Accounting Instructor Margaret Tower’s popular Career Management for Accountants course is one of the most distinctive offerings in the School of Accountancy & MIS and brings together students and industry in a way that could only happen at DePaul.
In this course, which is required for all undergraduate accounting majors, students learn business skills in the context of the accounting profession: how to write professional emails, enhance interview skills, create a strong resume, work effectively in small groups and improve networking skills.
Most students take this class early in their education to prepare them for their internship and job search. The goals of the class are to prepare students to become accounting professionals and to instruct them on how to perform and communicate professionally in the business world, Tower says.
Instructor Margaret Tower
“The industry is making changes where many recruiters are interviewing more extensively for internships than full-time positions because most of our larger employers are making the majority of their hires from their intern pool,” Tower says. “It makes great sense to be able to bring an individual on and have them try and learn about the job while the firm takes a look at them before either makes an investment in a full-time career. What this means is that our students need to go through a career management course much earlier in their education.”
Part of that education includes learning about the various career options for accountancy students. Bartlomiej (Bart) Lichon, a student in the course, found this valuable. “Getting to know all of the different career paths that an accountant can have has a vital impact on what route you want to take in your bachelor’s degree in accounting,” he says. “You could also do a master’s degree in another area later on and still use the accounting background that you’ve learned.”
A unique feature of the Career Management for Accountants course is that every student is assigned a mentor who is a professional working in the accounting industry. These mentors commit to meeting regularly with students, providing tours of their companies and helping students understand accounting career paths, corporate responsibility and ethics in the workplace. The goal is to connect students to the business community and provide real-world exposure to their future careers.
“I believe that you should give back to the community if your circumstance affords you that opportunity,” says Joseph Trpik Jr., senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer of Commonwealth Edison Company. “Engaging with students interested in pursuing a career in accounting is energizing. The questions they ask are spectacular, challenging me to be thoughtful in my responses. Nothing is more powerful than seeing these students after they graduate and seeing how they have developed from student to professional.”
Every quarter, approximately 100 to 125 students take the Career Management for Accountants course. This means that DePaul must have that many mentors on hand who are available to students. The mentoring component of the course helps students reflect on their college progress and future careers. “The mentoring program is one of the best parts because you can outline your own career path with someone who has the experience and can tell you what you can expect in the future after you obtain your bachelor’s degree,” says Lichon. “You’re able to see if you’re in the right spot at this point in time or if you need to step up your game. It’s something that really opened my eyes as a first-year student.”
The experience is also rewarding for the mentors. Trpik says, “Having the opportunity to share my experiences to help guide students through their academic career and into their futures
is very fulfilling. Being asked why I did something or what I learned from an experience isn’t just about me sharing with the students. It also allows me to grow as I reflect on my decisions and actions in the past and how they have shaped my career.”
During the past six years, more than 1,300 students have met with hundreds of active mentors. There are many mentors who have stayed with the program since it began, and many students who have taken the course have gone on to successful careers and became mentors, Tower says. Other mentors have even sponsored scholarships for the school.
“I find the whole mentorship aspect of the class really powerful,” Tower says. “On a personal level, it continues to remind me of all the good in people, and all the positive things that I know exist in business today. I love it and I am quite passionate about this course.” Tower welcomes DePaul alumni to contact her at mtower@depaul.edu if they are interested in becoming mentors to current accounting students.