How To Make An Accounting CV Shine
Strength is expected to remain in the accounting job market; statistics claims that, between now and 2018, Accountants and Auditors are likely to experience “much faster than average” employment growth. But accounting job applicants still need to distinguish themselves to secure a job. Technical skills with the right accounting software product can make a CV shine for the maximum chances of employment.
Information collected from 500 randomly-selected accounting job postings from sites, such as: Monster, Career Builder and Accounting Jobs Today reveals which software systems employers mention the most as a prerequisite for their desired applicants. Some important lessons arise from the data; these main points are the newest and most effective ways to perfect the software skills on an accounting CV.
This article would be a whole lot shorter, and a lot less interesting, if it considered the one product every accounting professional absolutely must know – Microsoft Excel. Nearly 100% of these employers mentioned Excel skills as a necessity. If you’re an accounting student and you don’t know about Excel, stop reading this immediately and go learn it. For those of you who remain, here are some key findings from our research that will help you find a job:
- When finding your first job, look for a company that uses a “big name,” widely-used accounting system like SAP, Microsoft Dynamics or Oracle. That will improve your odds of getting hired next time you’re in the market for a new position.
- More and more companies are focused on business intelligence – the tools that analyse financial data to uncover business trends and opportunities. Try to gain experience in Business Objects, Crystal Reports, Cognos, etc.
If you’re looking to work in a big corporation, you should learn systems like SAP and Oracle. If mid-size companies are your thing, learn Sage and Microsoft Dynamics. Quickbooks skills are always in demand, but especially by smaller companies. - As the Microsoft Dynamics products converge, knowing any one of these systems will give you transferable skills across the entire Dynamics product line. For now, Dynamics GP appears to be in highest demand.
Don’t get too comfortable with PeopleSoft or JD Edwards; although they make sizable slices of Oracle’s pie, they’re likely to decline in use as Oracle migrates to its Fusion apps. However, this won’t be happening any time in the immediate future.
Are you a recent graduate on the job hunt in the accounting field? An employer or accounting professional with a stubborn preference for one special system? Express your opinion in the comments.
