Experts at the Bureau of Labor Statistics have estimated that the accounting industry is going to grow at a faster-than-average rate. Even with this fast growth, you may have difficulties getting a job as an accountant, clerk, or auditor because of the sheer number of applicants for each position. If you want to succeed as a jobseeker, you need to set yourself apart from the competition. The best way you can do that is to refer to resume samples and write your own standout resume.
When it comes to resume writing, you may come across plenty of different guidelines. The fact is, how you write yours should vary based on the job you want to get. You can use the popular accounting resume samples we have gathered to learn about the industry-specific elements you may want to include in your own professional document.Accounting Resume Samples
If you are looking for a job as an account executive, your resume has to show that you have the knowledge and experience necessary to advise clients and manage finances. You may be more comfortable creating portfolios than resumes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t impress recruiters with your document. You can use our accounting resume samples as a place to start.
- For:
- Experienced account executives who have knowledge of sales and wish to maintain and create client relationships to drive sales and increase revenue.
- Accounting Skills To Include:
- Degree from a four-year college
- Strong initiative and go-getter attitude
- Excellent customer relations
- Fast decision-making skills
- Honed written and verbal communication skills
More Information: Have a look at our account executive resume sample for more information.
Write Your Resume for an ATS in 5 Quick Steps
How to write an Accounting Resume
To write an accounting resume, you should follow these guidelines. This should serve as a guideline for how a sample accounting resume should be structured. Many accountant resume samples that you will find on the Internet do not provide the level of detail needed to help you to structure yours. We recommend you include the following sections in your accounting resume:
Contact Details
Include your full name, your telephone numbers, including a cell phone number and your email address. It is also wise to include your address. For students, this will include both home address and your address at the university.
Objective
Accounting resumes for less experienced candidates should include an objective. This is one concise sentence which states the goal of the applicant, and it should be tailored for each job. This accounting resume sample suggests something like:
Motivated self starter with accounting qualification seeking position with accounting company leader.
Profile
More experienced candidates will want to include a profile in their accounting resume. This usually consists of four sentences which provide a summary of the applicantӢs most relevant skills and experience. Sample accounting resumes include profiles such as:
Versatile and highly self-motivated senior accountant with more than 10 years of leadership experience. Demonstrable experience supervising accounting staff and managing diverse teams. Expert in billings and collections with significant experience managing balance sheets and management status reports for blue chip organizations. Analytical thinker who brings a new approach to the management of accounts receivable.
As this sample accounting resume demonstrates, you can include some of your keywords in this profile, improving your resumeӢs chances of being found online. More on keywords below.
NOTE: Your accountant resume profile or objective will sit in the area of the page, which immediately commands the attention of the employer. The eye is naturally drawn to the top third of the page. Make sure that your resume stands out from the sea of other accounting resumes that the hiring manager receives, by paying attention to this important area.
Key Skills
For experienced accounting professionals, it is recommended to consider a list of key skills. This is another great place for keywords and phrases to sit. Our sample accounting resume suggests that you do it something like this:
- Accounting Management
- Accounting Team Leadership
- Accounts receivables management
- Managing billings and collections
- Balance sheet Management
- Preparing Financial Status Reports
Accounting Education
Your education section should be detailed in reverse chronological order. Make sure to include the following: subjects studied, educational institutes attended and their location, dates of graduation, any professional qualifications held.
Accounting Work Experience
Work experience should also be in reverse chronological order. DonӢt just list responsibilities. These days, employers want to hear about achievements, not just lists of tasks. Task lists will not make you stand out from the crowd. Our sample accounting resume suggests that you include bullet points that are listed in a similar way to these:
- Led accounting team to introduce new customized computer software including selection of vendor through to driving the training of teams.
- Implemented changes to the A/R process, reducing debtor days by an average of 15 and significantly increasing cash flow in the organization.
Or for a more junior accounting resume:
- Identified process issues with reporting method and proactively introduced new procedure for the operations department, improving report quality.
While working on these bullet points, make sure that you use the most powerful words that you can find to lead the sentence. Here, we”¢ve used ‘Led”, ‘Implemented”, and ‘Identified”. There are a great many other powerful action verbs that you can use to start off your bullet points.
Activities
For recent graduates, in this section you can mention relevant activities which might be of interest to the employer. Anything that demonstrates team working, leadership or communication skills may be important to include here. For more senior positions, accounting resumes may wish to include affiliations with professional organizations or community leadership. Again, make bullets powerful.
Keywords
Your accounting resume needs to include keywords and phrases which will be searched for by employers when looking for suitable candidates. A high quality sample accounting resume will contain all of the keywords and phrases that an employer will be looking for several times throughout the resume.
In summary, the above should provide you information about how sample accounting resumes are laid out. From this page you can also find a great number of sample resumes to get you started.
Available Sample Resumes
- Account Manager Resume
- Account Payable Clerk Resume
- Accounting Assistant Resume
- Accounting Audit Manager Resume Template
- Accounting Auditor Resume Template
- Accounting Clerk Resume 2
- Accounting Manager Resume 3
- Assistant Controller Resume
- Assistant Controller Resume 2
- Assistant Portfolio Manager Resume
- Auditor Resume Sample
- Bank Teller Resume
- Bookkeeping Clerk Resume
- Budget Manager Resume Sample
- Controller Resume 3
- Financial Analyst Resume Sample
- Financial Assurance Manager Resume Sample
- Financial Assurance Specialist Resume Sample
- General Accountant Resume
- Gift Administration Specialist Resume Template
- Government Accountant Resume Sample
- Industrial Accountant Resume Sample
- Internal Auditor Resume Sample
- Junior Accountant Resume