At the conclusion of the movie Back to School, comedian Rodney Dangerfield offers the following advice to new college graduates, "And for those of you graduating today, GO BACK HOME! IT'S ROUGH OUT THERE. LET YOUR PARENTS WORRY ABOUT IT!" Navigating today's corporate ladder can indeed be a challenge. Downsizing, rightsizing, outsourcing and re-engineering (not to mention the lightning speed with which new technologies come and go) have presented countless new hurdles for the upwardly mobile. While it is true that IS auditors can look to the most fertile job market in years, it can still be a mighty barren market place for those who haven't properly managed their careers.

This article addresses the traits and characteristics sought by today's best audit and consulting functions and public accounting / consulting firms. The material is presented in the form of questions (and subsequent answers) in the hopes that this format will encourage you to take note of what you are doing well or where you might improve. If you wish, keep track of your score (one point for each "yes" answer and five points for answering yes to the last question) and see how you stack up at the end.

1. Are you up on current technologies? (1 pt)
   If the only machines on which you are working are Unisys, Burroughs, Wang and/or the operating systems VM or DOS/VSE, you should, at the very least, consider taking some classes outside work. Similarly, while IBM mainframes are not going to completely disappear any time soon, I would not recommend putting all your career eggs in that one basket. Some experience with distributed processing and client/server environments is almost a must these days; more is better. Today's hottest platforms, based on what companies are requesting of our candidates, are LAN/WANs, UNIX, SAP, Oracle, Sybase, Informix, Windows NT, Tivoli, Peoplesoft, SQL, telecommunications, advanced decision support systems (such as data warehousing), or anything relating to the Internet, firewalls, and TCP/IP.
   
   
2. Are you a hands-on individual? (1pt)
   It is amazing to me, after what we've seen in the past 15 years, that candidates still tell me that their goal is to become a manager. What they should be saying is that they want to be a contributor and be striving to attain increasing levels of responsibility. Do not mistake managing more people and administrivia for increasing responsibility. Ed Glover, of Sun MicroSystems, notes, "Our company places a premium on contribution. Someone who has been primarily administrative in his/her responsibilities will not fit in well here. Our organization is very flat. Everyone at all levels, is required to take responsibility for the business' needs." In fact, I seldom, if ever, have a company ask me for a strictly administrative manager. After all, over the past decade-and-a-half we have seen companies hack away at layer upon layer of middle management. Some of the most interesting and best paying positions for which I recruit don't have any supervisory component at all. If the vast majority of your responsibilities are administrative in nature, you could be in for a rude awakening down the road.
   
   
3. Have you done a 'stint' in the Big 4? (1 pt)
   If you are in the early stages of your career, you may well want to consider spending a few years with one of the Big 4 consulting firms. This is not to say that the Big 4 is the "end all - be all". Nor do I wish to suggest that one cannot have a very successful career without ever having spent a day with a Big 4 firm. Nevertheless, there is no denying that at least 75% of the time when companies give me their wish list of candidate qualifications, they say something such as, "We'd love to get someone out of a Big 4 firm." Companies recognize that if an individual has spent a few years in a Big 4 firm, he or she probably has a relatively high degree of polish, has seen many corporate environments (thus hopefully contributing to well developed business sense), has been working with the most current technologies, and, in many instances, has received excellent training. In addition he or she has worked in a demanding, fast-paced environment where there are tight deadlines that must be met. In short, Big 4 people are "battle tested".
   
   
4. Have you attained the standard certifications for your field? (1 pt)
   Anyone who has ever sat for the CISA certification knows that passing that exam has very little to do with necessarily being an excellent IS auditor. However, the CISA, CPA, CIA, CISSP and other relevant certifications are a sign of commitment to your field and your career. Right or wrong, certifications do provide you with a sense of credibility, and some employers won't even look at you if you don't have at least one.
   
   
5. Are you an achiever? (1 pt)
   When you examine your career over the past several years, can you point out a number of significant achievements? In other words, have you had a positive impact on the business in concrete terms? All too often, when I ask what people have accomplished, they will start to give me a list of what audits or reviews they have done. While these are certainly relevant to one's background, these are really "completed tasks" and not necessarily accomplishments." The candidates who are getting the best jobs don't just list what they have done on their resums. Instead, they show how well they have done it by framing their experience in a business context and demonstrating a history of achievement, innovation, and impact on the business. If you find that much of what you are currently doing doesn't really have a positive impact on improving or contributing to the business, you may need to reassess your situation. The problem could be with you, your organization, or both. If you are the type who tends to follow the herd or who does things because "that's just how they have always been done," the problem might be with you. However, if you can honestly say you are a potential star stifled by a Dilbert-like organization, it may be time to contemplate a change of scenery.
   
   
6. Are you business oriented? (1 pt)
   When the hiring authorities of the best audit and consulting functions come to me, they typically don't come looking for "auditors". Rather, what they seek are business people who happen to have the skill set of an IS auditor. These groups, not coincidentally, are also the groups that most aggressively promote people out of internal audit. In order for audit findings and consulting assistance to be meaningful, they must come from a context of understanding and improving the business. You need to be able to demonstrate that your understanding goes beyond mere controls. Showing that you understand the bottom line and how all of the various aspects of the business function alone and interdependently will gain the confidence of both your internal clients as well as your future interviewers. As Tony Todd, Director of Information Systems in the Integrated Consulting and Audit Department at Charles Schwab, notes, "We show our internal clients that we have shared visions and values. Schwab's corporate credo is helping investors help themselves, and we strive to help our internal clients help themselves."
   
   
7. Do you take initiative? (1pt)
   One way to show initiative is to go beyond what is expected of you. In today's competitive environment, it is not enough just to do the basics. The individuals who get ahead are those who put in the extra effort. I recently had one hiring authority who expressed amazement at how few hands go up during staff meetings when she offers the opportunity to work on special projects. "It's the same people volunteering every time, and then the others seem surprised when these individuals receive the promotions."
   
   
8. Do you have a stable job history? (1pt)
   Too many moves in too short a time can be detrimental. In spite of the fact that most organizations have tossed the concept of employee loyalty to the wind, employers still, perhaps hypocritically, like to feel that the employees will still be loyal to the company. Too many moves raises two red flags. First, the company might not feel terribly good about investing a great deal of time, energy, and money into someone who jumps ship every one or two years. Second, potential employers may interpret many moves without signs of career progression as a sign that you couldn't "make it" with your previous organizations. While no one expects you to remain with the same organization for 20 to 30 years, you should ideally try to space moves at least three years apart. Even more important, make sure you have legitimate reasons for making a move. Examples of good reasons to make a move are: to accept a position with more responsibility, moving to a stronger organization, moving to an organization in which you will be working with more current technologies, moving into a corporate culture which is more in line with your personal sensibilities, or moving to an organization with a proven track record of movement out of audit (and especially into your particular areas of interest). Conversely, if the only reason you're making a move is monetary, it better be a fairly significant increase to justify the risk involved. Candidates who focus too much on monetary issues at the expense of other factors almost inevitably end up with a patchwork resume with no sense of purpose or career direction. Focus on career development issues first and the money will be there down the road.
   
   
9. Do you engage in positive politics and avoid negative politics? (1 pt)
   For many, the very word "politics" has a negative connotation, but not all politics are bad. Positive politics can entail networking with people in areas of the organization where you might have an interest in moving and taking advantage of opportunities to socialize with key individuals. Certainly getting to know people at the company picnic, holiday parties, company softball games, or at volunteer committee meetings can be a real ice breaker for such networking. You should also lobby on your behalf when prime assignments are given. Let your supervisor know that you'd really be interested in getting involved with that Internet security audit. You may be pleasantly surprised that they react well to your interest and enthusiasm. It is also important to be politically savvy. As David Holcombe, formerly of Coopers & Lybrand and Pac Bell, notes, "Those with ambitions of executive level positions need to develop the finesse to handle politically sensitive conflicts so that they result in a win/win situation for those involved." Where politics become negative, however, is when an individual attempts to elevate him/herself by making disparaging remarks about others. That type of behavior can really come back to haunt you.
   
   
10. Are you an excellent communicator? (1 pt)
    I cannot emphasize this point enough. Unless you are on a strictly technical career path, solid communication skills are a prerequisite for any extended career growth. Being able to communicate in a clear, concise manner both verbally and in writing is essential, but excellent communication skills don't stop there. Those who are truly effective communicators know how to sell ideas (or findings, as the case may be) and themselves.
    
    
11. Do you take ownership in your organization? (1 pt)
    (No, I'm not asking if you have stock options.) When you see areas that need improvement, do you whine about them, make excuses, roll your eyes towards your equally apathetic coworkers, or just ignore the problem altogether? Or, do you actually try to do something positive about it? Try writing an action plan or, at the very least, bring the issue to the attention of someone who can do something about it. Who knows, you might actually be assigned a special project to rectify the situation (see accomplishments above). One word of caution, action plans are best when they are focused, practical, and don't require a huge capital investment -- in other words, it's probably best not to suggest a major strategic change of direction for a multi-billion dollar organization.
    
    
12. Are you taking responsibility for your career development? (5 pts)
    Occasionally, and unfortunately, I will hear candidates say something such as, "I would have taken some extra classes but the company wouldn't pay for it." Obviously it is much nicer when a company is generous with its continuing education budget, but not all companies are. However, who is going to be hurt when five years down the road your company decides to outsource audit or relocate the corporate head-quarters to Nova Scotia? The future companies you're interviewing with don't really want to hear excuses. While you are sitting on your hands or waiting for your company to pay your way, several other candidates are out there taking classes and fervently reading manuals on the newest technologies. To demonstrate how important this is, let me share an example. I met with a candidate some months back who had just changed careers and moved into the IS audit profession. At the time, I told him that (as a recruiter) I could not do much for him due to his lack of experience in the field. The candidate then asked me what he could do to make himself more marketable, and I suggested taking some classes in UNIX and client/server. Roughly half a year later, after having taken my advice to heart, this candidate came back to me, we worked together, and this candidate had the pleasant task of deciding between five different job offers.
    
    Another phrase I often hear is, "My company just didn't promote people out of the audit department." While it is true that not every company is aggressive about actively promoting people out of internal audit, it is also true that most companies do not put up an electric fence around the audit group either (though some may have wanted to). Ultimately, you are responsible for seeking career opportunities outside of audit.
    
    So what can you do? Identify the area(s) into which you might have an interest in moving. Go and meet the key people in that area, express your interest, and ask them what you should be doing to make yourself a more attractive candidate. Even better, find a mentor in that work area who will establish a long term relationship with you. In addition, keep your eyes posted on the internal listings. Get to know the people in human resources and let them know where you might be interested in moving.
    
    If you've done these things first and still are unable to move out of audit, then you might have an organizational problem which may warrant considering other alternatives.
    
    The bottom line is that you are accountable for your career development. When it comes to education, certifications, staying on top of new technologies, developing your interpersonal skills and overall business sense, and managing your career path, no one will hold your hand. It's up to you to take the initiative.
    
    

Right on target! Call me if you want to explore options.

You're on the right track, but be conscious of your weaknesses and try to develop these areas.

You probably are not competitive for the top positions, but with some careful attention, you can increase your marketability.

Unless you are a few years away from retirement, you need to take some serious action or possibly face protracted unemployment if you lose your current position.

You may have made a serious vocational error along the way.