Group Company Secretary - FTSE listed property group.
As you may have noticed, over the last couple of weeks I have been sharing videos on LinkedIn on the benefits of moving into a role within professional services and dispelling some of the myths that are associated with the sector.
In this article I wanted to take the time to highlight some of these key points and discuss in more detail the benefits of moving your career from an in-house environment into a client-facing one.
Diversity of sector exposure
Many company secretarial professionals can often feel stuck in a particular sector and somewhat pigeonholed in their skillset and remit because of this. One of the benefits of a role in professional services is the diverse range of companies and organisations you would be given the opportunity to work with. Whether this be in financial services, energy, retail and even charities, the majority of professional services organisations will be able to offer you the ability to work within all these sectors. Not only can this help you narrow down the sectors that you find most interesting during the early stages of your career but it also offers you the ability to gain skills that are specific to that sector.
Ability to fast-track your career
Unlike roles within industry, the world of professional services is not bound by the same annual cycle where you only get exposure to one AGM or annual report per year. Instead, by having multiple clients you can potentially be working on three or four of these large projects every year, thereby gaining great experience and exposure. Naturally, this will speed up your development and understanding of these projects and can therefore often help to fast-track your career, particularly in the early stages.
Building relationships with senior stakeholders
One of the most common challenges for individuals at all levels in industry is their ability to gain senior stakeholder exposure and build and develop on these relationships. This is often because they aren’t given the time or exposure to do this. However, when working in professional services, given the client-facing nature of the role, this kind of relationship building with your stakeholders is very much encouraged and supported.
Development of softer skills
Understandably, the client-facing aspect of professional services can seem rather daunting to some company secretarial professionals. However, the softer skills that can be developed in this type of working environment are key if you are looking to move into a top role either within professional services or in industry. Professional services’ specific responsibilities, including cross selling, business development and stakeholder relationship building, can play a vital part in nurturing your softer skills as a persuasive, influential and strategic individual.
It is no surprise to see why so many group company secretarial professionals have, at some point in their career, spent a period of time working in professional services. Not only is the training and development on offer second-to-none, but it also provides you with invaluable softer skills that you need if you are looking to hold the top job.
If you would like to find out more about moving into professional services, feel free to drop me a LinkedIn message or an email at emilia.a@dmjcosec.com
Posted 11/08/2022 By Emilia Anderson