Accounting + Finance

Welcome back to #WeAreGreenKey, where we shine a spotlight on our powerhouse recruiting team. 

Recently, we caught up with Olivia Eberle, Recruiter on the Accounting and Finance team at Green Key. Olivia started her recruiting career at Green Key about a year ago after she transitioned from a career in public accounting.

Can you share your career journey and how you progressed to your current role?

Sure. After I got my Bachelors in Accounting, I started my accounting career in public audit with a firm that no longer exists and after spending some time there I realized that accounting might not be for me, so I wanted to try a different route. That’s when a recruiter from Green Key reached out to me about an accounting role, which I ended up working in for about 6 months. That role helped me solidify my thought that accounting was not for me, but I still wanted to use my degree. So, I reached out to my recruiter from Green Key to ask about recruiting and now I am here.

What have been some of the most rewarding aspects of your career? 

Even though I had to learn the sales side of the business, there are a lot of rewarding aspects to my career. Firstly, I love being able to help candidates who are looking to change not just their career or role but their lifestyle. I love that I can help them take their careers to another level and I can successfully place them in a role that will help them reach whatever goal they want to achieve. Another rewarding aspect is the fact that I can be my authentic self in this job. It’s very nice to be able to work in a role where I can express my personality and connect with people every day.

How do you balance the use of AI technologies with traditional recruitment methods in accounting and finance, ensuring a human-centric approach while leveraging the benefits of automation and data-driven insights?

I use ChatGPT almost every day for a couple in a couple of different ways specifically for searches and when I am recruiting for a new role. I also use LinkedIn recruiter’s AI tools that are really helpful when it comes to building searches, so I use those and then I also go back to ChatGPT. I use ChatGPT sometimes with resume writing because I really like helping my candidates with their resume. Some people just have never had resume guidance, which is something that I received at my college.

What advice would you give to candidates looking to stand out in the accounting and finance job market?

To candidates, I would say your resume is the thing that makes the first impression, so spend a good amount of time writing it and have a couple of different resumes on file. Especially, if you’re looking for different types of jobs, for example somebody like me, coming out of public accounting looking to go to private. There are a couple of different tracks that you can go on and you can write your resume in a couple of different ways to be a little bit more tailored to each. Additionally, I think that being yourself in interviews is really important. A lot of people don’t realize that even though they are working within accounting, which at times can be very solitary work you have to be interactive, and I think candidates are more successful when they’re willing to step outside of the box.

How do you stay updated on changes and developments within the pharmaceutical industry to better serve your clients and candidates?

I have a few main ways, I follow probably hundreds of companies on LinkedIn, some of which are our clients. I’m also a member of different CPA Society groups on LinkedIn where people will talk about different changes to the CPA exam or changes to audit guidance or tax guidance that kind of helps me stay in the know. I also use Reddit, there are a lot of accounting and finance pages on Reddit where I hear or read about things like layoffs before, they are public or, if there’s a merger happening sometimes like somebody will post it on Reddit before you even hear about it in the news. Lastly, I read a lot of news publications like the New York Times and Microsoft News like the articles that just pops up on your computer.

Do you have any new professional goals, either for yourself or your team?  

Yes, so in the grand scheme of things, I am pretty new to Green Key but with the growth of our Morristown office I would really love to continue to help others and help find another recruiter or two to join our office. I would also like to continue to help my co-workers develop their skills especially if they didn’t come from an accounting background.

Welcome back to #WeAreGreenKey, where we shine a spotlight on our powerhouse recruiting team.  

Recently, we met up with Mike Bosco, Staffing Director on the Accounting & Finance team at Green Key. Mike started his career at Green Key about 10 years ago, first as an intern out of the Long Island office, and quickly climbed the ranks to where he is today. He currently still works out of the Long Island office, supporting both the perm and temp sides of the business.

What do you enjoy the most about Accounting and Finance recruiting?

I really enjoy how fulfilling it is both personally and professionally.  I’ve been doing this for over 10 years and still encounter new situations and challenges.  At the end of the day, we’re the intermediary between our clients and candidates. Besides being able to fill positions for our clients, working with and helping people is very rewarding. Especially when we get positive feedback, or a referral, it feels gratifying knowing you not only made an impact but established a lasting professional relationship.

How do you stay informed about developments in the accounting and finance industry, and how does this knowledge influence your approach to recruitment?

Our team consists of industry professionals. We collaborate a lot as a team, meeting several times a week to discuss various recruitment strategies and target areas.  Particularly within public accounting, we prepare for the natural seasonality of hiring for our clients. Currently in the first quarter of the year, there’s not much hiring in public accounting, so we are more focused on recruiting for clients in the private sector and outside of public accounting. 

What advice would you give to candidates looking to stand out in the accounting and finance job market?

Value every interview you go on and prepare like it’s your dream job.  General preparedness, knowledge of the company, and showing genuine excitement in the opportunity to interview.  I think hiring managers, a lot of the time, are looking for somebody who has a particular interest in their organization, not somebody who’s just looking for a job.  Getting an interview typically shows you are qualified, but how do you stand out?  Personality, enthusiasm, being prepared, and how you can clearly articulate your skills are things that can be worked on prior to an interview that will make a huge impact on a hiring manager’s decision.

Are there any specific certifications or additional qualifications valued by employers in this industry?

As an accounting and finance recruiter, the CPA license is always something that would increase somebody’s marketability for any accounting position.  However, it depends on the individuals and their background. For instance, if I’m working with a payroll individual then perhaps not the CPA, but the certified payroll professional, the CPP certification, or an experienced bookkeeper might just have a certificate in QuickBooks.

2024 marks 20 years of Green Key, how would you describe your experience since starting your career with the Accounting and Finance team?

I started back in 2010, right after the 2009 downturn. I remember being told that things are slow right now, while the year before was a busy market. Fast forward to ten years later, the pandemic happened, and it almost seemed like I was seeing things full circle. Overall, my journey has been really interesting. I started when we only had two offices, the New York and the Long Island locations. We’ve since outgrown the original office space, going from about 5 people to about 40-50 in our current larger Melville office. So even though we were a 10-year-old company, seeing where we are now seems like I started in those infancy stages and now we’re on national basis. I’ve seen not only the growth of the team but also the different transitions of our VMS systems, starting with Encore, then Ultra, and now our newest version of Salesforce. I was able to see these different systems being implemented along with new policies and procedures across the company. I was also able to witness how the team and company adapted to challenges, for instance, through COVID and then have our bounce back year.

So, it’s really been an interesting journey to say the least. I’ve never really felt that the company or I have felt stagnant. It’s been nice to be at a place for as long as I’ve been to always feel personal and company growth. That’s something I’ve really enjoyed about working here and the people that I’ve worked with, I wouldn’t be here as long as I’ve been if I didn’t like who I’ve worked with.

With all that being said, this year we’re aiming to get back on track and continue to grow by cultivating strong relationships with new clients, as well as businesses we’ve worked with in the past.