I am not over qualified, I am qualified

I have many qualifications – not because I love studying, but because I love what I do. I am a numbers nerd through and through. I am a qualified Chartered Accountant, a Member in Practice, a member of the Institute of Public Accountants, a member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers, I have an accounting degree and I have worked in the accounting space since I was 20 (so for 19 years). Yes, I am qualified, but I am never over qualified.


I meet business owners each and every week – most times I meet them because their accounts are in a bit of a mess. They have hired “finance people” in the past and it hasn’t worked out. So their accounts have gone backwards and need a bit of rescuing – or usually a lot of rescuing. So I put my hand up – this is what I love. Helping business owners and entrepreneurs sort out their numbers. Getting it right, understanding it and making sure there are systems and processes to streamline this for the future.

Now on paper – I have all the skills they need – analysis, knowledge, qualifications, technical skills, trust, business savvy, personality, experience, client base, professional membership, testimonials – you name it – it is all there on my resume.

“Instead, what I hear all the time is… But Stacey you seem over qualified and that worries me.”

What. What the actual F$&K?

OK – so let me get this straight. A business owner is quite happy to employ a cheaper, less qualified person to mess up their accounts yet they are worried about hiring someone with more qualifications who could do the job with their eyes shut, normally in less time – so despite the higher rate – they ignore the fact that the output would be far superior and their would be less errors (not to mention the reduced stress).

This is just a total backwards way to get the help you need.

“If you advertise a job, candidates are either qualified or not. They are not under or over. They either have the skills you desire or they don’t.”

If there are certain skills you need, certain tasks that need to be done, and end results you need for your business – if the candidate ticks all those boxes they are not over qualified. They are simply qualified and capable for the job you have. They might just have more under the hood than you thought you needed – but bloody hell – that is just an added bonus.

If candidates don’t tick all the boxes – they are not under qualified – they are simply not qualified for the entire role. So if you choose to hire them, you need to understand their shortfalls, and which of your desired outcomes you are not going to achieve because of this shortfall. How important is it to miss out on those outcomes?

If you hire a finance person who can’t lodge your BAS, who is doing this for you? If you hire a finance person who can’t tell if your reporting is accurate – who is going to work that out for you? If you hire a finance person who can’t use your chosen software – how do you know if they are doing a good job?

“Why wouldn’t you want to hire someone who can do all that you need? Why wouldn’t you want someone with a few extra tricks up their sleeve?”

Cutting corners and choosing financial staff or contractors that are not the right fit can be detrimental to your business. There are no quick fixes, there are no easy answers and there are no cheap solutions (usually) to get everything you need.

Now I have no qualms in telling business owners I am not “over” qualified. Instead I tell them they are getting a complete value package. We take you from start to finish throughout your bookkeeping and cloud accounting journey. We are part of your team, we are with you on your business journey, and all of our skills are at your disposal to use to your advantage. Sounds like a winning team don’t you think?

 

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