Don’t underestimate the value of a resume. It’s the document that gives prospective employers their first impressions of you. Your resume needs to tell employers why you’re best suited for the job at hand, effectively and concisely.
If you’re an Accountant, it needs to really sell your professionalism, precision, technical skills and strong industry relationships. Here’s how to write a great Accountant resume, and nail that first impression.
Important tips to remember:
- Keep it brief. Two or three pages for your accounting resume is ideal.
- Acknowledge your academic credentials early. These tend to be more relevant to the accounting and financial sector than other industries.
- Include company names clearly, and spelled correctly. In finance, who you’ve worked for matters.
- Call out memberships with industry-recognised bodies or organisations you’ve worked with.
- Tailor your accounting resume specifically to the company you’re applying with.
- Explain what was required of you in each role, to highlight the skills required and learned.
- Provide detail of your successes. If you reduced costs or increased efficiency, detail how you did it, and by how much.
- Always run a thorough spelling and grammar check before submitting your financial resume.
- Speak in general terms. Be precise, but succinct.
- You need to tailor your accounting resume for each role, understanding that the organisational structure, culture and duties differ with each position.
- Use company-specific language or terminology. Stick to what is known and understood at an industry level.
- Don’t bend the truth, even a little bit. Be honest about your work experience and career ambitions in your financial resume.
- Don’t use out-dated or unprofessional contact details when writing Accountant resumes.
An Accountant CV applies general resume-writing good practice: keeping to two pages, opening with a pointed career objective, and detailing the specifics of accomplishments in past roles. It is easy to digest and an employer could learn a lot about this accounting candidate with even the briefest read. The contact details are current and respectable, and the names of companies and past employers are clear and spelled properly.
Accountant resumes can always be strong, whether you’re going for your first job, or your tenth. Just be sure to follow the above tips as a guide and you’ll be on track to success.
