensible move.
Finally, I think networking is always an equalizer. Building and maintaining a strong one of folks from various industries would certainly bolster your case. a CPA to me ensures you have very strong accounting and technical skills. The only gap would be i) industry and ii) whether you can grasp forward thinking analysis, and that's a pretty easily explainable question in all respects.
Hope this was helpful :)
I'd rather have a sister in a wh*rehouse than a brother in FP&A. I think you'll find FP&A isn't what you think it is career wise.
I think you should mind your own business.
Getting "stuck" in an industry as career progresses/ (Originally Posted: 02/15/2011)
WSO members,
Been viewing the forum for some time, but this is my first post (yay for me).
I'm a sophomore at a non-target school, and I figured the best way to "get my foot in the door" at an investment bank was to develop a "niche" skill. By chance or fate, I ended up focusing on the healthcare industry, which, I think, just landed me a summer internship at a boutique bank (with a healthcare focus).
I've heard mixed opinions: Some people think that healthcare is huge, and that I should get a biology major
Others warn me not to get "pigeon-holed" into one industry, and while I believe "knowing a little about a lot of things" ... my question is:
Will having an industry area of expertise give one a competitive advantage when applying to bulge brackets?
Thanks!
I don't have personal experience, but I have PMed with quite a few people discussing a similar topic. Most people will tell you that it is very easy to move around in this industry and to not worry about getting "pigeon-holed". Having expertise will always make you more competitive if you're trying to get into a healthcare group, but will never hurt you if you're trying to get into another.
When you're applying for your SA internship you will only need basic knowledge to be competitive with other candidates. If the bank has a healthcare group and you want to be in it, then great. If not, you will still have that industry-specific knowledge plus the fundamentals (hopefully) that will make you equally competitive for any group.
whats wrong with healthcare, loads of deal activity, companies that actually do interesting stuff and many banks/pe shops have healthcare groups. a combination of some major that is relevant plus internships in healthcare banking wont restrict you to anything.
He simply said he's concerned with not having other opportunities if he wants them, not that he dislikes healthcare. He clearly doesn't, as a sophomore he knew enough to get boutique in a specialization.
Good analogy, and thanks for all the advice! I was considering staying with the niche focus, and your help certainly reaffirmed this belief. Besides, worse care scenario, I have some time ahead of me, even before I graduate.
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