The competition is ever on rise in the job market and the accounting industry is no exception to this. With new accounting graduates having a harder time getting their first job, you need your resume to speak out if you are one of the job seekers too. Having a solid and effective resume in the application easily improves your chances of getting a dream job. There are several ways to make your resume stand out from the crowd and get interviews for accounting jobs.
Your accounting resume should have the following sections:
- Name and Address/Contact Details
- Objective
- Professional/Qualification Summary
- Work Experience
- Professional Qualification
- Educational Qualification
- Accounting Skills
- Computer Skills
- Interests
- Reference
Among these some sections are optional to use. For example: Interests, reference, etc
Your resume should be in a standard font, in black type on white paper, preferably high quality. Present your employment history in reverse chronological order, using bullet points rather than paragraphs to describe job duties. Be specific when discussing your responsibilities and skills, highlighting any special work you’ve done, such as SEC filings, consolidations or work with foreign currency. Be sure to include all of your employers, but devote less space to jobs earlier in your career. Include a line explaining any significant gaps in employment.
Some tips for writing an accounting resume are:
- List your undergraduate and graduate education, including schools and dates attended. However, you should list the relevant coursework only if you are a recent graduate. But if you’ve been out of school for more than a couple of years, focus instead on work experience. Also, leave off your GPA as well unless it is very impressive.
- List any certifications you hold, such as CPA or CMA, and any professional organizations to which you belong.
- Don’t include personal information in your resume, such as your Social Security number or age, your hobbies or social or religious organizations. They have no reason to be written on the resume.
- Always include a one-page cover letter with your resume. Address the letter to a specific person if possible. Highlight your skills and responsibilities that are relevant to the particular duties of the position you seek. Also, research the company and use your cover letter to show that you’re familiar with what it does.
- Always proofread your resume and cover letter carefully before sending them to avoid grammar and spelling mistakes. Read it carefully, line-by-line, to catch any spelling mistakes or inaccurate information.
- Avoid long and descriptive paragraphs. Instead, use bullet points or numbers to describe your qualification of accounting field, your accounting skills, your interest and other things in your resume.
- Use of action verbs in accounting resume is very important to grab the attention of the employers. These verbs should mostly be used in writing work experience and your skills. Use of keywords, skill headings and action verbs related to the job sought add to the chances of your resume being selected among many others.
- Highlight your accounting related successes and contributions. Include all your accounting related skills which make your resume stand out. List down your accomplishments as an accountant in the field or as a student but be concise and try not to make it more than ten.