Tailoring your resume to an Accounting Officer position is mandatory today to ensure that your application will pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). In doing so, your resume will be read by the prospective employer. Then, fingers crossed, you will be shortlisted as a potential candidate and be called for not one, but multiple job interviews!
Firstly, before you apply to be an Accounting Officer, you need to be acquainted with what an Accounting Officer does!
Accounting Officers handle the financial record keeping of an organisation, including preparing invoices, recording payments, and managing expenses.
A standard job description template for an Accounting Officer will look something like this: (source Betterteam)
Hiring Managers are looking for an organised Accounting Officer to assist in financial bookkeeping activities, such as analysing all financial activities, ensuring compliance with accounting and legal requirements, and preparing budgets.
To be successful as an Accounting Officer, you should have knowledge of necessary Accounting procedures, be open to learning, and have strong communication skills. Ultimately, a quality Accounting Officer should be able to achieve financial efficiency and produce highly accurate records of expenditure and profits.
Knowing this, your resume and online profile should include the hard and soft skills that the recruiter or hiring manager is looking for in a candidate.
The Accounting Officer position description template will also contain pivotal information about what the candidate will need to do daily. Such as:
• Maintaining and reviewing financial records.
• Ensuring compliance with accounting and tax laws.
• Preparing budgets regularly.
• Monitoring expenditure and profits and providing reports.
• Evaluating internal management systems, procedures and risks in order to provide recommendations.
• Managing business accounts and preparing financial statements.
The Accounting Officer position description will also have some requirements and personal attributes that you will need to demonstrate in your resume to ensure your potential employer will take your application seriously:
• A degree in Accounting or similar.
• Previous working experience as an Accounting Officer.
• Knowledge and competency in accounting principles.
• Proficiency in management systems.
• Administration skills.
• Sound interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in MS Excel and other accounting software.
You may also want to do some industry research to find out what other companies want in their Accounting Officers. This will give you an indication of how to tailor your resume for the requirements they are looking for but have not included in the job description.
If you need some help tailoring your resume for a particular role and you're not sure what to include, or what not to have, feel free to reach out to The Perfect Resume team at the following email address: info@theperfectresume.com.au. We can do a resume review for you for FREE!
The Perfect Resume team writes a tailored cover letter in a systematic, proven approach. This method lets the organisation know what you can offer, why it would be in their best interest to hire you and how inviting you into their team would add value to their organisation. All while correlating these aspects with the attributes of the role they need to fill.
You must give them a compelling reason to invite you for an interview!
Depending on the role, a more professional approach may be required. Some positions may call for statements to be backed by real-life examples, rather than just speaking hypothetically. Illustrating your points with specific, relevant examples from your own experience will dramatically increase their impact.
Stop Thinking A Cover Letter Doesn't Matter!
You would be surprised how many people think they can send off the CV on its own without a cover letter. Some recruiters don't read cover letters, some base their hiring decision on them. Why take a chance at all?
Stick to one page only!
Unless there is an explicit instruction to the contrary, you should aim to keep your letters short and sweet. Never lose sight of the fact that your cover letter is not intended to take the place of your CV; it is meant as an introduction, therefore, most cover letters shouldn't exceed one A4 page in length. A handful of paragraphs usually are more than enough to whet the recruiter's appetite and entice them to read your resume.
Quit spamming everyone with a generic cover letter
It is astonishing how many people use a generic cover letter and the same resume for every single application. It stands to reason that every job and every organisation is different, and every cover letter should, therefore, be subtly different. A carefully targeted message can easily mean the difference between success and failure. In the same way, your resume should be tailored to each application; it is even more important to tailor your cover letter.
If you are someone who sends the same cover letter to everyone, you only need to change a few minor details such as the organisation's name, hiring manager's name and role purpose to ensure the cover letter is tailored to them.
Focus on what the employer wants from you, not what you have done in your career so far.
Snippets from your resume are OK, such as letting them know what you currently do for a job and how the skills obtained in the role transfer to the new position. Additionally, mentioning your education and other certifications may be essential. What you should avoid is repeating slabs of text as it will reduce the recruiter/hiring manager's time spent reading your resume.
A cover letter is an opportunity to draw the reader's attention to some of your key selling points, such as skills, experiences, and achievements. It would help if you did so in a way that makes it clear how these will be of interest and potential benefit to the reader.
Don't forget!
When you apply for a position, they already have a copy of your CV. Therefore, your cover letter should complement it, not repeat it.
Your cover letter should introduce your CV, not replace it!
Nobody wants to read the same thing twice.
Nobody wants to read the same thing twice.
Avoid going off on different tangents, instead, use a simple, structured format.
You only have one page of content to get a clear message across to the reader, therefore, it is essential to structure your cover letter logically. Like all the best stories, the perfect cover letters have a strong and clearly defined beginning, middle, and end. Capture their attention, make an impact, maintain their interest, and finish with a persuasive closing paragraph. If you don't structure your cover letter carefully, you will end up rambling, and the impact of your cover letter will be diluted.
I this, I that, I the other, me, me, me!
The word "I" is often overused in cover letters. Unlike a resume, a cover letter should, of course, be written in the first person. If you start every sentence with "I", then it can make for tedious reading. You also risk conveying an impression of arrogance and egocentrism.
It might not be easy to cut down the use of "I"; however, you should try to do so. Look at each sentence that begins with "I" and see whether you can rephrase it. For example, you may be able to turn round a sentence so that it starts with "You" or "Your" which is ideal. In doing so, you shift the focus on the reader and not yourself.
Adopt a marketing trick by having a clear ""call to action"" at the end of your cover letter!
You can't exactly demand a response from the reader; however, you need to do everything in your power to encourage one. The key to ending your cover letter in a positive, upbeat manner is to use a marketing tip, known as a "call to action."
A call to action is a written or verbal statement in an advert or other promotional material that is specifically designed to motivate the audience to take a specific action. For example, "pick up the phone and place an order" or "call now while stocks last."
The right call to action message in your cover letter is to ask for an interview by calling you on the correct phone number or email address. After all, that is why you are writing a cover letter in the first place!
Proofread your cover letter for linguistic errors
Research has shown that 90% of resumes and cover letters that The Perfect Resume team review contains spelling or grammatical errors. It might seem obvious to run a grammar and spelling check. It also might be hard to believe that people send out letters with mistakes in them. But believe me, it happens all the time. Therefore, if you can make sure your cover letter is error-free, you will immediately be at an advantage.
In conclusion, a cover letter is a companion document that doesn't rewrite your CV or replace it. It adds a more profound element to your application.
Research has indicated that you could improve your chances of landing an interview by 40%, therefore, if you are going to the trouble of sending off your resume, then it is always worth taking a little bit longer to construct a brilliant cover letter to go with it!
If you would like assistance to create a tailored cover letter, or take advantage of the free resume review.
I recommend perfect resume to anyone who is looking for a change in their career or getting into a job. Melissa did a wonderful job on my resume and I got into interviews as soon as I started applying for jobs. No delay. Well done Melissa and team! Great work.
I was miserable at my previous job. Now I have a job I love. TPR helped with a brilliant resume and cover letter.
Melissa is great! She quickly prepared my resume, cover letters & selection criteria. I received multiple interviews, very happy customer! Highly recommend.
Defence Industry related with levels of privacy and discretion. The speed and professionalism of the service they provided me was exceptional. What I loved most was that they were willing to be blunt where others were not. Identifying weaknesses in my resume that most people are blind to see for themselves.
Professional, prompt and easy to deal with. I am very happy with the help that Melissa and her team provided to me. I had a fresh, new, exciting and professional resume plus an accompanying cover letter in just a few days, together with great advice, tips and encouragement. I couldn't recommend The Perfect Resume more highly.
Melissa was awesome. She engaged me in the process, gave really good insight and did a fantastic job with my resume. I had previously got someone else to redo my resume for me and they had done a really bad job. But this one is amazing and up to date and all ATS tracked and checked. I would HIGHLY recommend this company if you need help with resumes, cover letters and LinkedIn! They know what they are doing and really work with you.
I recently had the pleasure of working with The Perfect Resume to enhance my resume, and I am extremely pleased with the results. The team at The Perfect Resume demonstrated a high level of professionalism, attention to detail, and a genuine commitment to helping me present my qualifications in the best possible light. From the initial consultation to the final draft, the process was seamless and efficient. The expert resume writers at The Perfect Resume took the time to understand my career goals and tailored my resume to highlight my strengths and achievements. They not only polished the content but also provided valuable insights on industry trends and resume best practices. I appreciated the open communication throughout the collaboration, as the team was responsive to my feedback and ensured that the final document truly represented my professional journey. The refined resume not only showcases my skills and experiences but also reflects a contemporary and visually appealing format. Thanks to The Perfect Resume, I now feel more confident about my job search, armed with a well-crafted resume that sets me apart from the competition. I highly recommend The Perfect Resume to anyone seeking professional resume services – their expertise and dedication to client satisfaction truly make them stand out in the field.