Help wanted: Fran Van Kirk
A PwC alumnus shares his perspective
on job transition in today’s economy
After 35 years with PwC, Fran Van Kirk is now a partner at Heidrick & Struggles, the executive search and leadership consulting firm.
Thanks to their specialized skills, finance and accounting professionals have historically been safeguarded from company downsizing. Not this time. Today employment numbers are down across the board, and the job market is flooded with highly qualified candidates. But, opportunities to innovate abound—particularly in the energy and utility sectors. Job seekers need a clear view of the employment landscape as they chart their course to new and better positions. For an insider’s take, we turned to Fran Van Kirk, who spent 35 years at PwC and is now a partner in the Philadelphia office of Heidrick & Struggles, an executive search and leadership consulting firm.
How has the downturn affected finance and accounting employment?
No question, it’s been dramatic. First-quarter numbers for 2009 show that all industries are down 40 percent. It’s even affected search firms like ours. In the past, companies typically have held on to their finance and accounting people even in tough times. But economic activity has slowed to the point that many companies are cutting a flat percentage of their workforce, regardless of individual roles. That means that the finance profession is participating in this employment downturn in greater numbers than before. The good news is that the finance and accounting skill sets remain very important during a downturn. So there is opportunity out there, but you need to be flexible. Now more than ever, businesses need people who can really understand operations and the finance side of the house.
Which areas or industries show the greatest potential for job growth?
The greatest potential is with small and medium-size technology companies. This group hasn’t been as dramatically impacted. In particular, energy technologies are exploding. Solar, wind and other forms of clean tech are leading the way. This group will benefit greatly from government initiatives in this area. It’s sort of uncharted territory, but we should see substantive new businesses come out of it, especially in biofuels, chemistry and generating energy from waste disposal. We’re getting a number of inquiries about placing people to help lead, develop and shepherd investments in the new energy and renewable energy space.
I think the President is trying to shift the emphasis away from Wall Street toward science and true engineering to make the country’s industrial base more competitive. Because of this shift, candidates with strong science and engineering backgrounds are in demand, as well as entrepreneurial sales and marketing types. Basically, people who can develop a vision of something new and make it happen.
I expect healthcare employment will also continue to be strong, particularly with new service, product and device companies. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the industry will generate 3 million new jobs between 2006 and 2016, more than any other industry.
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