Episode Guest:

Alan Vallance is Chief Executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), a role he took up in April 2024. He is an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and an experienced leader of major professional bodies, having previously led the Chartered Insurance Institute, the Royal Institute of British Architects and held senior roles at the Law Society.

Episode Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

0:23 Meet Alan Vallance, CEO of ICAEW

1:03 The Power of Networking in Your Career

1:18 Why Networking Is Non-Negotiable

1:22 What Gets Alan Out of Bed (His Duvet Flip)

1:56 First Jobs and Early Career Lessons

3:08 The Importance of Teamwork Early On

3:46 Passion, Cars and Career Direction

5:07 Rejection vs Redirection

6:28 Why Getting a Job Is a Full-Time Job

7:02 Why Personalised Applications Matter

8:00 How to Be Authentic in Interviews

9:25 Biggest Job Application Mistakes

10:36 The Reality of Today’s Job Market

11:41 60,000 Applicants for 2,000 Jobs

12:25 Why You Shouldn’t Apply for Too Many Jobs

13:12 Lessons from EY and Becoming an Accountant

14:46 Accountancy vs AI: Is It Future Proof?

16:24 How AI Is Changing the Profession

18:21 Why Accountancy Is Still a Great Career

20:10 Moving to Australia and Global Opportunities

22:49 Leadership, Crisis and the Weather Bureau

24:23 The Power of Your Network

26:29 How to Grow Your Career the Right Way

27:54 What ICAEW Does and Why It Matters

30:22 Building Careers and Changing Lives

32:18 Alan’s Duvet Flip

Episode Partners:

📊 Compare the Market

Discover how you can make a difference at Compare the Market, the company behind one of the UK’s most popular comparison sites. From tech and data to marketing and operations, they’re on a mission to simplify decisions for millions.

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