Meeting the Barden Team…Neil Murphy, ACA

Meeting the Barden Team...Neil Murphy, ACA

Neil Murphy, ACA, is Senior Associate with our team in Dublin. Neil joined Barden in March 2018 and is an expert in qualified accounting careers, specialising in the mid to senior qualified accounting and finance market.

Neil qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2011, having completed his training with Deloitte.

We recently caught up with Neil to find out a little bit more about him.

Where are you from?

I’m from Templeogue in Dublin.

Where did you study?

I studied a Business Degree in DIT, Aungier St and went on to do a Masters of Accounting in Smurfit.

During your time in your studies in DIT did you always know you wanted to go on to study accounting?

I was always comfortable with the numbers but there was no long-term plan to become an accountant (like most people I imagine!). I completed a work placement in Deloitte during my third year in college and that was how it started!

Then it was on to the Masters and completing my training contract with Deloitte.

You spent some time living and working in Australia, what was that like?

It was fantastic. Great weather, great lifestyle and great people. Really missing those bright sunny mornings!

Why did you decide to get into recruitment?

Moving home from Sydney was a big change and so I decided to look at a few other options career-wise. Kind of “if not now, never” approach. I always enjoyed the people interaction from previous roles and thought this would be a great way to interact with people, while still making good use of my ACA qualification.

What kind of roles and companies do you work with?

I work with a broad range of companies, everything from SME’s to large Plcs. I specialise in supporting mid to senior level accountants, so most of the roles that I help companies with are Financial Controller, Finance Manager or Commercial Manager roles, to name a few.

What are your top tips for anyone looking for a new opportunity?

The main thing I found is that you need to do your research outside of looking at a job spec. Ask yourself some different questions including…What industry do I want to work in? Do I want to work in a large corporate Plc or a broad role in an SME? Many job specs can be similar when written on a page but taking a step back and doing research on the broader picture can often help focus the mind.

Ultimately though, I believe one of the most important things to do is to take your time and get the expert advice you need to help make the right decision for you.

What three words best describe you?

Bit of craic – does that count?

What’s your favourite movie?

Remember the Titans

What’s your favourite sport?

Gaelic..Gwan the Dubs!

What age were you when you had your first paying job? What was it?

15, packing bags and stocking shelves in the local Supervalu.

What are the biggest fears or challenges for mid to senior accountants thinking of changing roles? What advice, if any, have you got for them?

Right now with the impact of Covid being felt across some Industries, the challenge at the mid to senior level market is that it is highly competitive. The volume of candidates actively looking is greater than the number of roles available. In addition, since March 2020, a lot of companies are still in survival mode and this is resulting in less commercial “value add” type roles coming to market as businesses focus more on their core requirements. All of this combined gives employers the ability to be quite specific in their requirements when hiring.

If wanting to try something new consider being flexible and using different routes to gain different experiences. Taking a contract, for example can often be a good way to gain experience in a new area as hiring mangers tend to be a bit more flexible when it comes to hiring for contracts.

As a member of the Barden team, what makes Barden different?

Having used many recruiters as a candidate, both in Ireland and Australia, I found the people to be the main difference in Barden. I initially came to Barden as a candidate before I decided to embark on a career change, and I found that the people I met here really listened to what I was saying and also helped me a lot as I was unsure of what exactly I wanted at the time.

I’ve had plenty of experience of getting calls from recruiters trying to sell me a job. I didn’t get that with Barden and that was a nice and refreshing change.

 

Need help achieving your ambitions?

Are you a mid to senior qualified accounting professional looking for help in achieving your ambitions, or considering the next step in your professional career? If so, get in touch with Neil Murphy today who is ready with lots of CV, LinkedIn, interview and career advice along with cutting edge market insights.

 

At Barden we invest our resources to bring you the very best insights on all things to do with your professional future. Got a topic you would like us to research? Got an insight you would like us to share with our audience? Drop us a note to hello@barden.ie and we will take it from there. Easy.

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