Two Qualities Accounting Recruiters Are Looking For

As any accountant knows, the profession involves far more than basic number crunching; great accountants are informed and aware, making them true assets to a company. If you're hunting for a job, it is crucial to know which qualities an accounting recruiter will be looking out for. With that knowledge, you can frame your experience in the most effective way and make it easier to move forward in the hiring process.

Industry and Company Awareness

An accountant does not work in a bubble; his work impacts and is affected by other colleagues and departments. To find the best candidates, an accounting recruiter will often look out for people who have a solid understanding of the overall workings of a company. When you are looking for a job, it can be helpful to emphasize past collaborative work to the accounting recruiter. Talk about how you organized information sessions to help executives keep better financial records, for example, or explain how you helped shift business practices to best take advantage of tax exemptions. When a recruiter sees that you have experience in whole-company practices, you'll automatically become a more promising candidate in the hiring process.

Modern accountants are also expected to have an awareness of the industry as a whole. In many industries, policy shifts can have significant financial ramifications for businesses. Recruiters often look out for candidates who keep up with changing laws and trends in the industry; these workers have the information that is necessary to make timely decisions and valuable contributions. This is particularly true for international businesses, which deal with a wider range of changing regulations.

Structural Comfort

By nature, accounting is a highly-structured field. On a daily basis, you will perform repetitive tasks, each guided by a specific set of rules and regulations. For an accounting recruiter, it is important to find candidates who are comfortable working within a set structure. To do so, the recruiter will look at a number of factors, including the organization of your application materials and the efficiency of your communication.

According to Adecco, an accounting recruiter will also look for evidence of efficiency in your past accounting positions. To give yourself an advantage, you might emphasize your experience in creating faster, more accurate systems. Or, talk about how you adapted a traditional system to work with an unusual situation without sacrificing productivity. When you can demonstrate a certain level of flexibility within the set structure, it lets employers and recruiters know that you are a fast, adaptable thinker.

An accounting recruiter spends a small amount of time on each candidate's application. By framing your experience in a way that emphasizes your awareness and efficiency, you can set yourself apart from other applicants from the start.

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