Withum Alumni Network

After I left Withum, I realized the people around you really can shape your experience at any company. One of my favorite things about Withum is the people. After attending the alumni event and connecting with old friends, I knew I had made a mistake. Less than two months after the alumni event, I scheduled a call to discuss my return to Withum. Coming back was one of the easiest decisions I’ve ever made. I’m grateful to be a part of Withum.

Withum gave me an opportunity to come back as a Manager into a new niche which felt like an offer that I couldn’t pass up this far into my career. Since I left, Withum has grown to have more talent, resources and support that smaller firms do not provide. I was offered a competitive compensation and benefits package, including paid maternity leave benefits and childcare reimbursement. This is huge for professionals that have or want to grow families. Most importantly, Withum feels like home. Having already established relationships with many professionals throughout the firm, it was of course a more comfortable choice. I know I have a support system of professionals at all levels and departments that have my back, will support me along the way and want to see me succeed in my career here at Withum.

I moved out of range from any Withum office, but I came back because of Withum’s flexibility. Working fully remote allowed me to still grow professionally and work alongside my great coworkers and friends.

If I had given Withum more time, I may have never left. I resigned after exactly three years and three months into working for Withum. I was then gone for five years. I needed to pass the CPA exam and felt I did not have time to study with working so much and balancing my personal relationships. In hindsight, it was about setting time aside and sticking to it. When I finally dug my heels into my personal time, I passed the CPA exam. It was a lesson in discipline and buckling down to accomplish something important to me. I also missed the atmosphere at Withum and my role as an auditor was something I realized I would be happy making into a career. I love client service. I prefer meeting new people and helping companies be compliant with their owners and banks, and developing those relationships. This led me to consulting work to help companies improve. If I had stayed at Withum I believe I would have found the same path I came back to. I just was not disciplined enough at that point in my career to realize it was all up to me. Balancing work life is a continual challenge for all of us. I set up my work life balance at Withum to be able to stay for the long run. I joke that I am a lifer!

The culture and people are two of the things that brought me back to Withum. It’s important to enjoy working with your colleagues and feeling like part of the team. Even though I’m in a different niche than in my previous stint, the group has welcomed me like I’ve been part of the group for years and I couldn’t be happier in my decision.

I returned to Withum as I have an appreciation for the management team and enjoy working with my team members. The challenges and rewards of helping people also brought me back to the firm.