INTHEBLACK December - January 2022 - Magazine - Page 68
INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT
Resume building
STORY JESSICA MUDDITT
68
DEC 2022
JAN 2023
CREATE A CV
TO REMEMBER
Learn how to turn your CV and LinkedIn profile into powerful tools
that showcase your accounting and finance experience.
The average employer spends
just eight seconds reading a CV
before deciding whether to progress
it or reject it. How can you make
yours stand out from the rest?
“With accounting and finance
CVs, we want to be able to very
quickly identify relevant systems,
industries and key skills,” says
Erin Devlin, managing director
Victoria at recruitment consultancy
people2people and author of Get
the Job You Really Want.
“Be as specific as possible – list
systems on the first page, and
then provide detail later in the
CV, such as the fact that you’ve
done pivot tables, rather than just
saying you used Excel.
“Do the same for industries –
for example, within manufacturing,
there might be a particular type
of inventory you recorded. The
employer then knows immediately,
and it makes you stand out from
other candidates.”
BEAT YOUR OWN DRUM
Achievements within each role
should be clearly articulated,
adds Devlin.
“You don’t want to just say,
‘I did invoicing’. It’s better to
say, ‘I managed invoicing for
INTHEBLACK CAREER, ELEVATED SPECIAL EDITION
approximately 400 suppliers
per month’.
“Provide some robust data
about how you improved your
organisation, such as by identifying
cost savings, which resulted in
a 10 per cent EBIT increase over
a certain period of time.”
Highlight anything that adds
value in the eyes of the recruiter,
such as excellence in education.
“If you did well, highlight it,
such as having a high distinction
average in your university studies,”
suggests Devlin.
PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS
Michael Edelstein CPA,
founder of Recruitment Expert,
urges candidates to reflect on
their strengths.
“What makes you special? Are
you a CPA [Australia] council
member, sports team captain,
Toastmaster champion? Basically,
what are you doing to grow,
develop and contribute?”
Communicating this
effectively requires a high degree
of self-awareness.
“I know what a financial
accountant does, and I know what
a business services tax accountant
does,” Edelstein says.
“What have you actually done
in that role? Did you just come in
and do your job, or did you excel
in some areas? Did you come up
with a new report, reduce the
time it took to do something, or
implement something new? Those
kinds of things show initiative and
will make you stand out.”
Volunteering or community
work could potentially be included
as well, depending on the type of
activities undertaken, Devlin says.
“For a lot of positions, we love
to see how people are engaged in
their community,” says Devlin.
“As it is outside work, it’s
obviously personal information,
and it is up to someone to
volunteer it. But if you want to, it
can make you stand out, because
it might show leadership qualities
and additional skills.”
AVOID RAISING RED FLAGS
It is all too common for an
otherwise excellent CV to be
undermined by unanswered
questions. Pre-empt this
by addressing any gaps in
employment or periods of
short-term employment.
“No one wants to hire a
job hopper,” warns Edelstein.
