At last.....

Well, after months of searching, I finally got a job! I start on January 28th as an Office Manager for C & D, LLP. They are an CPA Firm in Solvang. I am extremely honored to have been chosen and am very excited about this new venture. Just to give you a little insight, I signed on with a temp agency in December and had to fill out a lot of online forms and within an hour of submitting my information, I got a call from the agency to schedule an interview with them. I went in for my interview a few days later and had to do all of the computer testing (Word, Excel, typing, data entry, spelling, grammar, office procedures, etc.) and they told me that they didn't have any local jobs at the time, but would call me if anything came up (they are in Santa Barbara, which is a minimum of a one hour drive from here.) A couple of days later I got a call about this position in Solvang. They told me that they passed along my Resume and they were interested in meeting with me. So, we set up an interview and I went in for my first interview, where I met with one of the partners and another manager at the firm. I felt like the interview went well, but I've been wrong before, so I tried not to get my hopes up. They gave me an application while I was there (5 pages) and asked me to fill it out and either fax it, email it, or send it via snail mail. They said that email was the most secure, so I scanned it in one page at a time (since I have a flatbed scanner) and had to send separate emails because the file sizes were too huge. The next step was to complete a "talent profile" online. This evaluated my personality and my strengths, to help them determine if I am a good fit for their organization. About a week later, they called me for a second interview and I went in yesterday at 10:00am and met with 2 of the partners, plus the manager that was there for my first meeting, plus the existing Office Manager (she's moving to Irvine) and that meeting lasted a little over an hour. After the interview, I went into the Office Manager's office to sign consent forms for the background check and to go over the job description in more detail. I was a nervous wreck all evening and then sat by the phone anxiously all day and at 5:49, the agency called and said that they are really excited about me and want me to come and work for them. Yea me! I went on their website tonight and read some testimonials of their employees and I'm even more impressed than ever. Their employees have been there for years and they treat them well. I'm excited an nervous all at once.

www.cdllp.com

Here are the testimonials from the website


Any firm is only as good as its people. It's an old adage but worth repeating. It's also true people perform at their best when they're in a positive work environment that encourages personal growth and excellence. These comments, taken from discussions over several years, provides some insight what it's like to work at C&D.
"There's a real advantage to our size. It creates unique opportunities and I know I won't be pigeon-holed. I can do a variety of financial work and I like that I'm challenged by the complexity of our clients.". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . There's a high caliber of people here that are driven to get the job done but aren't shy about using the expertise of their co-workers to get even better results for a client. It's not a real up-tight culture. The partners and managers give you the responsibility to get the job done without telling you how to do it. But they're right there if you need the help.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I started as a bookkeeper. C&D is large enough to learn from others and there's been a continual path to grow my technical knowledge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . There's a continual investment in state-of-the-art technology. Computers. Software. This allows us to build our technical skills and I can tell you flat out, not all firms have what we have.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I've learned so much. I came here hungry to learn and I have. The people are generous with their time and I've benefited learning from them.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Best thing? Free coffee. Just kidding.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I've worked at several accounting firms, both large and small. I had to watch my back at some places and I don't see that here. It's a team and there's a real sense of trust in each other.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . There's a huge depth of experience here. It's brought up the level of my work and I've be able to elevate my clients to a new level.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What can I say. This is my home. Because of health issues I work on a flexible schedule. I work hard and they appreciate my efforts. When I talk to the partners they really listen. And often I see the results that were based on something I said.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It's a whole lot of little things that make this such a good work environment. Look at my office! I'm not sitting with eight other people. There's not boxes and boxes of files stacked up around me. Believe me, this isn't the case at a lot of places. And there's other things like casual Fridays, lunches and massages during tax season.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I think our clients really like us and that makes me like my job.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As a new person I'm still learning about this place. I'm already feeling there's an opportunity to grow. Management encourages training and education. It's up to each of us to take advantage of that. The one thing I've really noticed is everyone is accessible, from the partners on down.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . There's a family atmosphere. Everyone is pulling in the same direction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I've nothing bad to say about my former employer but this place is over the top. Lots of places and managements say they listen but the big difference here is you can actually see the results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you like a busy fast-paced environment this is the place for you. You need to be a motivated self-starter and not let your ego get in the way if you need some help; just go ask someone and get on with it. The management makes me feel like I'm important to them. It motivates me to do the best job I can. The biggest perk here? It's the people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . There's a work hard, play hard attitude at this place. I like that.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I really like working for a firm that's a clear leader in the area. We have a high calibre of clients that have real sophisticated business issues and challenges for us. It's exciting and never dull. I get a lot of support and encouragement from the managers and partners.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When I started I didn't understand all the speciality tax laws and how they applied to our client. One of the partners, Janet, helped me see the tax laws in a different way and how they can help an industry.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I always thought C&D would be a great place to work because of their long standing reputation as a top notch company. And it is.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When I joined C&D I was looking for stability along with good benefits. I got that, but better yet I have gotten opportunities beyond my expectations to utilize my strengths and talents. The people are fun and I feel like I belong to the C&D family.