The best way to sell yourself as an Accountant is to write a killer CV. Remember that a CV is a reflection of who you are. Your CV will put across the following information about yourself:
- Achievements
- Skills
- Qualifications
- Personal information
- Work history
What Is The Format For A CV?
A standard format of a CV should include the following:
- Contact Information
- Personal Statement
- Professional Experience
- Academic History
- Key Skills and Qualifications
- Industry Awards
- Professional Certifications
How Do I Make My Accounting CV Stand Out?
Here is what you can include to make your Accounting CV more impressive:
- Qualifications
- Work history
- Use bullet points
- Your roles and responsibilities
- Achievements
- Highlight your progression
- Team vs individual tasks
- Include keywords
- Include systems
- Proofread
Qualifications
State the qualifications that you have achieved. Mention when and where you obtained your qualifications. If you are still studying, mention the part of your qualification that you have finished. Make it clear what you are still studying and when your exams are due. For example, if you are studying the ICB Financial Accounting Programme you can write as follows:
- Bookkeeping: ICB National Certificate – 2019 Matric College
- Bookkeeping: ICB FET Certificate – 2020 Matric College
- Technical Financial Accounting: ICB National Diploma – 2021 Matric College
- Certified Financial Accounting: ICB National Diploma – 2022 to present – Two (2) modules out of 4 completed Matric College
Work History
Be clear about the companies you have worked for. Doing so will make anyone reading your CV understand the industry experience that you have. Under each company that you have worked for, include the following details:
- A short description of what the company does
- Revenue
- Number of employees
- Location
- Indicate if the company is listed
Here is an example:
Telkom Private Limited May 1994 – October 2011
Position: Accounts Clerk
Reporting to: Junior Accountant
Telkom provides telecommunications products and services to the South African public. The company is headquartered in Pretoria but has a footprint countrywide. The number of employees that the company employs is approximately 10 000 workers countrywide. The company is listed on the JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange).
Use Bullet Points
Long-winded paragraphs on a CV can be boring to read and has the potential to distract the reader. You want all the key information on your CV to be easy to read. Bullet points will give you a clean and well-structured format to ensure the reader identifies your key duties quickly and does not get lost in too much detail.
Your Roles And Responsibilities
Roles refer to a person’s position within a team. Responsibilities define the tasks that an employee is expected to perform. List your responsibilities in bullet points. Make sure they are easy to read and understand. Remember, your job is about numbers.
Throwing some figures in your list is advisable. For example, you can write a responsibility as follows – Following up on debtors with 60+ days overdue accounts on a daily basis and achieving an average of 80% debt recovery each month from the previous 40%.
Achievements
Think about your achievements in each of your responsibilities. Under your list of responsibilities, you can add a subtitle – Achievements. Make your achievements tangible, in other words, make them measurable. For example, if you improved a process that increased efficiency, how much time did you save? If you found a way to save money, how much did you save?
Highlight Your Progression
Do not just add your current title to your CV if you progressed to that position through promotion. Make your potential employer see that because of your focus, qualifications or hard work, you were rewarded for the position that you hold. Demonstrate your journey by listing the time periods in each position you have been. Here is an example of how you can do it:
- Senior Financial Accountant: July 2020 – Present
- Financial Accountant: June 2019 -July 2020
- Assistant Accountant: January 2019 – June 2019
- Accounts Clerk: May 2018 – January 2019
Team Vs individual Tasks
There are some tasks that are a result of teamwork. There are other tasks that you are solely responsible for. Be clear about that. Even in those tasks, that are a result of teamwork, state the role that you were playing. This will make your employer be aware of your capabilities.
Include Keywords
Suit your CV according to the specific job that you are applying for. When you read a job description, mark the keywords therein. Update your CV with those keywords. The Hiring Manager will identify the keywords in your CV. Because of this and other factors that are considered, you can be short-listed.
Include Systems
Include the Accounting Systems that you can work on. Here are some of the systems used in Accounting:
- Xero
- QuickBooks
- NetSuite
- Microsoft Dynamics GP
- BlackLine
- Wave
- FreshBooks
- Deltek Vision
- FreeAgent
- Spendesk
Proofread
Make sure you double-check your CV for grammar and spelling. Make it easy for yourself by using one of the free tools such as Grammarly. You can go further by asking a friend to check for you. Do not give the employer a reason to put your CV aside.
My Accounting CV: What To Avoid?
Avoid including the following in your Accounting CV:
- Unnecessary information – Do not include too much information that can be unnecessary. Remember, the employer has other CVs to look at.
- Paragraphs of text – Avoid long, and complicated paragraphs. Bullet points are very effective. Do not include images or charts in your CV.
- Spelling and grammatical errors – Check your CV for spelling and grammar errors. In addition to using tools such as Grammarly, reading your CV aloud is one other way that you can use to spot errors.
- Inaccuracies in qualifications or experience – Always make sure that all the information that you include in your CV is correct. Situations where your potential employer finds out that some of the information that you included in your CV is incorrect will automatically disqualify you. Remember, you do necessarily have to meet all criteria to be offered the position.
- Your age – It is now acceptable to exclude references to your age as much as possible. If the role that you are applying for has age-related requirements, just state that you meet the requirements. Do not give any more details.
- Negative comments about a former employer – Do not make negative comments about your previous employer or other organisations. It will not bode well with your potential employer.
- Details about your hobbies and interests – Do not give details about your hobbies and interests unless they can be tied to the position that you are applying for
- Avoid small text – Although small text can free up some space, it should not be too small for the eye’s comfort. Use a font size of either 11 or 12 points
- Miscellaneous extra content – Here is other content that you should not include in your CV:
- Photographs
- References – Unless asked to
- Irrelevant social media accounts or websites
- Your salary – This can be discussed in the interview when the employer is considering offering you the position
- Details of short-term roles
How Long Should An Accountant’s CV Be?
A CV for a job should be between one and three pages long. This will largely depend on your relevant professional experience, career level, and skills. A CV is usually longer than your resume.
Use our tips and tricks to create the best Accountant CV. Start creating your CV today!
Author: Collin Wilbesi
Editor: Sive Ncanywa
Date: July 28 , 2022