Working at Shorts

Are you thinking of joining our team? What is it really like working for Shorts? - find out from those who know.

Shorts are very good at recognising people’s talents and finding ways to facilitate them in reaching their full potential.
Alice Johnson - Private Client Senior Manager

Shorts has a relaxed and inclusive culture and we’re a bit different from the norm. Yes, we know that’s what everybody else says but with us it’s really true. Fundamentally, we believe that it is possible to aspire to be the leading firm in the region whilst respecting our team and their desire to have proper work-life balance.

We see no contradiction between working on challenging technical pieces of work, developing our team and making sure that they work little/no overtime (honestly it’s the truth).

David Robinson
Tax Partner

Shorts is a true meritocracy and individuals are given responsibility and encouraged to flourish regardless of their age or experience. I can attest to this, as I joined Shorts as a Senior Tax Manager in 2015 and have since come through the ranks, joining the Partnership in 2022.

After starting my career in tax working in Birmingham and Leeds, I eventually started to consider relocating back home to South Yorkshire, for family reasons. Having worked at that time exclusively for large, mid-tier accounting firms, I was looking for a local firm that was progressive, could offer excellent career opportunities and had good work-life balance. Shorts fitted the bill as it is a growing, advisory led firm willing to invest in good people.

During my time at the firm, I’ve progressed from being a Senior Manager advising a portfolio of clients, to a Director in control of an entire Department, and now leading a part of the business as Tax Partner.

The Partners and senior team members all pull in the same direction, have a friendly open-door policy and promote a healthy, family orientated work-life balance. I truly believe that Shorts is a great place to work.

Alice Johnson
Private Client Senior Manager

After working in London for six years at Smith & Williamson and then KPMG I decided to relocate to South Yorkshire. I had heard fantastic things about Shorts, in particular, their commitment to a good work-life balance, which was very important to me. When I came for my initial interview the partners were incredibly approachable and confirmed that the work which I was to undertake would be to a similar level to what I had been preparing in my previous firms, and this has certainly proved correct. Since joining Praxity I have noticed diversity in the work that we are able to undertake for our clients. By expanding our International network, I believe, this has been invaluable in continuing to provide our clients with a high-quality service, which Shorts prides itself on.

Since joining the firm in February 2018, I have progressed from a Manager within our tax compliance team to a Senior Tax Manager in our national award-winning Private Client team. From my experience, Shorts are very good at recognising people’s talents and finding ways to facilitate them in reaching their full potential. It also helps that all team members are happy to help with queries wherever they can which I think is invaluable in creating such a positive and inclusive working environment.

Ian Robinson
Audit and Accounts Senior Manager

After having met 4 of the partners through the interview process, I was left feeling that they were all very personable, easy-going and I felt that I could comfortably work with them and be treated as an equal. They were interested in me as an individual and the experiences & skills I could bring to Shorts.

They really stressed the importance to them of work-life balance & how this is a key element of the culture within the firm and I can honestly say that they practice what they preach – they lead by example and don’t expect of others what they are not prepared to do themselves. The firm is very flexible in terms of its working practices and having 2 offices helps with this.

The client base is very similar to what I was used to at the mid-tier firms, and since we joined Praxity the level of International related work is increasing, both inbound and outbound. The year-end accounts and audit team is a strong one, with good experience across the audit senior level and strong assistants working through their professional qualifications. I very much enjoy working at Shorts and helping to manage and develop the audit and accounts department.

Matty Lewis
Audit and Accounts Manager

Right from the initial interview and build up to joining – I felt the firm and the partners had my interests and ambitions at heart. I quickly settled into the team and felt at home – the team dynamic makes this an easy process, and the no-overtime culture was a surprising welcome for me and other colleagues who have joined from larger firms. There is no “us and them” approach at Shorts – the Partners are part of the team and having that level of exposure aids development at all levels, changes perspectives and echoes the positive and friendly culture. I’ve been encouraged to share my ideas and to contribute my thoughts from the offset.

The partners and other key members of the team make themselves available to discuss any concerns, career aspirations etc, and genuinely want the best for everyone, whether that be at Shorts or externally. In my recent progression to manager, I have not been thrown in at the deep end like I have seen many others face during my career. I have been given a smaller initial portfolio, which has helped me get up to speed with the more admin and project management related tasks. I have weekly catch ups with a partner to discuss my progress and he also provides useful tips, such as time and team management skills. I have also been given access to other key team members, such as our practice director, with whom I have regular coaching sessions to develop soft skills, reflect on situations/experiences and develop goals to continue my development.

I’m encouraged to seek out and attend external courses to further my development, often not accounting related – such as resilience and efficiency – which have changed my perspective and allowed me to develop new techniques which I now use each day at work. I feel a much more rounded individual since joining Shorts only two years ago, and trust that my development will continue.

Temi Ayodeji
Placement year with Shorts

Having little employment experience and no prior knowledge of Corporate Finance, I was very eager to learn what the job is and what my role entailed. When I think back to my first day when I was a mixture of nerves and excitement, I have learnt a vast amount. From picking up on mere technical terms and working on several deals throughout the year, I’ve managed to grasp what Corporate Finance is. I’ve enjoyed meeting the very clients we work for which has helped me gain a greater understanding of my specific role within a transaction. This was of added benefit to myself as engaging with them has helped improve my communication skills, something that will be useful when I go back to University for my final year and throughout my working life.

Overall, I’ve loved my time at Shorts; and outside of work has been great too – being part of the football team (a passion of mine that I continue) that has entered a few tournaments over the year and takes part in the Sheffield Corporate league every Tuesday has been incredibly fun. I’ve also continued keeping fit and healthy by being part of the running club throughout the year – we ran the Sheffield 10K in September and that has been one of my personal highlights whilst on Placement. I genuinely couldn’t ask to work with a nicer group of people for the last 14 months, my time here wouldn’t have been half as good if not for them.

Read Temi’s blog in full

Emma Mosley
Placement year with Shorts

Looking back at the past year I can tell how much I have changed both professionally and personally. I know that doing a placement year at Shorts has helped me with both my accounting understanding and my communication skills. I will be taking so much away from this year as I return to my studies to finish my degree. I have loved the job I have done while on placement at Shorts, not only because I have enjoyed the work I was doing, but because I have worked with an amazing team of people.

I have enjoyed this year more than I could have ever expected that I would. Not only dealing with professional work I have loved joining in on out-of-work events whether they were team-building lunches, out-of-office networking events, in-office charity events or out-of-work events we have attended as a full team department. This entire year has been amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with.

Read Emma’s blog in full
Note – Emma has since returned to working at Shorts, after completing her degree.

Craig Lucas
IT Support Technician

I joined the IT department at Shorts just after finishing my time at university. I had an interview with the director of the IT department, and it was clear that, although it is the primary goal, providing direct support to the users wouldn’t be the only aspect of the role.

Given the nature of the role, I met virtually every member of the team within the first couple of weeks, all of whom made me feel very welcome. This extends all the way up to the partners, who are all happy to pop into the IT office on a Monday morning to discuss some new technological advancement or just how one of the local football teams played at the weekend.

Since joining, the IT department has started to build applications to help improve some internal processes. I’ve had opportunities to lead and play a large role in some of these projects, which is not something that I would have the opportunity to do in many companies. This is something that I’ve seen across the departments demonstrating the firm’s willingness to help to build the skills of its team members rather than just sticking with age and experience.

Lucy Pridmore
Receptionist / Administrator

It was wonderful to hear our very own Lucy Pridmore on BBC Radio Sheffield one morning in February 2021 talking about her journey into employment, supported by the charity Grow. What an inspirational story.

Lucy was talking to Toby Foster about her journey before joining the Shorts team, as well as Grow itself, explaining more about how this amazing youth development charity helped her and many others like her with their Mental Health and Anxiety.

We take the mental health of all our team seriously and so it was important for Shorts to maintain that support for Lucy after she joined us.

The added benefits of working at Shorts

All the stuff you would normally expect from a really progressive firm and lots more besides:

Core hours policy (7.5 hours per day, working between 08:00 and 18:00).
The ability to take up to two hours for lunch.
Overtime (we hardly work any!) to be taken back as TOIL.
Holidays start at 25 days or pro-rata equivalent.
Extra 1 day holiday after 5 years’ service and thereafter to a maximum extra 5 days.
Ability to buy up to five days holiday or pro-rata equivalent.
Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption leave.
A fair and sympathetic sickness policy.
Access to Mental Health First Aiders with ongoing associated support.
Employee assistance program for counselling services, medical support, and perks through PAYCARE

The other bits

Flexible home working policy.
Structured external training and personal development.
Dress for your diary policy.
Death in service 2 x salary.
The opportunity to take one volunteering day per year.
Free parking in the Chesterfield office.
Christmas party and summer social.
Referral schemes for clients and recruitment.
Charity and other social events.
Free tea, coffee and biscuits (it’s important!)

Send us a copy of your CV?

If you’d like to be considered for any current or future vacancies, why not send us your details today?