Placement experiences as identity work: crafting fit with professional possibilities

Figures & data

Table 1. Profile of participants.

Programme	Gender	Placement destination			Total
		Industry/financial institutions	Big-4 accounting firms	Medium and small accounting firms
BSc Accounting	M	1	9	2	12
	F	0	5	2	7
BSc Finance	M	6	2	0	8
	F	4	0	0	4
B Commerce	M	1	3	1	5
	F	1	3	0	4
Total		13	22	5	40

Figure 1. Forms of fit.

This diagram shows four possible forms of fit, depicted as four quadrants, based on strong or weak legitimisation by others and strong or weak evolving self-view as a future profession.

Table

Personal fit: Matt’s story Before placement Matt was certain that he wanted a career in accounting. Prior experience (two weeks) in a Big-4 accountancy firm, as well as helping in his father’s practice, convinced Matt he wanted to become an accountant and informed his choice of an accounting degree at university. Placement offered an opportunity to ‘get his foot in the door’ of a Big-4 firm. Drawing confidence from performing well in accounting and maths subjects, Matt perceived existing teamwork, IT, leadership and communications skills, as well as his knowledge of accounting professional examinations, and his determination to succeed, had prepared him well. During placement, Matt fit in easily into his role and felt he was treated as a peer by his manager. An even better than expected placement experience, combining a variety of work tasks and increasing levels of responsibility, notwithstanding his growing awareness of the challenges of professional examinations and sometimes long hours completing tedious tasks, confirmed accounting as what he wanted to do. Receiving positive feedback from managers and being trusted to complete audits on his own brought great satisfaction and left him ‘still buzzing’ when he got home each evening. Placement confirmed for him that he was on the right track. After placement, accepting a graduate contract became the capstone of an affirming placement experience, with Matt looking forward to progressing to manager roles when he returned to the firm. Matt reported feeling he was ‘already becoming a professional’.

Table

Reflected fit: Lucy’s story Before placement Lucy was unsure of what accounting would be like. She chose to keep her options open by taking a broader Finance degree rather than a specialist accounting programme. Lacking family background or relevant work experience in accounting, Lucy was anxious about placement. Somewhat concerned that she might not be able for the work, as well as about her suitability to the office environment and getting on with fellow workers, she identified teaching as a backup alternative if accounting didn’t work out. Choosing an industry-based placement role offered an opportunity to ‘try out’ accounting. During placement, receiving regular, positive feedback as part of on-going formal reviews initiated a growing realisation in Lucy of her suitability to an accounting role. Being assigned a new staff member to supervise and having her placement contract extended provided additional legitimisation. Legitimisation by others during her placement gave Lucy a growing confidence and increasing certainty in her own abilities and potential as an accountant. On return to university, she decided to apply for a graduate accounting role in her placement organisation. As a result of placement, she discovered that she was suited to a career in accounting and she became more certain that she wanted to become an accountant.

Table

Projected fit: Paul’s story Interested in a role like his father’s (a company director), Paul chose a specialist accounting degree with the intent of attaining professional accounting qualifications, while working for a Big-4 firm, as a major stepping-stone in his career pathway. Confident in his abilities as a high-achieving student, Paul viewed placement as an opportunity to apply what he had been learning to practice, as well as to determine if accounting was something he was willing to do, on a trajectory to his desired career destination. During placement, despite finding the work ‘boring’, Paul was determined to be seen as good at his job, enthusiastically looking for additional tasks and working long hours. Growing levels of responsibility compared to other interns, an expanding professional network and achieving the highest possible feedback scores signalled for him his success in this approach. Even though accounting was not his longer-term career plan, it was a worthwhile stepping-stone. After placement Paul secured a graduate contract, with the option to complete a specialist masters programme offering exemptions from professional examinations and reducing the time to professional qualification. Projecting fit, albeit for Paul of a temporary, provisional nature, with an accounting future, supported his sense of accounting as a ‘good foundation’ to a different career.

Table

Absence of fit: Jim’s story Unsure of whether a career in accounting would be for him, Jim kept his options open by taking the broader BComm programme. He chose placement in an accounting role as an opportunity to see if accounting was for him or not. Despite a family background in accounting, relevant prior work experience and confidence in his own skills, Jim commenced placement still undecided about becoming an accountant. Jim felt well supported during placement, receiving positive feedback and high levels of responsibility compared to others as he was seen as capable and competent at the work. Nevertheless, Jim found placement ‘disappointing’; he was bored with the work and didn’t enjoy the desk-based work environment. He did not aspire to what he saw others in more senior roles doing and found he had little interest in completing professional exams. After placement, despite being offered a graduate role with his placement firm, Jim decided accounting was not the career for him. He informed his manager of this during his exit interview. For Jim, placement confirmed accounting was not for him.