Accountant Resume: Examples, Template, and Resume Tips

The one thing that everybody in the world has in common is knowledge about money and where it can get us.

Some people have more and some, unfortunately, have less, but it is what it is. The language that we all speak is money.

Money is extremely addicting, and people love to spend it.

But we have to take care of how we use it so that we don’t lose it. But most people are extremely bad at handling money.

But what if those people had help? And they do!

That help comes in the form of accountants, the seemingly only people who know what to do with money.

The rich wouldn’t stay rich for long without them, and various companies would go bankrupt or just disappear if they didn’t have an accountant’s help.

The history of accounting is thousands of years old, with mentions in early civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt and Babylon, but the word “accountant” comes from French.

However, this job will never get old. As long as people are alive and using money accountants will have a job.

There are even predictions that the employment of accountants will grow 11% from 2014 till 2024, which is much faster than all the other professions.

If you’re looking to become an accountant you should be proficient in English and Maths, as these are the classes on which accounting is mostly based on.

You should also be able to think critically and analytically, and also at least have a tendency towards problem-solving.

Now, whether you’re an experienced accountant or somebody who’s just making their first steps in the industry, you’ll need a great resume to land a great job!

Luckily for you, we have prepared some examples, tips and tricks on making your resume absolutely amazing, and you can keep reading if you want to find out more about it!

Senior Accountant Resume Example

Accountant Resume Example

Here you were able to see two examples of professional accountant resumes, one for a senior accountant and the other for a junior one.

This is how they should ideally look like when you send them to your potential employer.

Don’t let that scare you, just keep reading to find out what parts of your resume are most important, how to draw attention to yourself and show your skills and experience in the best possible way, and how to land that job!

Follow this step by step guide and don’t worry.

After that, you can use our resume builder to build your own resume with ease in any of the various templates that we have to offer.

HOW TO WRITE THE PERFECT PERSONAL INFO SECTION OF YOUR ACCOUNTANT RESUME IN 2019

As with all the subsections of your resume that we will mention later on in the article, you can’t skip this one.

Your personal information is something that your potential employer is going to use to get in touch with you when they decide to give you that job, so you can’t just leave it out or write it incorrectly.

When it comes to your name, it should be somewhere where it can be easily read. It should be eye-catching, preferably positioned so that it’s on the upper center part of the paper, written in big, bold letters.

So don’t try to write it somewhere where you’re employers will need more time to find it, because they will lose interest.

Try using just your first and your last name in your resume, especially if your name is too long.

Always use your actual government name and refrain from using any nicknames or lying about your name as there is no reason for that and you will be found out and probably won’t get the job.

Another important thing to note is that the name that you write on your resume should match all the other social media accounts that you provided, like LinkedIn, for example.

Here is how your name should be written in your resume:

Adding a photo to your resume is usually optional.

You should know that some countries require you to submit a photo with your resume, while some don’t.

However, when it comes to some jobs, you really need to add a photo.

Accounting is not one of those jobs unless the employer specifically says so for whatever reason.

Anyway, make sure you check the description of the job offer thoroughly before sending it in.

Feel free to leave out your complete home address, as it’s certainly not that important to your future employers.

When you’re submitting a resume just write down the town and country that you live in so that they can know where you’re located.

Other than that, if you’re keeping your resume somewhere online where people can see it leave out your home address completely and only add it when you’re sending in your resume.

Your email address should be professional, without any nicknames or improper language and names. You should use your real name and if you don’t have an email address like that make a new one.

Having a professional-looking account is also advice that you can use when it comes to your social media accounts, both the ones that you share with your employer and the ones that you don’t.

Keep them serious and sharp, and don’t post about hating your job, because somebody will find out and you’re probably going to get fired.

Your LinkedIn profile is the only one that should be shared, so don’t submit your Facebook or Instagram.

Also, make sure that your URL is personalized and uses your real name.

HOW TO WRITE THE MOST PERFECT RESUME SUMMARY FOR YOUR ACCOUNTANT RESUME THAT WILL SURELY CATCH YOUR FUTURE EMPLOYERS EYE

People usually have the biggest problem with writing a summary of their resume, but there’s no need for that. A summary is, as the name suggests, a summary.

It’s a shortened version of all the most important things that you’ve written down in the rest of your resume.

So if you’re having trouble with writing the summary, you can just write the rest of the resume first and just don’t forget to summarize it later.

As we mentioned, a summary is important because it’s where you showcase all of your most crucial strengths, and if it happens that your future employer only wants to read your summary, you should make it the best possible one.

The summary adds depth and clarity to your resume.

As we mentioned writing the summary section isn’t tough, but we have some tips that could help you.

The summary shouldn’t be too long or too short.

The perfect length is from three to six sentences, depending on how much you have to say. The information that you’re trying to showcase in your resume summary should be about:

• Years of experience
• Training, certifications and degrees
• Specific accomplishments and received recognitions
• Skills and experience that make you unique
• Areas of expertise

However, pick the most important ones that really describe you the best when writing that summary.

If you’re unsure how to start your summary, we suggest that you put your professional title and years of experience as the first thing.

Then, you can add some of your achievements that show that you have the skills and you know how to use them.

Put down some hard numbers, because it’s proven way you’ll have more chances at getting that job. This isn’t bragging, it’s describing your successes.

You can personalize the end of the summary based on the job offer, or you can leave it like this.

HOW TO WRITE THE BEST EXPERIENCE SECTION OF YOUR ACCOUNTANT RESUME

Most employers will base their decision about your future in their company on this section of your resume, because everybody wants an employee that already knows how to do things and can be relied on.

This is why you have to make this part of your resume perfect!

In this section you’re supposed to list where you’ve worked and for how long, but also all the most important skills and accomplishments at those jobs that you can transfer to this one.

That’s what your future employers find important.

Before you start listing all of those things, choose the format.

The best format by far is the reverse chronological order.

When using this format you’re listing your most recent job first and then the one before that, and so on.

Usually, your most recent job is the one with the highest position and the best skills, and your future employers will see that one first.

That’s why this format is so good.

Another important thing to note is that you should always read the job offer in great detail first, because they will probably write what kind of experience they’re searching for and you can alter your resume based on that.

If you have experience in the field you’re almost good to go, and if you don’t have any don’t despair! You can still put down your volunteer work or internships where you learned some things that can be transferred onto the world of accounting.

When you’re listing your skills and duties on certain jobs make sure that you don’t make them look bland.

Add some hard numbers and turn them into accomplishments. Give them meaning and depth.

And again, write some numbers to stand out from the rest of the applicants.

We suggest that you use some strong action verbs and mention accounting specific skills when writing this section of your resume, as your knowledge of all the procedures and steps should be obviously stated.

And as we mentioned before, in case that you don’t have any experience in the finance industry list all the duties, skills and accomplishments that you’ve gotten somewhere else but that can be transferred onto this position.

You should follow the same advice even if you do have experience in the field, as it will show more things that you’re capable of.

HOW TO WRITE THE MOST AMAZING EDUCATION SECTION OF YOUR ACCOUNTANT RESUME EVER

Undoubtedly, education is important.

We mentioned before that you can’t really get into accounting if English and Maths aren’t your strongest subjects.

So your potential future employers need to see that you have what it takes.

So you should always include your education on your resume, and there are plenty of reasons for that, one of them being that your education might be able to show what your experience and skills section can’t.

That being said, if you have a degree in Accounting and Finance, or something similar, you should list it like this:

And if you’re still studying to become a part of this community, list your education like this:

Also, if you have any exceptional accomplishments from your years of education, you can list them like this:

You don’t have to list your high school degree in the education section of your resume if you have a degree, but if you need to list it you should do so like this:

Once again, if you have any exceptional accomplishments from your high school years feel free to list them in bullet-point form like the examples for universities above.

Only list your GPA score if it was above-average, the other can do you more harm than good.

HOW TO MAKE THE SKILLS SECTION OF YOUR RESUME THE BEST ONE EVER WRITTEN

It might seem like we said “this is the most important section” for every section till now, and that’s because it’s the truth.

You have to make all the sections and subsections of your resume perfect because you never know what your future employers are going to find to be the most crucial one.

So once again, this is the most important part of your resume and you shouldn’t mess it up.

Usually, employers looking for an accountant are looking for somebody with skills such as account analysis, financial statements, collections, payroll, regulatory filings, MS Office and IT skills, communication, organization, analytical and critical thinking.

And plenty of others too!

When you’re listing your skills make sure that you use as many job-specific terms as you can, as it will show that you’re knowledgeable.

Also, know some of the skills that all employers are looking for in a candidate.

However, before you start writing down all of your skills read the job offer again carefully and see if they’ve stated any skills that they’re looking for in the candidate.

If you match some of them add them to your list of skills.

You can write that list in concise and straight-forward bullet-point form because employers will find it easier to skim over.

Remember to only list the skills most relevant to your job title – just like in the experience and education section.

Refrain from writing down skills that don’t have anything to do with the job that you’re applying for just so that you can have more skills on your resume because it will show that you’re unprofessional.

However, don’t list mediocre skills that all accountants have, try to make your resume more eye-catching if you can.

USEFUL TIPS AND TRICKS TO USE WHEN WRITING YOUR ACCOUNTANT RESUME

• Heading of your resume – It would be best if you put the heading of the resume as your name. One o the biggest mistakes that job seekers make is putting “Curriculum Vitae” or any other variation of that as the header of their resume. Your employers know that it’s a resume, and your name should be more important than that.
• Honors and achievements – feel free to list your honors and achievements, but take care that they translate well into the job of an accountant. You don’t need to list that you won a race when you were in high school, but you can say that you lead your team to win.
• Volunteer experiences – Job seekers often forget to put down their volunteer experiences, but they are just as important as the regular ones. Of course, this also the case where you should worry about if your volunteer experience could have anything to do with being an accountant. Maybe you volunteered at your local shelter and helped them with budget estimates? Write that down!
• Adapting your resume – You should write a new resume for every job you apply for, or you can just change parts of it to make it more personal, like mentioning the name of the company that you want to work for or changing some of the skills so that they meet their requirements.
• Bullet points – Use these to present concise information as the employers are most likely to just skim over your resume and bullet points will catch their eyes.
• Skip personal details that are too personal – When writing the personal info section of your barista resume make sure that you don’t overshare. There are things that you might think about putting in your resume but that could either be considered unprofessional or that might make your future employers make assumptions about you. Don’t list things such as your social security number, date of birth, race or ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, children, pregnancy status or citizenship. These things are of no concern to your employer.
• Grammar check – Always proofread your resume – you don’t want some embarrassing mistake to slip and ruin your chances of getting the job.
• Don’t lie – When writing about your skills and experiences don’t lie. Your inefficiency will most likely be seen as soon as you walk into the office and get ready to do your first task.
• Descriptions – It’s okay to use one or two fancy words and details for your resume, but too much flourish is usually something that employers don’t like, so be careful with that.
• Hobbies and interests – It’s fine to list your hobbies and interest as that will show your employer what kind of person you are, but you should only list the ones that are relevant to the job of an accountant.
• Reviewing – Distance yourself from your resume and look at it from the eyes of the potential employer. Or just give it to a friend or family member that is used to seeing a lot of resumes. They will help you find the mistakes and improve your resume.
• Languages – feel free to list languages that you can speak fluently as your workplace could be a place where different cultures meet and your employers will appreciate that.
• Length of your resume – Your resume shouldn’t be too long, it’s fine if it can fit on just one page. Anything more than that is too much.
• Formatting – Keep your resume in physical and digital form, and also various types of files such as PDF or DOCX, maybe your employer will need them.
• Font – Only use serious fonts, and refrain from the ones that look too detailed and flourished.
• Resume template – All of this will be made way easier if you opt to use one of our resume templates on our resume builder. Just find the one that you like the looks of and continue editing it and saving some time.

CONCLUSION

That’s all that we can teach you when it comes to making your accountant resume.

Make sure to follow this step by step guide when making your resume because it will make your life much easier!

Make sure that all of the sections of your resume are the best possible ones, and don’t try too hard on one of them and leave the rest in a bad shape.

And if you don’t know where to start, use our resume builder, because it will help you immensely and you’ll be thankful that you have it in your life.

Now, just follow the steps and good luck with finding your perfect job!