To Get the Job: Pretend to Be Your New Boss

So you have been offered a new consultancy job, but how can you ensure you live up to the expectations of your new boss? The simple answer is to stop thinking about things from your own career perspective. Instead, turn it around and look at yourself from the point of view of your new employer. This should help to make you more prepared to take on the position, as well as to highlight the all-important dos and don'ts.

Although employers will want you have drive and ambition, there is a very fine line between having high careers aspirations and being over-confident and difficult to manage. You need to show that you are aware of the pressures that all audit companies are under and also that your ambition will serve to benefit not only you, but also the audit company as a whole.

Sell yourself, but don't make promises you can't keep. Over-sell and you are guaranteed to under-deliver. Instead, let your boss know that you are ready for a challenge and willing to put time and effort into meeting his or her expectations, even if that means undergoing further careers training along the way.

Seeing yourself in the eyes of your employers will help you to shape their impressions of you positively. Talking about your previous audit experience and how it will help you to do well in the new role is all very well, but it takes more than you making these comparisons to really prove to your new boss what you are capable of. After all, of course you feel you are the best person for the job. Instead, it is important to allow him or her to form a positive opinion of you and your careers potential.

Consider your boss's role within the company. Who are their superiors? What sorts of pressures are they under? What issues are causing them to worry? How will your performance affect their careers?

Consider how your role might impact on his or her responsibilities. Thinking about how your performance could make a difference to your boss's success or failure will give you a much better understanding of what is expected of you.

It shows that you understand how your job fits into the overall company strategy and that you are prepared to help move the organisation (and your boss) further up the ladder of success by fulfilling your duties to the best of your ability. What's more, this will show your superiors that you are a team player and capable of making decision on your own when necessary.

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