CA Speaker Series

At one point of time, I was so determined that I wanted to pursue the CA designation. Recently, I rather questioned myself a lot. Am I able to do this? Is this really what I want? So I went to this event to seek for my answer.

Kingsley Chen

He told us two stories. The first story was about buying mattresses. He told the sales person he wanted to buy mattresses, but he didn't say how many. So the sales person was recommending him one brand for $799. Later on, Kingsley asked for a deal of 50 mattresses for $300 each. The sales person discussed with the owner and took the offer. The point of this story is that people are the most difficult thing to deal with. I'm not sure if I get this story totally, but it's worth to think about.

The second story was he went to an interview, even though he got there 15 minutes earlier, his interviewer accused him of being late. "Respond. Don't react." are the words Kingsley gave us. The day after that, when I was contacting one of the textbook sellers, we got some misunderstandings. I ended up being angry with him, but then I remembered those words "Respond. Don't react." I calmed myself down before I replied the text message. Thanks for the lesson, Kinsley. : )

Barry MacDonald

He is a partner of PwC, and he is in the recruiting group. Some of the attributes of being a CA is you have the opportunity to go abroad and the flexibility you get. Barry himself had practiced eight years in Hong Kong. As Barry has described, PwC  is a firm that embraces different culture. For example, over half of Barry's colleagues who works on the same floor as he does are Asian. PwC got a significantly diverse culture. Barry also mentioned the culture of supervisors helping novices to succeed in the firm. I believe that when people are generous of helping others, actually help themselves grow at the end. That's how a firm succeed.  

Barry mentioned several things to look out when applying to PwC:

• They are not concerned with your degree. No matter you are an art student, business student or others, it's not so important as other skills. They have the confidence to give you accounting knowledge and build up those skills. 
• GPA? As long as your GPA is above 3.1, it should be fine. 
• What makes you different? Recruiters are looking for curiosity, passion, confidence and authenticity.  
• At the end of the interview, ask questions that shows you have done some research, or you can refer back from the events what the recruiter had said about himself/herself or the firm. It shows that you were paying careful attention to what have been said.  
• Transferable skills from your experience. Sports shows your teamwork skills; music background shows the discipline; volunteering might show how well you can put up an event. Never underestimate the experience of working in a retail store or a restaurant. Those part-time jobs offer you the opportunities to work with people and deal with customers. 

Peter Kingsten 

• Networking! This is not a new concept to me anymore, but it's still intimidating. Vancouver is a small place. You never know what connections you made will help you in the future.  
• Grab opportunities to learn and grow. Sometimes when you are going straight line towards something, you might miss out other chances to learn, and you never know what surprises you'll get if you never take the chance. 
• Keep learning. Peter himself is a CA, but he has the certifications of realtor and CFP. I love the idea of keep learning even if you have already reached your goal. 
• Seek mentors. 
• Build and maintain your personal brand. I don't know if it's because I don't have much work experience, I can't quite understand how I can build my personal brand...

Q&A

1. How to build rapport? You have to show you are genuine and basically get people to like you. If they don't like you, it's not possible to have further relationship. Be known for delivery is crucial. Keep your promise and gain their trust. 
2. How to deal with stress? Face the issue. If a customer is not happy with your service, ask them why. By understanding the root of the problem helps you decide what to do next.