A Financial Executive Finds a Dot-Com Home

Emily Rupp says being in the right place at the right time helped her land a new chief financial officer role in a month, but that’s an understatement. Recruiters label her an “A” candidate because her background — a combination of public accounting and industry experience — is exactly what employers are seeking now.

Ms. Rupp, 33, didn’t even hurt her case when she took six months off to travel after her most recent position as CFO of E-Music in Redwood City, Calif., ended in a layoff following its acquisition by Vivendi Universal Net USA. Ms. Rupp received an offer from and started work at FTD.com in Downers Grove, Ill., within a month.

Such quick success for experienced financial pros isn’t the norm, says Andrea Jennings, vice president and general manager of the accounting, finance and legal practice for The Lucas Group, an Atlanta-based search firm. “Emily is an ‘A’ candidate because of her skill set, image and educational background,” says Ms. Jennings. “She’s a walking, talking superstar.”

Plus, she was what FTD.com wanted. The Internet and telephone flower and gift marketer put public accounting and industry experience, particularly with Securities and Exchange Commission reporting, on its new CFO wish list. Experience with a dot-com was the ideal. Ms. Rupp met all those qualifications.

After graduating summa cum laude with a B.S. in accounting from Miami University in Miami, Ohio, she was hired as an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers. During her four years with the firm, she was promoted three times.

She then began working for a precursor to E-Music and was promoted twice. After moving to E-Music, she was twice promoted again, this time to CFO.

After her wanderlust ended, Ms. Rupp moved back to Chicago and let The Lucas Group’s Chicago office know she was seeking a new opportunity, preferably at a small company or a unit of a larger firm. A week later she was suggested for the job at FTD.com, which is a division of FTD, Inc.

“It’s a dynamic place,” says Ms. Rupp. “What attracted me was the opportunity to learn, its management team and the fast pace.”

She agrees that she was lucky to find a good job so quickly, given the current job market. “It’s tough out there,” she says. “I was prepared for a lengthy job-search process because the market wasn’t very good at this level and still isn’t.” (Interactive graphic: Hiring trends in the accounting profession)

Ms. Rupp advises other job seekers to know what they want to achieve in a new position and stick with these goals, so they don’t get sidetracked. She also advises interviewing a company as much as it interviews candidates. “You have to ask a lot of questions to be able to get a feel for a firm,” she says.