How to Get a Job as a Public Accountant, Five Keywords

In the past, you could count on recruiters or hiring managers reading your resume and cover letter to find out if they wanted to interview you, but times have changed. Now resume keywords are just as important as your work history or the content of your cover letter. If you do not have the right keywords in your accountant resume, there's a good chance a human will never look at your application materials. Use these five resume keywords if you are applying for a public accounting position.

Anne Field of "Crain's New York Business" says resume keywords are necessary because more recruiters are using applicant-tracking systems that allow them to search resumes for specific words and phrases. If you have experience with corporate compliance, use the keyword "Sarbanes Oxley" in your resume. This is one of the top fifty accounting resume keywords, according to Elite Resumes. Ever since several major accounting scandals came to light, there is more of a focus on legal compliance than ever before. If a recruiter is looking for someone with compliance experience, using this keyword in your accountant resume will help him find your application materials, even if hundreds of other people applied for the same job.

Another great keyword for an accounting resume is "financial statements." If a recruiter is looking for someone who has experience preparing profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and other financial statements, it will be easier to find your resume if you use this keyword. If you have tax experience, the third resume keyword you should use is "taxation." Using this keyword will make it easier for recruiters to find your application if they are looking for someone who has experience filing quarterly taxes or preparing corporate tax reports.

Because public accountants oversee A/P and A/R departments, "accounts payable" and "accounts receivable" are the final two resume keywords you should be using. You can supplement these keywords with related words and phrases, such as "A/P management," "A/R management," "accounts payable reports," and "accounts receivable reports." If you are not sure which resume keywords to use, check the job description published by each potential employer. Use keywords found in the list of job duties or minimum requirements to ensure your resume gets seen by the right person.

Technology has changed the way recruiters search for new employees. Instead of spending days looking at hundreds of resumes, recruiters now use software programs to screen resumes for specific keywords. If your resume does not contain the right words and phrases, you could miss out on the opportunity to interview for a desirable job. And these jobs are desirable: public accountants earn an average salary of $48,958 in the US. You can start your search on Nexxt, and dial the geographic settings to find public accountant jobs near you.

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