Financial Assistant
(Female, Age 25) from Washington, DC
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 25 who works as a Financial Assistant in Washington, DC. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Financial Assistant |
|---|---|
| Salary | $47,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 37.5 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Washington, DC |
| Years Experience | 1 year |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
բ__??? Works directly with Financial Associate, RSOs and Board Directors in tracking and reporting finances.
բ__??? Tracks expenditures and prepares monthly charts and graphs.
բ__??? Assists with preparation of annual operating budgets and estimates of costs for proposals and prospectuses.
բ__??? Maintains the required data for the PTFMS/IMM (Institutional Management Module.)
բ__??? Assists with preparation for monthly meetings with the Director and RSOs to review the finances, cost to complete, and milestone schedule of each project, to assure that projects are on budget and will be completed on time.
բ__??? Aids with time extensions and/or supplemental funds requests.
բ__??? Researches and submits Award Expiration Notices and Close Outs of awards.
բ__??? Prepares invoice vouchers, requisitions, travel expense reports, consultant forms, and cost/labor/travel transfers.
բ__??? Monitors telephone charges and technology charges to assure that charges each pay period are correct.
բ__??? Assists with managing Petty Cash vouchers, logs and reconciliations.
բ__??? Handles special projects as assigned and prepare analyses as requested.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
lots!!! Free gym, $100 transportation, 401B, 3 weeks PPL, cafeteria on-site, flex-time, casual environment, new building and office equipment
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
average
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes I work with a variety of people. Mixed cultures and personalities to say the least. From old to young to nice to cold, I work with every type of person you can imagine. I like the exposure it gives me.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Office- I love it. Compared to my old job this place is a dream. Three copy rooms on every floor, high-tech office equipment, supplies out the wahzoo! Beautifully designed office building in a fantastic location!
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 2
Hours: 5
Co-Workers: 6
Supervisors: 7
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 4
The Actual Work: 3
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | Still sleeping. |
| 8am to 9am | Schlep into work around 8:45. Get coffee and boot up the computer. |
| 9am to 10am | My days are generally the same. I attend meetings for about an hour (any time they are scheduled) then work mostly in Excel. I track income and payments, people’s time charged to project and submit a lot of paperwork correcting mistakes that are made in the database system or through accounting. I outlined in my “job responsibility section” what I do here. It’s pretty much verbatim everday. I spend my days doing those duties at the pace that I choose. I also email a lot (with coworkers and friends) and of course Google chat with my mom!! What I do over a course of a week (doesn’t change much): բ__??? Works directly with Financial Associate, RSOs and Board Directors in tracking and reporting finances.
բ__??? Tracks expenditures and prepares monthly charts and graphs. բ__??? Assists with preparation of annual operating budgets and estimates of costs for proposals and prospectuses. բ__??? Maintains the required data for the PTFMS/IMM (Institutional Management Module.) բ__??? Assists with preparation for monthly meetings with the Director and RSOs to review the finances, cost to complete, and milestone schedule of each project, to assure that projects are on budget and will be completed on time. բ__??? Aids with time extensions and/or supplemental funds requests. բ__??? Researches and submits Award Expiration Notices and Close Outs of awards. բ__??? Prepares invoice vouchers, requisitions, travel expense reports, consultant forms, and cost/labor/travel transfers. բ__??? Monitors telephone charges and technology charges to assure that charges each pay period are correct. բ__??? Assists with managing Petty Cash vouchers, logs and reconciliations. բ__??? Handles special projects as assigned and prepare analyses as requested. |
| 10am to 11am | see above |
| 11am to 12pm | see above |
| 12pm to 1pm | lunch! |
| 1pm to 2pm | see above |
| 2pm to 3pm | see above |
| 3pm to 4pm | Right around 4pm I check www.superficial.com to see if there’s any important celeb gossip. |
| 4pm to 5pm | The benefits of my job is that I am NOT allowed to work past 7.5 hours in one day. So I HAVE to leave right at 5:15. |
| 5pm to 6pm | Pack up and leave at 5:15. |
| 6pm to 7pm | no work |
| 7pm to 8pm | no work |
| 8pm to 9pm | no work |
| 9pm to 10pm | no work |
| 10pm to 11pm | no work |
| 11pm to 12am | no work |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
craigslist
What was the application process?
submitted online, excel tests, 3 rounds of interviews and a lot of waiting.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Three interviews. An initial phone interview with HR, then an in-person interview (two people), then a call back interview (three people) and excel tests.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
The norm: Why do you want to leave your current job? What was your responsibility there? Why do you desire to work at the Academies? Long-term goals? Short-term goals?
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. The are always here to help and no question is too stupid. They explain things thoroughly.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
The Academies offers courses weekly to learn about the organization and the policies here.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. Since I am still entry level (mid-entry level) I feel that I am in a job that is fit for someone that has minimal experience. Although, if you have the desire, I am sure you could master my job w/o a University degree if you have experience.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
n.a
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Go to the website and apply then contact someone here to submit your resume.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
attentive to detail, flexibility, ability to put up with rules and regulations, knowledge of GAAP, able to deal with a multitude of personalities
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
BA- Finance or Accounting
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Start small and once you have mastered the easy stuff ask for more responsibility and involvement.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
yes. All jobs are part of my career plan. They are all steps to the next offer.
What are your current career goals?
Don’t really have any. As long as I like my job, can pay the bills, have money to spend out on the town and can afford to travel and buy clothes – I’m happy.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
I have no clue how I got here! 🙂
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Devolopment Operations Mgr. | 2.3 yrs | 34000 | Reporting to the Director, Development operations, this position assists with the administration and execution of Development Operations supporting all areas of the annual campaign: Major Giving, Institutional Giving, Corporate Sponsorship, Planned Giving, Membership and Government Relations. Specific responsibilities include: Conduct prospect research utilizing multiple online resources; maintain and organize in-house research materials. Review donor recognition on marketing and Public Relations materials, on the Shakespeare Theatre website and in all house programs. Assist the Patrons’ Desk with data entry and one box office run daily. Work on database projects as assigned. Provide support to database users as a Power User with knowledge of operating procedures in Gift, Payment, Tracking, Contact, Prospect, Memo and Interest modules. Provide back-up for daily gift processing. Provide back-up for daily proofing of gift entry. Organize and maintaining department expense records. Prepare T&E forms, processing invoices and petty cash receipts. Provide overall general administrative support to department. |
| Prior Job 2 |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:4.4
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.2 | University of FL | BA Business Admin |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
n/a | Johns Hopkings | MBA |
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