From Recruitment to Bookkeeping: Why I changed careers

If you’d told me a couple of years ago that I’d leave recruitment and move into bookkeeping, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

I spent over 7 years working in recruitment, and while there were parts of it I genuinely enjoyed - over time I started to realise I was much more drawn to the operational side of the job than the sales side. I liked the data, the organisation, the compliance side, spotting issues and keeping things running smoothly. The more I thought about it, the more I realised I wanted a career that felt more structured and more technical - where accuracy and attention to detail really mattered.

And so, I started my AAT Level 2 - but I had to remind myself that changing careers doesn’t mean starting from nothing.

I didn’t have finance experience.

I had spent years working with data, managing priorities, dealing with clients and making sure things were done properly. Recruitment had also taught me to be proactive, manage my time well and stay calm when there were 10 things happening at once. Looking back, those skills have been far more transferable than I first gave them credit for.

I won’t pretend I loved every minute of studying. I didn’t. The hardest point for me was Principles of Bookkeeping Controls. It felt like a big step up from Introduction to Bookkeeping - and at the start I was barely scraping a pass on practice questions. I remember thinking I’ve completely misjudged this and I’m not actually good at it.

I didn’t give up. I kept going back over it until I properly understood it. I didn’t want to just memorise answers and hope for the best in the exam - I wanted to understand why things worked the way they did and go in with a clear strategy.

So, I used the course materials, searched for other explanations, practised questions again and again, and worked out a structure for how to approach the exam. Once I had that structure in my head, it all started to click. In the end, Principles of Bookkeeping Controls became one of my strongest results, and I achieved over 90% in key AAT Level 2 modules.

The timing of everything still feels a bit surreal to me.

I received my final AAT Level 2 results and qualification on the same day I got a job offer for a Junior Bookkeeper role at Accountability Edinburgh.

After all the studying, the self-doubt and trying to position my previous experience in a way that made sense for accounting, it felt quite surreal for it all to come together at once.

What made it even more meaningful is that Accountability was exactly the kind of place I had hoped to find. From the interview process onwards, it felt like a business that genuinely cares about doing things well, but also cares about people. That matters a lot when you’re changing careers and starting something completely new.

One of the things that really stood out to me once I joined was Team Day. It was the first company I’ve worked for where time was set aside to talk openly about the business, including profits and how the business works, so people understand the bigger picture and the value they bring to it. Having worked in places where the message felt much more transactional, Team Day really stuck with me. It felt like being treated as part of the business, not just someone there to keep the wheels turning.

If there’s one thing I’d say to anyone considering a career change, it’s not to assume you’re starting from zero just because you’re moving into a new industry.

You’re probably bringing much more with you than you think - the key is recognising those transferable skills and being able to talk about them with confidence.

For me, changing careers meant a lot of self-doubt, a lot of studying and a lot of pushing through moments where I questioned whether I was doing the right thing. But looking back now, I’m really glad I trusted that instinct to try something different.

Starting my career in bookkeeping has been a big change, but it already feels like the right one.