College Students, Your Future Begins Here

As a second-year associate, I am exposed to many different types of projects, while focusing more on the industries I enjoy working on. With each client, I am always learning something new, which allows me to get a lot of hands-on training. In the fall, we started networking with potential new hires, which helped us develop our social networking skills. Additionally, this year I was able to participate in some parts of the training for the new hires.

In my second year at the firm, I have had multiple opportunities to review work completed by first-year associates. During this review process, I use my personal experiences to provide feedback which allows me to facilitate learning among newer team members. I am also the current facilitator for our monthly supervisor meetings, which gives me experience in more of a leadership role.

In my third year, I take on projects from start to finish and run with them. I feel supported by managers who help guide me when I have questions. Now I am reaching out to clients directly. I’m taking on more responsibilities to help answer software-related questions, and I’m a part of the training committee, where I create team member training materials and schedules.

This year so far is my favorite. Now that I have my CPA license and a little experience in my third year at the firm, I communicate and work with clients personally and learn client relation skills that will translate into the rest of my career. This year, I have more responsibility, such as managing and planning projects without supervision. These opportunities led to learning more about my field and immense professional growth.

Being a new associate at Dean Dorton you get more responsibility than a typical staff accountant elsewhere. You are able to own your future and choose your direction you want to go. You can also be a part in many firm activities and events and are involved in many meaningful initiatives beyond just client work.

There is a lot of hands-on training; team members are more than willing to answer my questions and to walk through examples but also allow me the time to try things out on my own. They help me understand “why.” Each day is different but there are overlaps in the work that allow you to feel comfortable when switching clients.

Dean Dorton has a variety of clients across many different industries which gives you a great foundation of becoming a business advisor. There are very few industries that I haven’t been able to work on in my first few years. There is always something new everyday and the opportunity to learn is tremendous.

In my fourth year, I work on more complex projects and review other people’s work while interacting externally with clients. I am developing my skills through more advanced technical trainings to build on the foundation I built over your first few years. I enjoy the opportunities to increase my impact at the firm through things like recruiting, participating in an industry team, or other committees.