Emerging Leaders Give Advice on Managing Change and Career Moves

We asked NJCPA emerging leaders what major factors influenced their decision-making processes in their careers and what advice they would give to other young professionals navigating the work environment. Here are their responses:

Nadine Burgos, CPA candidate

When considering a career or job change, it helps to focus on factors that influence both practical and personal aspects. These include career flexibility, transferable skills, certifications, organizational culture, mentorship and alignment with your lifestyle. Reflecting on these elements supports a thoughtful approach, or taking a measured risk, which means considering the pros and cons of each option, aligning decisions with your goals and understanding what you are willing to endure if the outcome isn’t exactly what you hoped for.

Advice

My advice to emerging leaders who feel uncertain about their next step is that career decisions often involve a leap of faith, but you are never truly stuck. Evaluate what it would mean to navigate a busy season, take on additional responsibilities, pursue entrepreneurship or invest in certifications for your desired future. Remember that every role offers lessons and transferable skills. Be a sponge: embrace the learning curve at the start, ask questions and build relationships with colleagues. Over time, these insights and connections often outlast any single job and can open doors you didn’t expect, creating opportunities for growth or a fresh adventure.

Patrick Cleaver, CPA, audit senior associate at Crowe 

Change is scary, and that is no different when deciding to change your career path. As we get older, our goals change and so does our career plan. While there are still accountants who work at one place their whole lives, that number is dwindling. It’s okay to be scared and it’s okay to want change. I have worked for three different firms, and that’s all within the first seven years of my career. So, what are some factors that I considered when changing jobs throughout my career? I looked at the following: salary, benefits, commute distance, a hybrid schedule, firm turnover rate and potential for growth.

​It’s easy to jump to a new employer because they will offer you more money. But is that increase always worth it? Are you leaving a culture where your bosses truly care about you? Are you going to a place that can’t hold on to its employees? Are you going for an immediate raise, but to a place where your career growth will be stunted? Will you have to be in the office every day now or will your schedule be more flexible? These are all questions to ask yourself as you prepare to leave one place of employment and join another.

​Thinking about all of those things is scary and can hold one back from leaving a job they should really move on from. There is nothing wrong with being scared, but we must remember that inaction is an action, and choosing to stay at your job should be done because it’s truly what’s best for you.

Advice

When coming to the crossroads of whether or not to leave your job, write out your reasoning for both options for every opportunity. A simple pros and cons list can go a long way as it will properly help you analyze what’s best for you. Writing down a pros and cons list for your job and every opportunity presented to you allows you to take a step back and look at the big picture. Whether you decide to stay at your current job or move on to another place, you’ll feel more confident about your decision knowing that it was made analytically with many factors considered.

Matthew J. Mojica, CPA, financial reporting associate manager at Prudential

This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. As individuals there are different thresholds and questions, we need to ask when it is time to make the decision about when it is right to stay at your current position/job and when to leave. Like anything in life, you have to be honest with yourself. What do you value? What are your thresholds for hardships and challenges in the workplace? And, most importantly, how do you want your life to look outside of the workplace and inside?

There are always pros and cons to leaving. You may love your coworkers and be worried that you may be burdening them if you leave. As controversial as it may sound, that shouldn’t play a role in your decision-making process. If you are unhappy and have tried improving the situation with no success, it may be time for you to leave despite your affinity to your coworkers. You have to do what is best for yourself, as a person first and for your career second.

Advice

I have often heard the advice that when you stop being challenged at work, it is often time to consider a transition, whether a lateral or a vertical change. However, while many may be afraid to say so publicly, I think this advice can be up for interpretation as well. Many colleagues who are at my level and above have shared that sometimes the status quo is alright, if and only if you have hobbies and passions outside of the workplace. Some may see this as laziness, but I see this as having a healthy understanding of what you value in life. Ask yourself, if you are good at your job but bored in the workplace, are you okay with that if it means you can play rec sports after work, play bar trivia weekly with friends or read your favorite novels? For some, they will say no and prefer being challenged at work. For others, the freedom to enjoy other passions is far more important.

Lastly, one thing to consider is if the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know. I currently have multiple close friends who have changed jobs over the past year (many not in the accounting industry). I would say it’s a healthy split between them being happier now than they were in their old roles. Sometimes chasing more money or a nicer looking title may not be worth it if you are working all hours of the night or not getting the support you need for the team around you. If you decide to leave your current role, you have to ask yourself the hard questions about why you are leaving so you don’t walk into a similar or worse situation.

After weighing these choices, it is then time to decide if you should stay in your current position or pursue other opportunities. Throughout my seven-year career, I have only changed my job once. I left public accounting after three years and have been in a corporate financial reporting role for over four years. I constantly weigh my options and see what decision ultimately aligns with what I value. It is a difficult decision, but it all starts with knowing yourself and making the time to have these difficult thoughts. These questions will ultimately lead to you having a more fulfilling life and career.

Rob Premselaar, CPA, firm owner at Premselaar CPA LLC

Earlier in my career, when I was considering a career or job change, the biggest factor for me was whether the role would truly move me forward professionally. I look at the opportunity as a whole — how the role fits within the team, the firm and the practice area — and whether it will continue to build my skills and broaden my exposure to more complex work, clients or industries.

I also valued roles where there was a level of autonomy and trust, especially as responsibilities increased. Having the opportunity to take ownership of work and contribute beyond day-to-day tasks is important for both confidence and growth. Finally, I think about long-term fit — whether the role positions me well for where I want to be in the next few years and supports continued development within the profession.

Advice

My advice to an emerging leader who feels uncertain about their next step is not to feel pressured to have everything figured out. One of the greatest strengths of the accounting profession is that it offers a progressive career path — where each role builds skills, responsibility and perspective, even if the end goal isn’t fully defined. Said differently, never stop growing!

I’ve always known I wanted to be a business owner, but when I graduated and earned my CPA license, I didn’t know how that would take shape. Instead of trying to map out every step, I focused on pursuing roles that offered a progressive platform. Over time, I worked in audit, accounting and tax across a Big 4 firm, a large pharmaceutical company and a smaller regional tax practice. Each role built on the last and contributed directly to the quality of service I’m able to provide today in my own practice.

In a profession as flexible and evolving as accounting, progress creates options. If you seek out roles that challenge you, broaden your experience and support continuous growth, clarity often follows with time.

Prof. Philip C. Sookram, CPA, MAcc, associate professor of accounting at Saint Peter’s University

When thinking about making a career or job change, here are some major factors that may influence your decision-making process: 

• Compensation package: Job responsibilities, salary, paid time off/sick days, modality of work expected (e.g., in-person five days a week, hybrid, fully remote), health/dental/vision benefits offered, 401(k) contribution and opportunities for promotion (more money, more responsibilities)
• Sector: Public accounting (audit, tax, consulting services), private accounting, nonprofit accounting, governmental accounting (federal, state, local) or self-employed (owning and operating your own business)
• Employer size: Small business (50 employees or less), midsize business (50 to 499 employees) or large business (500 or more employees)

In addition, emerging leaders need to ask themselves what product/service would I want my employer to sell? What role do I want to play in a business operating cycle? 

Advice

Rome was not built in a day. A career is a marathon, not a sprint. You will be in the workforce for the next 30 to 40 years, so each job is an opportunity to build the tools in your tool kit. In this generation of work, you are likely to switch roles every two to five years (due to various internal and external factors). Change is the only constant.

Three exercises should help:

• Exercise A: Create a dream job description (dream resume) that you are looking for, then match with current job postings out there (e.g., NJCPA Job Bank, LinkedIn, recruiters).
• Exercise B: Build a career plan of where you want to be in five years. Establish where you are in your career and what you are looking for. For example, for an entry-level job (0-2 years of full-time work experience) you would be staff/have a senior title; for a middle management job (5+ years of full-time work experience) you would have a manager title; and with an upper management job (8+ years of full-time work experience), you would be likely be a director, vice-president, president or have a C-suite role.
  
  It’s important to spend time reflecting on the skills you learned and identifying what skills are needed for your next role. These include project management, financial accounting, managerial accounting (cost accounting, budgeting, forecasting, scenario analysis), communication, device hardware (computer literacy), and device software (software programs, software apps).
• Exercise C: Evaluate your resume once every three months for any significant updates.

Brandon Ventura, CPA, founder and CEO at Ventura Consulting LLC

I would first tell them that they are not alone. Most people feel this way at some point in their career, including myself.

Next, I would suggest an exercise that I have done many times in both my career and personal life: clearly envision your ideal end-game scenario and work backwards from there. Do you want to stay in public accounting or work internally at one company? Do you enjoy accounting work, finance work or a mix of both? Do you want to be a partner, a CFO or start your own firm? Do you want to travel often or avoid travel altogether? Do you want full autonomy, or do you prefer having structure and direction laid out for you? Do you like interacting and collaborating with others, or do you prefer to be an individual collaborator?

Advice

Once you have identified the ideal end-game scenario, start working backwards. What role gets you closest to that end-game? Ok, now what role comes before that? Then continue that until you reach the move that is realistic for you to make right now.

This exercise is critical in my opinion because time is going to pass regardless. The most important thing you can do is make sure the steps you are taking today move you closer to the life and career you want, not quietly pulling you away from it.

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Brandon M. Ventura Brandon Ventura, CPA, is the founder and CEO of Ventura Consulting Group, LLC. He is a member of the NJCPA. More content by Brandon M. Ventura: 10 Ways the CFO Role is Evolving Emerging Leaders Share Book Club Insights Learn more from Brandon M. Ventura: 5/28/26 - Emerging Leaders Book Club: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

Matthew J. Mojica Matthew J. Mojica, CPA, is an associate manager of financial reporting at Prudential Financial. He is the incoming chair of the NJCPA Emerging Leaders Council. More content by Matthew J. Mojica: Emerging Leaders Share Book Club Insights Learn more from Matthew J. Mojica: 5/28/26 - Emerging Leaders Book Club: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell 6/16-19/26 - NJCPA Convention & Expo

Nadine Burgos Nadine Burgos is a CPA candidate and a member of the NJCPA.

Patrick Cleaver Patrick Cleaver, CPA, is an audit senior associate at Crowe LLP. He is a member of several NJCPA interest groups and can be reached at patrickcleaver.cpa@gmail.com.

Philip Sookram Philip Sookram, CPA, MAcc, is assistant professor in the Department of Accountancy & Business Law and a director of M.S. in Accountancy at Saint Peter's University. He is a member of the NJCPA, is a member of its Emerging Leaders Interest Group and participates in the Student Programs & Scholarships Committee and Cannabis Interest Group.

Robert Premselaar Rob is the owner and founder of Premselaar CPA LLC, a firm he launched in 2023 to serve businesses and their business owners with proactive tax planning, strategy and compliance. Learn more from Robert Premselaar: 6/16-19/26 - NJCPA Convention & Expo