Karmen Ward
KPMG
New York City, NY USA
"Every year, I ask myself: Who am I and what are my priorities? That’s how I try to keep myself grounded."
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Karmen's work combines: Business, Numbers, and Working with Others
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Communication is key. It opens doors. If you communicate the things that are important to you, they're much easier to attain. For example, moving to KPMG's Dallas office wasn't on my radar at first but as soon as it became important to me to move, I communicated that to my managers and they helped make it happen.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
The College of William and Mary
Graduate Degree
Accounting and Business/Management
The College of William and Mary
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I went to a liberal arts college and accounting wasn’t on my radar until my mother suggested it during my sophomore year.
2.
I took an internship opportunity at KPMG during the summer after graduation and then went back to graduate school for a master’s degree in accounting.
3.
My double major was in accounting and Hispanic studies, and thought I would work more closely in Hispanic studies, but my aspirations at KPMG held a stronger grasp.
4.
My internship with KPMG led to a full-time offer to work in the firm’s Norfolk, Virginia, office.
5.
I chose to work for KPMG over the other Big Four firms because interacting with others was important to me and the connections I made with people from KPMG felt most natural.
6.
Shortly after getting married, I transferred from KPMG’s Norfolk office to Dallas, Texas.
7.
After four years in Dallas, I was asked to come to New York for a rotation in KPMG’s international office, so I moved back to the East Coast.
8.
When I complete my rotation in the New York office, I plan to move back to Dallas and continue working in the audit practice for KPMG—I aspire to eventually become a partner in the firm.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You have to be a workaholic if you want to be successful.
How I responded:
Working hard and getting the job done is very important. But that doesn't mean you have to work so hard that you can't also balance other factors of life. There is always a lot of work to be done in this profession. As a manager, I have to balance my work as well as the work of others. The key is to over-communicate with everyone in advance so that everyone is balanced and on the same page.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I moved across the country to Dallas for work. I initially felt isolated but I made an effort to make connections and build new support systems.
Working in accounting, especially for a Big Four company, gets very stressful and difficult sometimes. Balancing large amounts of work is challenging. Self-awareness, time management, and organizational skills help a lot.