Salary Guide
HPR is pleased to introduce our 2025 Salary Guide! Hiring Managers, HR professionals, and Job Seekers, discover our comprehensive salary guide based on real market data to see how your compensation measures up. From base salaries to bonuses, our guide offers a transparent and detailed view of current earnings in your field.
As we know, data isn’t always perfect, so if you have any questions about your compensation, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of the Hire Point Recruiting team members.
Join our Referral Program!
HPR is excited to announce the start of our referral program! We want to thank you for making introductions and entrusting friends, family and colleagues with their job search and/or hiring needs.
Know someone who’d be perfect for a job or a team that’s hiring? Send them our way! If the introduction results in a placement, whether it’s a candidate or a hiring manager, we’ll send you $1,000 as a thank you. It’s an easy way to help—and earn some extra cash!
Spotlight Interview: Jack Markey, CPA
Jack Markey, a seasoned CPA, began his career at a large regional New Jersey CPA firm and recently held the role of Executive Director of Accounting at Oyster Point Pharma, Inc. Oyster Point, a commercial-stage biotech company, was acquired by Viatris, but during its independent years, it built a reputation as a fantastic place to work. Jack also gained experience at top-tier companies like Deloitte, RSM, Eisai US ,Quest Diagnostics , and Lucent Technologies (now Nokia).
The HPR Team consistently heard the same feedback from everyone they spoke with at Oyster Point, “I was so sad when the company was acquired; this was truly my favorite place to work.” Hearing this, HPR wanted to get Jack’s insights on what made the culture so special and what other leaders can learn from his experience.
Q: Every executive wants to know—what’s the secret to building an amazing culture?
First of all, many thanks to you Kate Donato and to Hire Point Recruiting for this opportunity to speak with you. I feel honored that you value my insights on building a company culture and recruiting the right individuals.
I know it is going to sound very cliché, but culture does indeed start right at the top of an organization. I have often said that accounting is pretty much the same no matter where you work. It’s debits and credits, balance sheets, forecasts and such. But what really makes the difference is the people who surround you. As I look back over my career, the first thing that stands out to me is I have had the great fortune of working for individuals who upheld the highest level of ethics. In the end, that is our responsibility as accountants – to uphold and maintain the integrity of the financial reporting that we oversee. But I have also been blessed with having to work alongside some incredibly bright individuals and some people who are simply a lot of fun and pleasurable to work with.
Q: Your team experienced minimal turnover. What was behind that?
Oyster Point definitely took care of and highly valued its people. We all had very strong work ethics and we were diligent to make Oyster Point a success. We were also a fully remote workforce during COVID, and we made that work too. But I would have to say that it really starts in the interview process. We would ask ourselves, “Does this candidate have the right personality to fit into the organization as a whole? Am I confident that the person can not only meet expectations, but can the person exceed expectations?” It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what was behind the lack of attrition but as strange as this may sound, I believe we genuinely and sincerely really liked working alongside each other.
Q: What was your approach when interviewing candidates? How did you ensure you were bringing on the right talent?
Let me start with borrowing a concept from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. There is the notion of this bus is traveling down the road and every now and then you need to stop the bus to get the right people on the bus. And in some case get the wrong people off the bus. I would take it one step further. Once you get them on the bus, you need to get them into the right seats. Someone once asked Lee Iacocca, “What was the best thing you did in your career? He replied, “I hired the right people.” When questioned further, “What would you do differently in your career?” He replied, “Hire more of the right people.” The value of bringing on the right people and placing them into the right seats cannot be over-estimated.
When I interview candidates, there is certainly the obvious – does this person have the skill set to perform in the role; how do they converse with me and how well do they articulate their message; and would I be comfortable having this person present before members of a senior leadership team. However, one thing I always do at the end of an interview is to ask the candidate, “Aside from accounting, what do you do for fun? What kind of a person are you outside of the office?” Candidates often appreciate this because it makes the interview more personable and relaxed beyond the realm of accounting. I think it shows how important it is to have the right personality in a person that I may be working alongside for many years to come.
Q: How did Oyster Point compare to other organizations you’ve worked with?
This goes back to my first response about culture starting at the top. At Oyster Point, we were very fortunate to have a superb CEO in Jeffrey Nau. He personally met with every new employee who came on board. He created a culture of entrepreneurship and comradery that we were all in this together for the common goal of advancing the company forward. Jeff’s management style permeated throughout the company. For me on day one, I immediately bonded with the CFO and Controller. We thought very much alike and had similar approaches to managing the accounting organization, which had at its center, focusing on our people. We held regular one-on-one meetings with the staff members to build a cohesive bond among ourselves and the staff appreciated that. It’s the old familiar line of “Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Q: What was your favorite part of working there?
I’ll answer this from two perspectives. The first is I have worked for many large companies in my career. They were constantly going through restructuring, downsizing, right-sizing, carve-outs, and spin-offs. When I came to Oyster Point, it was a breath of fresh air to be in an entrepreneurial environment, launching its first commercial pharmaceutical product, building out the accounting organization. It is a whole lot more fun building a company rather than de-constructing a company.
The comradery among the Oyster Point accounting and finance organization runs deep. At the end of each quarter after all the SEC filings were completed, the accounting group would get together for a fun event and a dinner afterwards. We did things like bowling, table tennis, a paint and sip art class, a trivia game (I was the host of course) and a tour of Princeton University. We even tried to have an axe throwing team building event. However, when we ran this by the legal department, we were promptly told, “There will be no Oyster Point accountants engaged throwing axes.” Again, this comes back to the notion that I believe we genuinely liked spending time with one another.
Q: What advice would you give someone starting their career in Accounting & Finance?
Public accounting firms are always a great place to start one’s career and “cut their teeth” in the accounting profession. I know it is a commitment, some very long hours and can also be quite competitive among peers. Unfortunately, and in my opinion, many CPA firms may not necessarily be designed for longevity as the ascent to a Partner role is a long and arduous one. I think some people do leave public accounting too soon while in other cases, some people might hang around too long. I’m not knocking the role of an individual in public accounting. Quite the opposite. There is a definitive place for individuals who really enjoy and excel in the role of client service. But it is also okay to make the jump from public accounting into private industry.
Certainly, one needs to focus on the core concepts of accounting. Simply immerse yourself into your profession. Understand why you are doing what you are doing. For me personally, I think there was an epiphany moment about five years into my career when I said to myself, “I know what I’m doing. I understand financial statements, the relationships of general ledger accounts, how a book close operates, what are the right questions to ask and focus on in an audit.” I would also suggest focusing on an industry that excites the individual – financial services, consumer products, high-tech. For me, I am passionate about the life sciences industry. This might sound odd coming from an accountant, but I will often read SEC documents of life science companies and visit their websites to understand the science behind their products. Every good accountant needs to invest some time to fully understand the product or service that is being sold.
There is also another angle to the accounting profession. What discipline within accounting does the person have an affinity for? A large part of my career has focused on technical accounting and SEC financial reporting. For others, the interest may lie in financial planning and budgeting. Further still, others may find their niche in tax, consolidations, IT systems, cost accounting, or business development. One thing that has probably surprised me the most about my career as an accountant is the importance of written and oral communication. This comes with engrossing oneself into the profession. Read the financial statement footnotes, read company annual reports, read the contracts. This will help train one’s brain on how to articulate and convey the proper message.
Lastly, at some point in one’s career, they will transition from being an individual contributor to a people manager. For some people this is a tough transition. Suddenly, there is responsibility for not only oneself but for others. Focus on the qualitative aspects of being a mentor. Someday, people will look back on their careers recognizing who were the best supervisors that they worked for and who were the worst. Make sure to do unto others as you would have them do unto yourself.
Q: What are you looking for in your next opportunity?
As you mentioned in the preamble, yes Oyster Point was acquired by Viatris, Inc. Viatris needed to obtain cost savings and synergies from their acquisition, and as a result the accounting department of Oyster Point was eliminated. That’s fine – it happens all the time in business combinations. Of course, if you asked any one of us from Oyster Point, we would all want to be a part of Oyster Point 2.0. On our last day together as a group, our CFO offered some very profound words “Every job is a learning experience. As you embark onto the next part of the journey in your career, take with you what you have experienced here at Oyster Point and replicate to wherever you eventually land.”
I’m looking to be a part of a management team that is helping to drive a company forward. Something entrepreneurial in either a biotech or medical device company. I am really passionate about being in the life sciences industry. I just have a desire for being a part of something that is helping to change people’s lives and helping a company find solutions to the unmet medical needs of patients. We live in a broken, fallen world. It’s a world of hurt and physical suffering for so many people. If I could help in some small measure to leave this world in a better state than when I entered it, then that would be success for me.
Interest Rate Cuts and Their Impact on Job Reports: A 20-Year Review
The Federal Reserve has cut rates over concerns of a slowing economy and increasing risks to the labor market. HPR was curious how interest rate cuts impacted the job market over the last 20 years.
In the past 20 years, interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve have played a pivotal role in influencing the U.S. labor market. Here’s a brief overview of how these cuts have historically affected quarterly job reports:
- 2001-2003 (Dot-Com Bubble & Post 9/11): The Fed cut rates sharply to counteract the economic downturn. However, job growth remained sluggish until 2004, with tech-related job losses prevalent.
- 2008-2009 (Great Recession): In response to the financial crisis, rates were slashed to near-zero. The job market lost millions of jobs during the recession but began recovering in the following years, aided by the low-interest environment.
- 2019 (Pre-COVID): The Fed cut rates due to global trade tensions, and despite those cuts, the job market remained strong, with low unemployment throughout the year.
- 2020 (COVID-19 Pandemic): Rates were once again reduced to near-zero to combat the economic fallout of the pandemic. The labor market initially saw massive job losses, but aggressive monetary policy helped spur a quicker-than-expected recovery by year’s end.
Key Takeaway: While rate cuts typically support job growth, their effects can be delayed. Major economic downturns, such as the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, saw sharp job losses initially, but recovery accelerated as businesses benefited from lower borrowing costs.
Contact Us via LinkedIn or Email!
kate@hirepointrecruiting.com → Kate Donato, Managing Partner
anthony@hirepointrecruiting.com → Anthony Carrea, Managing Partner