Switching Jobs Before You Become a CMA

In one of my previous job positions part of my responsibilities were to interview and hire staff for my finance team (in a large Canadian Organization). Through that experience I have learned a lot about the hiring process, what having a designation can mean, and how to leverage it. I wanted to share a few tips/notes that I have picked up through my experience so that it may help you in your job search (I will be adding more job related posts from time to time if there is interest in them):

Applying for a new job while still a CMA student:

Some people do not apply to jobs requiring a CMA/CA/CGA designation because they are still students of these associations and have not yet attained the designation itself. In reality, I found that even though an employer may state that a designation is required, they may consider a strong candidate if they are not yet designated but are instead in the process of obtaining the designation. Do do not shy away from a role that you feel is a good fit for you, just because it asks for a designation.

What to write in you resume:

Even if you have not yet obtained a designation, make sure to include in your resume (as a focal point!) that you are in the process of obtaining the designation. Include the estimated date of when you expect to become a CMA. I found this to be a strong statement about a candidate and even as a student, it may help you stand out and will speak a lot about your character and ambitions.  

However, do not just simply write CMA if you have not yet obtained the designation. This is misleading and if I would have invited someone for an interview and they would then 'clarify' that they are still a student, it would be a deal breaker for me.

Interview

In the interview they will likely ask you to describe examples for various scenarios/situations or to give example of when and how you have used certain concepts or tools. If they ask you to talk about your experience with a tool/concept that you have not used at work but came across in the CMA process, it can be helpful to draw on that and use that as your example (i.e. if you are asked about your experience analyzing large projects, you can discuss the NPV, cost benefit analysis, etc. that you do regularly for complex business cases as part of your CMA SLP) Real work experience and examples would be better but don't forget that the experience you gain through completing the designation is also valuable.

How Much Money To Ask For

This is the million dollar question. You will be a CMA soon and want to earn a salary as one, but you have to keep in mind that you are still a CMA student, not yet a CMA. In my experience it is important to research the appropriate range of salaries to avoid low balling or over shooting, both of which I found to be huge turn offs from candidates. If I saw a candidate low balling a salary, it made me wonder what was wrong with them. If they were asking for too much, I would think that they are either over qualified or just full of themselves. Either way, there would be no interview. Know your worth, and ask for an appropriate amount. Do not be scared to ask for what you are as long as you are realistic. Just because you obtained or are in the process of obtaining a CMA designation, it does not mean that you can now start applying for Management roles at top salaries - it is generally a combination of your experience with your education.

I hope you find this helpful. Let me know what questions you have and I will reply in the comments or write another post.

CM

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Notes on Non For Profits (NFP)

When I was in the SLP program we were thrown a Non For Profit (NFP) practice case and it threw everyone off. We all thought 'Non for profit - I guess that means that its not about financial performance but rather about the qualitative aspects instead' - we thought wrong. We had a discussion with out moderators about doing a case on NFP vs a regular for profit (FP) company and it turns out that we should be approaching both in the same way essentially.

Should you calculate NPV, pro-forma, ratios, etc.? Yes!

Why? -- Because any company, whether for profit or not, needs money in order to continue operations. A non for profit will not be much use to the community if it has no funds to operate and has to close its doors. Also, a NFP needs money not only to maintain operations but also to expand and do more projects. That is why financials for a NFP are very important. Hence, you will still need to do a financial analysis and calculate NPV, pro-forma, etc. for a NFP company.

Just like with FP companies, you will look at both quantitative as well as qualitative aspect to decide on which alternative should be pursued. One thing to remember is that part of a FP company's mandate is to maximize/increase profitability, however a NFP company would not likely have this as the mandate, however they still need to be profitable to keep operating and to expand.

Good Luck and a Note on SLP Year 2 & The Board Report

With the exam coming up tomorrow I wanted to wish everyone Good Luck! I hope that sharing what I learned through my experience will help you pass the exam. Don't stress, just take a deep breath and do your best (and get plenty of sleep tonight!)

Good Luck to all the readers of this Blog!

A quick note on SLP Year 2 and the Board Report:

I will be expanding this blog to include posts relating to year 2 of the SLP, the Board Report and the Presentation. I will share my personal experience and will include posts on what I learned through this experience.

There will also be a section in the forum (already created) for discussing approaches/format/strategy/etc. for writing and presenting the board report as well as the group cases. (you should not discuss actual case details).

Bookmark or follow this blog so that you remember to check out the information for year 2 of the SLP once it is up.

Thank you and Good Luck!

CM