Fra Fifth Avenue til Barcode

Emily Longem (34) jobber som Rådgiver i VIEW Ledger. Hun er opprinnelig fra New York og flyttet til Oslo i 2016. Dette ble starten på en ny karriere – i et yrke hun allerede hadde god erfaring fra.  

Emily sluttet i jobben sin som regnskapsfører hos Burberry i New York for å få en forandring og prøve noe nytt – i et annet land. Hun tok med seg samboeren sin og flyttet fra byen som aldri sover.  

Living in New York meant a lot of long hours at work, constant noise, and crowded places. After almost 10 years living there, my husband and I were both tired of it and ready for a change.

-My husband is from Norway and we decided that Oslo offered the change we wanted. Oslo is a nice, clean, quiet city with access to all of the things we like about living in a city, but with easy access to nature at the same time.

Landet kremjobben  

Emily kom i kontakt med VIEW Ledger igjennom et rekrutteringsbyrå. Hennes utdannelse og erfaring fra ulike typer roller innen regnskap og økonomi fra USA gjorde at stillingen som Rådgiver var en perfekt match.

I have always been good at numbers and I enjoyed taking math classes, so finance and accounting felt like a natural choice when considering which degree I would focus on at university.

I have worked in accounting since I graduated in several different functions. I have worked as an auditor, in-house accounting, and now as a consultant, so I have really explored the field from many different perspectives. 

-To me, being an advisor means that I am a resource for my clients. I am here to help with whatever is needed and if I do not have the applicable knowledge myself, I have access to all the knowledge of my colleagues here at VIEW as well.

Ingen dager er like  

Og for Emily er det nettopp dette som motiverer henne mest. Hun får muligheten til å komme tett på kundene sine og hjelpe de med utfordringer på flere områder. På denne måten blir hun en allsidig bidragsyter for selskapene hun jobber med og får i tillegg utviklet seg faglig.

-In the US everything is much bigger. It is easy to see looking at the skyline in New York, but it also goes for companies as well. Most of my experience in the US was with large companies. The companies I help now are smaller.

I had responsibility for fewer subject areas when I was working for larger companies, as compared to here. This is a good thing as I feel much more involved and can make a bigger difference.

-The knowledge base required here is much more broad and I have had to learn a lot about salaries and income taxes for example. I find it more interesting because I am constantly learning new things, rather than working on the same tasks each month. I haven’t found many differences in accounting laws that have been applicable to my customers, but the taxes are completely different so that has been new.

-Working as an Advisor I get to work on different projects across industries and I find that very exciting.

Det mest spennende med økonomi og regnskap 

Emily trives godt når oppgavene er varierte og lærerike. Og det er spesielt en ting hun liker aller best å hjelpe kundene sine med.

I really enjoy the reporting part of my job. Accounting can be a lot of detailed work, so I find it interesting to see how it all comes together in the final reports.

It requires a lot of preparation, analysis and control to make sure the financial statements are correct. And it feels like an accomplishment when they are ready to be published for the customers.

Det er vanskelig å lære språket når alle er så gode i engelsk 

Selv om samboeren er norsk hadde hun ikke rukket å lære seg språket før de flyttet. Hun forteller at det å beherske norsk har vært det mest krevende med å komme til Oslo.

I am the type of person that does not like to make mistakes. I prefer to master a skill before I use it with others. However, one of the best ways to learn a language is to use it – even if you make mistakes, you just have to try.

-It has taken me a couple of years to feel comfortable putting myself out there and trying. Working at VIEW Ledger has really helped. Everyone here has been so supportive and encouraging. I know that I make a lot of mistakes and sometimes it takes a while for me to communicate what I mean.

– But no one makes me feel embarrassed about it, so now I am more willing to try. It is also hard because everyone in Norway speaks English so well that it is really tempting to just use English all the time. 

Emily forteller videre at kundene også har vært veldig forståelsesfulle. Mange av de ønsker faktisk ofte å kommunisere på engelsk, fordi de vil praktisere sine egne språkferdigheter. 

My written Norwegian is much better than spoken. At least I think it is! I usually ask to speak English if we speak on the phone or in meetings, but that has been OK so far. They often say it is a good excuse to practice their English. 

Emilys nærmeste leder som også var med under rekrutteringsprosessen, er glad for at hun er en del av Rådgiver -teamet i Barcode.  

-Emily har skikkelig stå – på – vilje. Ingen oppgave er for stor eller liten. Hun er utrolig positiv og faglig sterk, en kombinasjon som gjør at hun er en stor bidragsyter inn i temaet vårt, avslutter Head of Consulting, Line Skullerud.   

Synes du historien til Emily var interessant? Bli med på laget og skap din egen historie sammen med oss i VIEW. 

PS. Vi er på jakt etter flinke folk innen økonomi, lønn, HR, IT og salg på flere av våre avdelinger rundt om i Norge.

Se våre ledige stillinger her.

Vil du lese flere artikler som denne?

Meld deg på vårt månedlige nyhetsbrev!