(taken from the
Jan/Feb 2007 issue of On Balance magazine)
Meeting of the Minds
Relationships Matter
By David Thome
Hiring people for entry-level accounting
positions and neurobiology don’t have a lot in common, but
neurobiology can shed light on what new employees and their
employers have in common.
In his book, Social Intelligence,
psychologist Daniel Goleman describes the mirror effect that
occurs in brain activity when two people’s minds connect.
Goleman told National Public Radio that technical competence
is important, but "what distinguishes stars from average
(employees) is how they manage themselves and handle
relationships. Businesses are starting to put a premium on
employees with social intelligence, people who will be good
with clients, who will be good on a team, who will be good
leaders."
What brain scientists are discovering
empirically now many have known intuitively for years:
Companies and employees mesh when their values and goals match
up. That’s why parties on both sides of an interview should
keep a few questions in mind. Questions like: tax or audit?
Bustling city or quiet town? Buttoned down or party on?
"We look at every applicant’s resume, of
course, but we also look at whether they’ll fit in," said
Dave
Rupp, CPA,
in-charge accountant at Smith & Gesteland in Middleton. "We
have a lot of outgoing personalities here and we plan social
activities, like softball and volleyball, to build
camaraderie. So we consider someone’s college grade-point
average, and also whether they’re involved in activities or
serve on student committees."
Ashlee Jenkins
said "volleyball team" wasn’t on the checklist of
must-haves in an employer, but the fact that Smith & Gesteland
had one didn’t hurt her opinion of the firm. "They brought it
up in my interview," the recent Edgewood College graduate
said. "I interviewed with four firms, but the culture at S&G
just seemed right. Everyone was friendly and helpful, and it
was obvious that they weren’t over-the-top about dress code
and hours."
The opportunity to register a monster spike
wasn’t all Jenkins had on her mind, though: She realized she’d
have little opportunity for career advancement if she stayed
at the company where she interned. "There were only two people
in my department, and I wasn’t really doing what I wanted to
do," Jenkins said. "A friend of mine worked at S&G and from
what she said, it sounded like a place I wanted to be."
Things clicked when Jenkins interviewed with
representatives of the firm on campus—especially when she
mentioned she’d like to work toward being a partner. "They
were very supportive of that," she said.
While Jenkins did not intern at Smith &
Gesteland, many firms find internships useful in identifying
future entry-level hires. That’s how Virchow, Krause & Co.
found Elijah Watt Sells Award winner
Peter
Wick. "An
internship gives the firm and a prospective employee four
months to determine if the fit is right. Everyone makes an
informed decision when it’s time to decide on a full-time
offer," said
Kevin
Loomans, CPA,
partner-in-charge of Virchow Krause’s Appleton office.
Wick, who managed a grocery store while
working his way through accounting at the University of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh, said he was looking for a full-time
position when Virchow, Krause offered him an internship. He
accepted because the internship would give him experience in
tax and audit.
"One firm wanted me to choose between going
the tax route or the audit route upfront, but right out of
college, you have no idea," said Wick, who recorded one of the
top 10 scores in the nation on his CPA Exam last year. "I was
leaning toward audit, but after I got some exposure to it at
VK, I knew it was exactly what I did not want to do."
He said he found tax challenging and, before
the internship was half completed, he knew Virchow, Krause was
exactly where he wanted to work. Not that he was surprised: A
30-minute interview and an office visit in which he met
several employees already had him feeling good about the
position. Said the Neenah native, "I wanted to work at a firm
that had a large presence in that area, that had a reputation
for honesty and ethical behavior, and where I’d be comfortable
for the long term."
Those desires meshed nicely with Virchow,
Krause’s values, Loomans said: "We knew Peter had technical
ability, but he really impressed us with his interpersonal
skills during the interview. We need people who can help
clients and the community at large understand highly technical
issues. During the interview, I ask candidates to tell me
about themselves so I can see if they have the interpersonal
skills to be successful in public accounting, if they’re
passionate about their career, and find out about other areas
that interest them."
Is it possible to say "passionate" and
"accounting" in the same breath?
Keith
McAlister, CPA,
internal audit manager for Harley-Davidson thought he saw a
passion for accounting in
Maria
Juarez
when she was still in high school and both were involved in
the National Association of Black Accountants.
"We get a lot of people who say they wouldn’t
mind working at Harley," McAlister said, "but the question is
whether they want to work in internal audit in a corporate
setting. It’s not something that’s usually taught in college."
Juarez said she didn’t know the answer until
she interned at the Milwaukee manufacturing firm. "I
interviewed at other companies, but most of them had positions
I wasn’t interested in," said Juarez, a recent Alverno College
graduate who moved into a full-time position at the beginning
of 2007. "During my internship, I found out I liked internal
audit and the culture and people at Harley."
McAlister said that in addition to her
excellent academic credentials, Juarez had demonstrated the
ability to work on projects with other people. This brings us
back to neurobiology.
Goleman points out in Social Intelligence
that most of the "mirroring" our brains do when we’re engaged
with other people happens unconsciously. So, it’s possible
that entry-level job applicants know more than they think they
know when they leave an interview feeling that a position is
right. Likewise, managers going with gut feelings may be
acting more wisely than even they would concede. On the other
hand, these decisions don’t have to be left to chance if
interviewees and the people who hire them ask the right
questions.
And, hey, you don’t have to be a brain
scientist. Just be attentive and prepared.
Dave Thome
is a feature writer at Emerald Isle Marketing Public Relations
in New Berlin. He can be reached at dave@emeraldislepr.com or
(262) 780-0841.
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