In my previous corporate job as an accountant, I've received remarks that 'You do not look like an accountant', 'You don't look like a bean counter' or even 'You don't speak like an accountant' etc. .
Whether they meant good or not, I take them as compliments as I think I am more than an accountant. There is a group of accountants out there who are very conservative, they have no business sense, they don't understand the meaning of PR or marketing. Neither do they take any risk at all, most of the time, they only want to 'win', no compromise. When you talk business with them, they would blurt out rationale only from the financial point of view. Sigh... waste time talking to them. They live in cocoons made of figures, financials and accounting standards. Interpreting numbers is their forte. When it comes to talking business, they.. err.. blunder.
Oh gosh! I've offended accountants or rather bean counters.
Having said that, I salute those accountants (especially female ones) who hold the fort. Trained as accountants, they don't think or rationalise like accountants. They take the helm of multinational organisations or departments which are the back-bones of their organisations. They make gung-ho decisions without fear of 'losing' as they are risk-takers.
So, what has the above got to do with whether I look or speak like an accountant or not? A few persons said I speak like a marketing person. For casual topics, I loathe talking about the stock market. The business section is something I avoid when I browse the newspaper. I like talking about topics most people can relate to such as about children, holidays and hot topics of current issues.
I don't dress like a conventional accountant does, a few of them commented. Yeah, I hate those corporate jackets in my last few years in the ruthless corporate world. They are so boring. Dark blue, black, dull brown, the typical colours of jackets managers wear. I prefer casual, versatile and soft fabric, preferably in striking hues. Chunky, glittering or trendy accessories are my favourites when it comes to adding shine to my office wear. I appeared in the office in a chilli red soft blouse matched with a pair of black pants and accessorised with a long beaded necklace.
And, maybe that explains why I quit being an accountant.
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