The oil and gas industry has many roles and opportunities within, one of which is that of the accountant. There will always be a need for accounting roles in this world because the vast scope of the financial picture is a complex one that demands expertise and professional insight in order to navigate it successfully. The job is a varied one, with plenty of room for growth and staying power, but only if you keep up to date with the latest and greatest and value your experience by channeling confidence and projecting authority. Here are five ways to ensure job security in this sector.
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Make Sure You Are Up to Date with Your Qualifications
All CPE professionals are required to undertake ongoing training to ensure that they are up to date with the most recent practices. Keep in mind that the economic picture is constantly shifting and refocusing, and there is a lot of information that must be observed in order to secure the most relevant skills and execution. A COPAS oil and gas CPE certification will ensure that you are getting exactly what you need and bringing your most professional self to your role. This will give your employer confidence in your capacity and ability to handle the demand and show that you invest in development too.
Build Your Professional Arena
It makes a lot of sense to engage with positive networking practices. When you reach out to fellow professionals, you are not only widening your own arena but theirs too with your unique skillsets and abilities. The perks of networking are untold. By ensuring that you have a reliable connection with other CPE professionals, you are ensuring that you can learn new things, stay up to date with opportunities, and get to know so much more from all the wealth of experience that you will be exposed to.
Continue to Embrace Technology
As an accountant, it is hard to avoid technology. However, you never know what the new week will bring and there is a very real possibility that software will change before you have caught up with it. This means, you have to be in the loop and not afraid to embrace all of these opportunities. Software is an integral part of your role, and it is there to help. If you don’t know how to use it, you will fall behind and your role will be threatened.
Focus on Other Key Areas Too
There is a lot more to being an accountant in this industry than just your technical knowledge. While this is extremely important and must be protected at all costs, there is also a strong case for building your other professional skills as well. What this looks like for you is customer service, professional communication, managing time and deadlines, proactive participation, and crafting a fine-tuned decision making process. All of these things will make your professional profile stand out and desirable, which will in turn ensure that your role is kept just for you instead of being called into question. An accountant has to retain a strong set of core skills that are relevant to the role, but a great CPE focuses on the bigger picture too.
Establish Strong Core Relationships
Your role is an integral one, but not necessarily a part of the core team. You won’t always be sat in on the daily meetings, and you may not be fully aware of who is working in the company and what they actually do. Well, this is the biggest mistake you could make. Take some time to get to know the foundations and you will blossom from within. There is real strength in maintaining those core relationships whether that is with your direct line manager, the big boss, or every single employee working on the projects within the company as well.
Why Does it Matter?
You will not only get to know your assignments better, but you will be seen as a valued member of the organization as you move through these goals. You can make a name for yourself and establish meaningful professional connections by simply taking the time to step outside of your comfort zone and do so much more than the daily accounting tasks. Make sure you always leave space to fulfill your obligations, but there is only value in getting to know the other areas of operation as well.
Standing out from the crowd may feel like an impossible goal, but it isn’t. As a CPE you have many qualifications and strengths – the trick will be to build on what works and fill in any gaps that are holding you back.