Audit: I was out for maternity leave as second year during busy season. I was supposed to be promoted to senior this coming up June but my coach advised me that it is best for my case to come back as second year because i just have a baby and it will be a lot of work with high expectation as the senior. It looked bad on me because i was out during my second busy season not gaining enough experiences and tough for my team to loop me in. Should i comeback as second year? Will the salary increase?

Honestly, how long were you out? If you were out ~ 6 months, I do think you should stay as second year as first year senior is having much more responsibilities/ leading staffs, which you would be prepped for as a second year/acting senior. Also if you are promoted and you are not ready for the role, I think it would look bad on you? But if you think you can handle it, then go for it. I think had you taken off during your senior year, probably better than staff as you are still learning a lot during the second year.

At the same time, I also agree that it does sound like they are not planning to promote you.

Promotion should be performance based. And having a family should not be held against you. I had twins and had reduced hours for the time i worked, my performance was always strong. My personal choice was to prioritize family. Still got good raises but promotions took a back sit in my career.

I would ask yourself this, would you rather be the best senior next year or possibly struggle more this year being promoted with less experience than others?
I’ve seen people in this situation who got promoted and failed the year and got fired the next year. Not saying this would happen to you but worth thinking about having another easier year pre promotion especially going back to work with a baby.

It sounds like you are essentially penciled in to NOT get the promotion. They just want to frame it as it was your idea to stay at that level, I would push to be promoted, but the decision has probably already been made. In the case of non-promotion, salary will still increase slightly assuming you already aren't in the max pay band.

You probably realistically need more time in the role to be an effective senior. Don’t worry about this one missed promo round. Get everything situated and you’ll be the best senior next go round.

This could potentially be illegal. I would push for senior -or contact EEOC don’t let people discriminate against working moms

I’d stay as a second year.. it’s a lot less decision making and coordination.. you’ll be doing more work as a staff but it’s less exhausting in terms of coordinating with managers and staff and making sure work is getting done . Being a Senior is tough and trust me you don’t want to miss the first baby year.. they’re only little for a little bit.

I think one of the reason is the job market and not solely by your situation. I was also in maternity leave for 6 months after just 1 year joining Deloitte. There were layoffs right before my maternity leave because of COVID. When I was back during busy season, a lot of people quit (mostly seniors and also managers). I still got promoted to senior same time as my peers. Honestly, I did work my as* off during those time and having my in-law at home to take care the baby while I wfh right next to them.

With current job market, not much people quit which means there not as many open positions to fill.

You missed a busy season, so in my head it makes sense that this year didn't count and hence it makes sense to be held back.

Do you think you'd be able to perform at a senior level with just one year of experience? Probably not.

Experience in audit is counted by number of busy seasons. if you were out for a busy season on maturnity leave then you are still only have 1 year or relevant experience. so if they promoted you to senior you would actual be promoted early. I would heavily suggest taking another year to learn. The way to think about it is you will actual be promoted on time next year after you have completed 2 busy seasons.

In my opinion, promotion year matters 1000 times more than first year as a new level.

As an A1, you might only have limited exposure to non-complex FSLI/ admin tasks like vouching for expense accounts, handling 100+ bank confirmations, and some AR, AP. But Peak season for A2 is when you will be allocated more challenging work... There is a big improvement in the competency and exposure after an A2 surviving through this 2nd peak season. It might be very challenging if you skip this period and directly start Senior role... Btw, if you stay as A2, I think there will be no increase in salary (like you wouldn't get SA1 price), but definitely can discuss with HR whether there could be a slight increment (to align with those who joined the company one year after you). Anyway, best of luck!

Realistically, I’m not sure if someone would be ready for senior after only one busy season. Would possibly be different if you missed work during a non-peak time. You’d be doing your team and yourself a disservice if you weren’t actually ready for promotion but got promoted anyways. Even if less pay than senior, I’d take advantage of another year as an associate. Just make sure they aren’t saying you aren’t ready and then scheduling you to IC jobs at associate pay.

Hey,

I personally think it depends on you and how it works in pwc. On one hand, yes promotion is great. On the other, I would consider if you have the skills/experience for a senior role. The jump to start could be very difficult, and may come back on you harder as a senior. I’ve seen people put on pips because they were not ready for the promotion. Of course it is dissatisfying to miss on a promotion, but sometimes its not that bad considering that it may give you more time to develop. Its really up to you. Hope this helps :)

What are your thoughts on this ? Do you feel you are deserving of a promotion at this time given you were out during a busy time of year?

Happy Mother's Day!!! Leave public accounting soon as possible.. think about it they're using your maternity leave against you. They are the devils they all should end up in hell.