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Wendi Taber

Senior Risk Management Analyst
Security Service Federal Credit Union
San Antonio, TX

 

Seven seconds. That’s all Wendi Taber says you get when it comes to making a first impression, whether in an interview or on the first day of an internship. “It’s the first seven seconds that the person will remember most about you,” she says.

Of course, Wendi’s personality is suited to her seven-second rule. For example, she didn’t have to do any long-term soul searching after her first encounter with accounting in high school. She loved it from the start. In fact, she liked it so much that she worked for a small public accounting firm for several years right out of high school, doing everything from bookkeeping to preparing tax returns.

As a CPA today, Wendi works in risk management for Security Service Federal Credit Union, with a focus on technology. That means she helps determine who in the organization has access to what information to keep the company from engaging in risky behavior. It’s a job that gives her a chance to balance working with a team and on her own. “I have an outgoing personality, and I love to work with teams,” she says.

Wendi takes her passion for being a CPA outside the office as well, working with student members of her local CPA Society, or teaching financial literacy classes. If you ever find yourself sitting in on one of Wendi’s classes, just remember: you’ve only got seven seconds to make a first impression. Go.

Got questions of your own? Ask a CPA.