How to Write the Perfect Accountant Resume

The accounting field is one of the oldest sectors in the finance industry. One can even say that it came into play when people first started handling money at the beginning of civilization! Unlike those old days in Mesopotamia, a modern-day accountant would have to perform a lot of analyzing, auditing, and drafting of various financial reports.

Whether you’re a recent college graduate looking for a new job or a Junior Accountant eyeing up that next rung of the ladder, your resume is the one thing that stands in between you and your dream job. The perfect Accountant Resume is guaranteed to take you where you want to go.

This article will walk you through all the small steps of the tedious process of writing your Accountant Resume. With our tried-and-true tips and tricks, it would not be a tedious task anymore! So, what exactly would we discuss here?

·????????How to format your Accountant Resume.

·????????What you should include in your Accountant Resume + Examples

·????????A guide to writing a covering letter that grabs the attention of any recruiter.

The first step of creating any resume is to pick the resume format that suits your needs the best. How would you know which format to pick? Read on to find out.

How to Format your Accountant Resume to please the recruiter

When it comes to formatting any sort of a resume, there are 3 common resume formats that you can have your pick from. These are:

·????????Reverse-chronological Resume Format

·????????Functional Resume Format

·????????Hybrid Resume Format (commonly known as Combination)

The Reverse-chronological Resume Format’s name speaks for itself. It’s a resume where you list down your work experience and the skills you have in the reverse-chronological order. This means that your resume mentions your most recent experiences first and proceeds backward. It happens to be the commonest of all three resume formats. The advantage of using this format is that your recruiter would notice your growth as an accountant over the years. Also, most hiring managers are familiar with this type of resume, so it’ll be an easy read. This format is ideal for those of you with ample work experience and skills as it clearly showcases your expertise in the field.

The Functional Resume Format is less commonly used today and is built to highlight your skills and abilities over your past work experience. This resume type would include all your educational qualifications and (if any) work experience towards the end. A functional resume is built to showcase the future potential of an applicant and is ideal for those of you that have graduated recently and lack in work experience. Or, if you’ve changed your career path recently and have had a rocky path of various jobs, this is a good resume format to present at an entry-level position interview. If you’re planning to choose the Functional Resume Format you should also consider the fact that most recruiters are not familiar with this type of resume format and may consider your resume to be poorly organized.

As the name itself says, The Hybrid Resume Format is a combination of the two resume format types we just discussed. This resume format allows you to highlight both your work experience and your professional skills. You should choose this resume format if you have a bit of a work experience in the industry, say, 1-3 years. The hybrid resume format would also work if you’re a recent graduate with a bit of work experience from an internship or any volunteer positions you’ve held.

Now that you’ve chosen the Resume Format you want to follow, all that there’s left for you to do is to cross the biggest hurdle of them all – to start writing your Accountant Resume.

Trouble with text editors? Go with an Accounting Resume Template

Does the task of creating a brand-new resume with a text editor seem daunting to you? Don’t worry if it does because most of us feel the same way! Nobody wants to go through the hassle of having to readjust the whole document after changing one small detail. This is where a Resume Template comes to your rescue! There are tons of websites who offer resume templates online. All you should do is to pick one, download, and start typing in your own details!

What exactly should you include in your Accountant Resume?

The things that your recruiter expect to see on your resume might vary depending on the field that you’re applying for an accounting job in. It’s always better to include your very best professional qualifications and skills in your resume for optimum results. An Accountant Resume is usually broken down into the following sections:

·????????Contact Information

·????????Summary / Objective

·????????Professional Experience

·????????Education

·????????Skills

·????????Awards & Certifications

Want to go a step further? Try adding some of these sections to impress the hiring manager:

·????????Languages

·????????Additional Activities

·????????Conferences

·????????Publications

Great! You’ve finalized the sections that you want to add to your Accountant Resume. But what really goes in these sections? Read on to find out.

How to display Contact Information properly

This is the section that needs the least amount of creativity in your resume. Instead of worrying about the right phrase to use, you just need to worry about being 100% accurate. Make an error with one character and that much-awaited email from your hiring manager will never reach you! Make sure to add the following details in the Contact Information section of your resume.

1.?????Full Name – Read thoroughly. Avoid spelling errors.

2.?????Title – Match this with the job description (“Junior Accountant”, “Certified Management Accountant”, Certified Public Accountant”, “Certified Internal Auditor”, etc.)

3.?????Phone Number – Double-check each number!

4.?????Email Address???? – Make sure to use a professional email address (Example: [email protected] ). Create a new email if you must. Avoid using your childhood email (Example: [email protected]).

5.????(Optional) Location – It’s good to mention your location when applying for a position far away (abroad, different state, faraway city, etc.).

?

Here’s an example for a properly written contact information section of an Accountant Resume:

Josh Hamilton

Certified Management Accountant

[email protected] | (123) 456 789 | Brooklyn, NY (11201)

Notice how it is concise and accurate. There are no unnecessary words or unwanted information.

How to write an Accountant Resume Summary / Accountant Resume Objective

Contrary to the popular belief, your recruiter would not read your entire resume word by word. Instead, the average hiring manager spends about 6 seconds on one resume. Which is why it’s important to add a Resume Summary or a Resume Objective to snatch their attention. Both concepts may seem similar at first glance, but they have their distinct differences.

A Resume Summary is a short introduction of your career given at the very beginning of your resume. It describes your best professional experience, skills, achievements, and gives motive for the recruiter to keep reading your resume. Generally, a resume summary comprises of 3 to 5 sentences jam-packed with reasons why you’re the best candidate for the job. For a veteran accountant with a plethora of experience, a resume summary is the way to go.

Here's an example for an Accountant Resume Summary:

Professional Summary

Senior Certified Public Accountant with 6+ years of industry experience at Eric & Co. Highly skilled in account analysis and revenue projection and saved the company $800,000 per year by automating several company procedures. Capable of leading large accountant teams to achieve solid goals within a given timeframe. Gained experience of working with a diverse clientele ranging from small businesses to large scale corporations while at Eric & Co.

If you’re just starting out in the accounting industry, or you lack professional experience in the field, you should consider adding a Resume Objective for your resume. A resume objective consists of 2 to 3 sentences that outline your professional skills and what you bring to the company. You can also mention about what you want to achieve professionally but take care to give priority to how the recruiter may benefit from hiring you rather than talking about what you aim of getting from the job. Graduates, undergraduates, and those with less industry experience could make a good impact on the hiring manager by adding a career objective in their resume.

Here's an example for an Accountant Resume Objective:

Objective

Detail-oriented accounting assistant looking for a challenging entry-level position at (company name) where I can contribute my experience with developing efficient systems, math skills and preparing financial statements.

Writing the Professional Experience section of an Accountant Resume

This is where you convince the recruiter that you can do this job, you can do this job well, and that you’ve already done this job well in the past. List down your last job first and add your best professional achievements in bullet form. Make sure to be specific about your job roll in each position you’ve held and avoid wasting valuable resume space writing vague job duties. The key to writing a good work experience section that sparks your recruiter’s interest is to include solid professional achievements that highlight employer benefits. When writing about work experience you should mention the position name, company name, relevant dates, and responsibilities & achievements.

A well-constructed Accountant Resume Work Experience section would look like:

Work History

Smith & Atkinson, NY

Senior Management Accountant

2015 - 2020

Hired, trained, and mentored 40+ Junior Accountants to records income/expenses and track liabilities.

Internal review of the company helped cut costs by 27% per annum.

Lead a team of 8 accounting technicians to automate the account reconciliation process and saved company 600 work hours per year.

Don’t have enough work experience to go in your resume?

This is a dilemma faced by many fresh graduates when drafting a resume. Even though you think you don’t have enough work experience to add here chances are, you already do. Remember all that volunteering you did for a local charity? This is a good chance to talk about that. If you’ve ever done any freelance accounting work, you can add that to the pile too. Are you a mid-life career changer? Your previous job title doesn’t have to be accounting-related if you’ve performed accounting tasks there among your job duties.

Here's how you can write an Accountant Resume Work Experience section with no previous work experience:

Work History

Freelance Accountant

2018 - 2020

Prepared tax returns for 30+ clients.

Volunteer Accountant for Feeding America.

Worked as a virtual accountant for 3 overseas clients.

How to mention your Education in your Accountant Resume

The education section of your Accountant Resume can leave a significant impact on your recruiter if you tailor it right. Every little space in your resume is valuable, so list down your highest form of education here. Don’t just jot down the name of your degree, talk about what you studied there to give you the knowledge you need to do this job well. If you’ve had any academic awards related to the job, mention them as well. Start off your education section by stating your degree, college, and the relevant years. Then point out related subjects you’ve studied and your academic accomplishments at college. You can also mention your GPA.

Accounting Resume Education section example:

Education

Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance

University of North Carolina.

GPA: 3.8

Concentrated on: Financial Planning, Organizational Behavior, Financial Economics, and Accounting Information Systems.

?

Professional Degree Programmes for Accounting

·????????Bachelor of Accountancy

·????????Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Accounting

·????????Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Accounting

·????????Bachelor of Accounting Science

·????????Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting

·????????Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) in Accounting.

·????????BBA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance

·????????BA (Hons) Professional Accounting

·????????BSc (Hons) International Accounting

·????????MBA in Accounting

·????????MBA in Forensic Accounting

There are several types of accounting degrees available according to your needs, such as:

·????????Accounting Information Systems Degree

·????????Forensic Accounting Degree

·????????Managerial Accounting Degree

·????????Master of Science in Accounting Degree

What to include in the Skills section of an Accounting Resume

If the work experience section of your resume moved the hiring manager to consider you for the job, the skills section of your resume is what would compel them to hire you on the spot. Do a bit of research on what the company is expecting from its employees. Also, read the hiring advertisement thoroughly to find out which skills they want to see from potential candidates. Focus on both hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills may look like they have the biggest sway, but soft skills can also influence your recruiter substantially to consider hiring you.

Some Accounting Resume Hard Skills are:

·????????Financial statements

·????????Asset management

·????????Payroll taxes

·????????Regulatory fillings

·????????Corporate finance

·????????Revenue projections

·????????Data entry management

·????????Account reconciliation

·????????IT skills

·????????QuickBooks and Paychex

·????????Clerical knowledge

·????????Proficiency with Microsoft Office

·????????State Tax Law

·????????Standards of accounting

·????????Knowledge of regulatory standards

Some Accounting Resume Soft Skills are:

·????????Organization

·????????Critical thinking

·????????Management skills (time, revenue)

·????????Leadership skills

·????????General business knowledge

·????????Software proficiency

·????????Data analysis

·????????Attention to detail

·????????Effective communication

·????????Problem-solving

·????????Prioritizing

·????????Service orientation

Rather than listing all your skills in one huge pile, pick several skills that are relevant to the position. Then talk about how you’ve used each of those skills to achieve some sort of a goal. This shows your recruiter that you know how to utilize your skills to benefit the company.

Make an impression on the recruiter with the perfect Awards and Certifications section

You may have already talked about your CPA license in your resume summary but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have a dedicated resume space for your certification. Displayed right, the awards and certifications of your resume would emphasize your value to the hiring manager. After all the struggle and commitment you put into getting certified, you don’t want your recruiter to miss the fact altogether. Are you an accounting intern who doesn’t have your license yet? There are many certifications you can display on your accounting resume.

Professional Accounting Certifications

·????????Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

·????????Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)

·????????Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)

·????????Certified Management Accountant (CMA)

·????????Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA)

·????????Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP)

·????????Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)

·????????Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)

·????????Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)

·????????Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP)

Now that you’ve covered the basic sections of an accounting resume, you can add some more sections to make your resume unique. These sections will give some insight into who you are as a person. Some recruiters are interested in getting to know who they hire, and these sections would give them incentive to consider hiring you.

Adding a Languages section to your Accounting Resume

Do accountants need to be proficient in more than one language? Not necessarily. But knowing to speak a second language can increase your clientele by a whole heap. Your recruiter would recognize this advantage when they read through the languages section of your resume. Rather than listing down the languages you know, rank them by your expertise. Some proficiency levels you can use are:

1.?????Native

2.?????Fluent

3.?????Proficient

4.?????Intermediate

5.?????Basic

Here’s what the Language Section of an Accountant Resume would look like:

Languages

English – Native

Spanish – Fluent

Japanese - Basic

What goes in the Additional Activities section of an Accounting Resume

This section is for you to show off your professional association memberships as well as your interests. Instead of cataloging all your interests, narrow them down to what’s related to the job you’re applying for.

An example for the Additional Activities section of an Accounting Resume is:

Additional Activities

Member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

Member of American Accounting Association

Volunteer Accountant for Feeding America

Enthusiastic chess player

What to include in the Conferences section of your Accounting Resume?

Conferences are a good way for you to get to know about the latest trends in industry. They allow you to engage with accounting experts across the country and get to know their ideas firsthand. Attending a conference is also a great opportunity to form professional connections with other individuals in the same field as you. This section of your resume would show your recruiter how interested you are in what you do for a living.

Here's an example for the Conference section of an Accounting Resume:

Conferences

Scaling New Heights, 2019

Spoke on panel about using Method to run clients’ business more effectively

Attended Women Who Count National Conference, 2019

Adding a Publications section to your Accountant Resume

This section comes in handy when you want to showcase your academic writing and publications to compel your hiring manager to consider you for the job. Skip this section if you don’t have any published articles.

An example for the Publications section of an Accounting Resume is:

Publications

2019, The Journal of Accountancy, Article on “GAAP in industry and its importance”

?

Writing a Covering Letter that grabs the attention of any Recruiter

A cover letter is important part of your job application. It’s supposed to be 250 to 400 words long and acts as an introduction to your accounting career. Some recruiters may say in their ad that a cover letter is not needed. If that is not the case, then you need to write a proper cover letter. Use yours to grip the recruiter’s attention and show them why you want to work at their company. When structuring, it’s important to include all the following details.

1.?????Contact Details:?????????

·????????Full name

·????????Profession

·????????Email address

·????????Phone Number

·????????Your location

2.?????Recruiter’s Contact Details:

·????????Full name

·????????Position

·????????Location

·????????Email

(If you don’t know many details about your recruiter, do a quick LinkedIn search.)

3.?????Opening Paragraph: This is the most important part of your cover letter as it sparks the interest of your recruiter to read on. Remember to use concise language and refrain from sticking to generic formats. Include:

·????????The position applied

·????????Summary of your professional background

·????????2 – 3 of your top professional achievements

4.?????Body:

·????????Reasons you want to join this company

·????????How much you already know about the company

·????????How your skills can be utilized to do the job right

·????????Similar work positions you’ve had before

Discuss each of these in the main body of your cover letter. Try to be concise again as you don’t want your recruiter’s attention to wane.?

5.?????Closing paragraph:

·????????Conclusion of your main points

·????????Thanking your recruiter for the chance you got

·????????Call to action (keep the conversation going with a call to action that asks your recruiter to consider you for the position and set up an interview)

6.?????Formal Salutation: This ends your cover letter. The salutation should be formal. You can use “With best regards” or “Sincerely”.

Keep your cover letter professional and concise, and you’re good to go! Now that you have an impressive Accounting Resume and a proper cover letter to go with it, you can ace your interview with flying colors. Being confident and collected is the key! Good luck!