You’re tuned in to Career Convos with Nikki: real, unfiltered conversations about what it takes to build a career you actually want in corporate America. If you’re an accountant, analyst, finance manager, controller, or just trying to figure out what’s next in your career… you’re in the right place.

We talk about navigating layoffs, dealing with microaggressions, managing up, and advocating for yourself in rooms where no one looks like you. Grab your coffee, an old fashioned, or some lemon mint water and let's get into this conversation.

Let's keep this conversation going in the #CareerConvos™️Community where we meet at the roundtable and go deeper into these conversations. You can also access the learning library for coaching sessions and tutorials for career guidance, templates you can copy and use, and learn how to negotiate like a boss. Choose the transferable skills learning track or the technical accounting skills track in the #CareerConvos™️Community.

Start the Technical Accounting Track

Startt the Transferable (Soft) Skills Track

Come to the next #CareerConvos Roundtable (registration required)

In this episode of Career Convos™ with Nikki, I’m taking it back to the beginning of my CPA exam journey. I share what life looked like right after graduating from Thee Ohio State University with my accounting degree, when the CPA exam had just gone from paper to computerized and the profession was changing fast after Enron and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX).

I talk about why I started my career in industry instead of public accounting and what those first few years taught me about the real world of accounting. I moved around a lot early in my career, but each job taught me something different: from manufacturing cost accounting to joint ventures, intercompany reconciliations, and managing financial close processes. Within a few years, I went from financial analyst to accounting manager, leading a team and learning the technical and nontechnical lessons that shape how I coach accountants today.

I also share what it looked like to balance all of that with becoming a mom, starting The Winston Accounting Group (now The Winston CPA Group) before I had my CPA license, and figuring out how to grow a business while still working full time. And then there’s the moment that changed everything - a conversation with a fellow board member who challenged every excuse I had for not taking the CPA exam. That conversation lit the fire that pushed me to finally start.

In this episode, you’ll hear about the early years that set the foundation for everything I’ve built since. It’s the start of my CPA exam story, told the way it organically happened.

Let’s keep the conversation going at nikkwinstoncpa.com/career
.

If this episode reflects what you’re living through at work, book time on my calendar for career coaching.
We’ll talk through the realities of your role, what’s shifting around you, and how to position yourself for what’s next.

Availability is limited, and sessions fill quickly. If this spoke to you, don’t wait.

You’re tuned in to Career Convos with Nikki: real, unfiltered conversations about what it takes to build a career you actually want in corporate America. If you’re an accountant, analyst, finance manager, controller, or just trying to figure out what’s next in your career… you’re in the right place.

We talk about navigating layoffs, dealing with microaggressions, managing up, and advocating for yourself in rooms where no one looks like you. Grab your coffee, an old fashioned, or some lemon mint water and let's get into this conversation.

Let's keep this conversation going in the #CareerConvos™️Community where we meet at the roundtable and go deeper into these conversations. You can also access the learning library for coaching sessions and tutorials for career guidance, templates you can copy and use, and learn how to negotiate like a boss. Choose the transferable skills learning track or the technical accounting skills track in the #CareerConvos™️Community.

Start the Technical Accounting Track

Startt the Transferable (Soft) Skills Track

Come to the next #CareerConvos Roundtable (registration required)

What happens when your job disappears, but your bills and ambition Don’t? In this raw and powerful episode of Career Convos™️ with Nikki, I talk candidly about what it really feels like to be laid off, and how to navigate the messy middle between endings and new beginnings.

From that gut-punch calendar invite from your boss and HR that changes everything to the silence that follows, this episode is your voice of reason and reminder: you may have lost your job, but you haven’t lost yourself. We get into:

• How to emotionally and strategically handle being laid off, let go, or impacted by a RIF
• Why pausing before jumping into the next job matters more than ever
• The art of rediscovering your value, purpose, and voice post-employment
• How to prep for interviews with clarity and without bitterness
• What “other duties as assigned” really means, and why it’s your career goldmine
• How to use rejection as redirection and avoid the resume black hole
• A word on manifesting better, not just working harder

If you're navigating career transition or feeling stuck after a job loss, let this episode walk with you.

Additional Resources:
The Self-Exploration Exercise - start yours for free.

Book 1:1 Career Coaching on NikkWinstonCPA.com

Let’s Connect:
Website: nikkwinstoncpa.com/career
Substack: Supercharged Self-Care

Threads: @NikkWinstonCPA

Share this episode with someone you know who's between jobs, rebuilding their confidence, or needs to be reminded that they are still that person - with or without the title.

Let’s keep the conversation going at nikkwinstoncpa.com/career
.

If this episode reflects what you’re living through at work, book time on my calendar for career coaching.
We’ll talk through the realities of your role, what’s shifting around you, and how to position yourself for what’s next.

Availability is limited, and sessions fill quickly. If this spoke to you, don’t wait.