James H.
About me
| James H. | |
| Language and Linguistic Science | |
| Languages and Linguistics | |
| Undergraduate | |
| James | |
| 2012 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Private Client tax advisor | |
| Deloitte LLP | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Finance and consultancy | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2012 |
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A day in the life of a Private Client tax advisor in the United Kingdom
My career history
I started working in Deloitte's Leeds office, before being given the opportunity to relocate to London after 3 years. It was exciting moving from a smaller office to The City, but I feel like spending the first 3 years in a smaller team meant that I got an excellent overview of lots of different areas of tax, as well as contact with clients really early on.
What has helped my career to progress
Getting stuck in with as much as possible - there's a balance in not taking on too much, but generally the more the better. I've always got involved with events outside of work to integrate myself into the new team in London, which has been massively helpful in getting my face known!
My advice to students considering work
Be prepared to work hard - it's very different to being at uni, but actually the pay offs can be very worthwhile (great social life, making new friends, and actually having money!). Don't worry about feeling out of your depth as, believe me, everyone is feeling exactly the same, and that's completely normal. Just enjoy the next chapter in your life!
My advice about working in my industry
Don't be put off if you didn't do a finance-related degree - I did linguistics and wasn't in any way disadvantaged going to work for Deloitte. They're more interested in you as a person than what lectures you went to.
Contacting me
Feel free to get in touch with any questions about work, the tax industry, Deloitte specifically or anything else at all - I'm more than happy to help.
What I do
I'm a tax advisor in the London Private Client team, working predominantly with high net worth individuals and their families. My clients range from landowners, entrepreneurs and hedge fund managers to trusts, businesspeople and billionaires. The work is hugely varied - one day I could be advising on how to pass wealth down the family tree, and the next helping a client purchase a yacht!
Skills I use and how I developed them
People skills are absolutely vital when working with individuals and families. Studying languages and linguistics really gave me an excellent head start in confidently speaking to a wide range of people, and the rigorous academic standards at York meant I was well placed to get stuck in to the interesting, difficult work.
What I like most
I love the variety - when my phone rings, I have absolutely no idea what the person on the other end is going to ask. My favourite questions are the ones that need a bit of thought and detailed research - they're often the most rewarding for me.
What surprised me most
I was surprised at how open and down-to-earth the directors and partners (the most senior members of the group) are - I work directly with a number of them and they are generally very approachable, extremely patient and always happy to help you understand what are often very complex technical positions.
Next steps...
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