Accounting is a fast-growing field, and competition is stiff as both college graduates and experienced professionals apply to in-demand jobs. Your resume will get you in the door with a prospective employer, but it’s the interview that sets one qualified applicant apart from the next. If you’ve landed an accounting interview for your dream job, here are some guidelines to prepare you to wow the hiring manager and seal the deal. We’ve asked our accountancy experts for their top tips to help you shine in your next interview…
Interviews can be nerve-racking. You want to connect to the employer, communicate with confidence and be the candidate of choice.
But you’re not sure how to stand out in your next accounting interview.
Never fear, we have your back. Here are some tips to help you cross the finish line first.
Researching your prospective employer in advance allows you to frame your answers in a more relevant way. Research allows you to connect your skillset to the company’s present situation. The more you know about the company’s core values, market, and competitors, the more educated a conversation you can have. And that alone can set you apart4
An interviewer may ask some fundamental accounting questions to test your knowledge. Even if you know the material forward and backward, prepare verbal answers ahead of time.
There’s nothing worse in an accounting interview than being asked a question about your resume and not knowing the answer. Remember that anything on your resume is fair game for discussion. This means that your resume must be an accurate reflection of your existing skillset. It also means that you need to know your resume inside and out, answer questions confidently regarding it and engage in a more free-flowing conversation about it if that is your interviewer’s style.
Without a doubt, you will be asked questions that relate directly to your CV and application form. Review your CV and application form beforehand. However, make sure you don’t just regurgitate what you wrote in your application when you’re answering the interview questions. Use what you wrote on your application form as a basis, but expand on it, provide more information, and add extra insights.
While interviews are a necessary part of landing any job, they don’t have to be a nerve-wracking ordeal. Research the company, know your resume and practice your success stories. By following these three tips you position yourself to stand out in your next accounting interview. We’d wish you good luck, but we don’t think you’re going to need it.
Being able to communicate is important in any job you apply for but, as Mark advises his applicants, in an accountancy role a hiring manager will want assurances that you can work successfully with people outside your immediate team and communicate with other stakeholders.
“Being able to partner with other areas of the business and talk about accounts using non-financial terms is a key skill that you should look to highlight,” he says. “This ability is highly sought-after and often not seen across all candidates, so draw on any experience and expertise you have in this area.”
“Accountancy has changed quite a bit in recent years,” adds Janine. “It’s not just about adding up the numbers anymore; hiring managers are keen to see how you build partnerships with other areas of the company, such as the commercial team, to help drive the business forward.”
Specific questions show that you’re engaged, thoughtful, and detail-oriented enough to pick out points of interest from the discussion. Your interview is also an opportunity for you to learn about your potential employer — you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you, so asking questions helps you determine if you want to work with them as well. Asking about the working culture can be a great way of showing enthusiasm for the role. Ask the right questions…
When you’re allowed to ask questions at the end of the interview, it’s a good idea to ask ones that can’t be answered by reading the accounting firm’s graduate website. You can ask all kinds of questions, but here are some ideas:
Don’t ask too many general questions about the company. Instead, ask questions about the specific business stream you are looking to enter. If you’re applying for an audit, ask audit-related questions. If you’re applying for tax, ask tax-related questions. If you’re applying for assurance…well, you get the idea.
Ask about the future career path. This shows ambition and desire to develop within the organization.
Ask about clients and the level of interaction you will have with them during the graduate scheme.
You should always be honest. What’s more, you should let your personality shine through. Offer the interviewers genuine reasons why you want to work for their accounting firm and tell them exactly why you want to develop your career as part of the specific business stream you have chosen to apply for.
If you need any assistance in preparing your cv or you need more specific guidelines that best suit your personal requirements to have a breakthrough in the Canadian job market reach out to Gettrainedgethired.com to book a free 30-Minute career counseling meeting. At Gettrainedgethired.com we provide you with the necessary training to learn practical skills to become an accountant. Our training is based on practical real-life cases. After the training, we work on your resume and try to place you in accounting firms through our network. You will also get access to like-minded individuals who are looking for jobs through our WhatsApp group. Please feel free to contact us at [email protected]. Or call us at 647-275-7150
Disclaimer: The information provided on this page is intended to provide general information. The information does not consider your situation and is not intended to be used without consultation from professionals. Salman Rundhawa and Gettrainedgethired.com will not be held liable for any problems that arise from the usage of the information provided on this page.