Accounting experience.
You need it to get your foot in the door for accounting and finance jobs–which are growing in demand but shrinking in employee supply.
You need it for better pay and positions and to sit for the CPA exam.
The question is, what exactly counts as accounting experience?
Answering this question helps you stand out in the job market and meet employer expectations. It can help you on your finance or accounting career path.
Below, we’ll discuss what any budding accountant, recent grad, career advancer, or career-changer should know about gaining and listing accounting experiences. This knowledge can help you take charge of your career path and become a more attractive candidate.
Does Your Degree Count?
In part.
An accounting, finance, or business degree is the strong foundation most accounting and finance firms look for. A degree in one of these three subjects at an institute of higher learning, plus the good grades to go along with it, gives you a strong start in the accounting and finance career field.
Obtaining your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in these majors demonstrates to potential employers that you have the determination and the technical components. Getting more certifications, like a CPA certification, shows you are a serious student who desires to learn all you can about accounting.
However, the more accounting experience you can show outside formal education, the better you look to potential employers. They look to see if you have practical, hands-on skills. Even better is industry-specific knowledge, like manufacturing or construction accounting services.
Some Experience Required
So, what kinds of experience can you list on a resume?
You can list any job activities related to accounting and bookkeeping duties. If you have ever collected or recorded payments, prepared financial statements, cut checks, purchased products, or helped with internal audits, those qualify as experience.
Be sure to include the following types of accounting work in your resumes and interviews for entry-level positions, promotions, and the like:
- Internships
- Paid Work
- Unpaid Experience
Internships
List any internship position on your resume. Internships typically involve filing, researching, data entry, and preparing financial statements.
Consider applying for accounting firm internships if your resume could use a boost. Not only do you gain the experience, but you could gain entry into the organization as an employee that way.
Paid Work
Gain and use experience from your paid job. Finance and accounting responsibilities like administrative work, bookkeeping, and accounting functions add to your experience.
What’s better is that your paid work often prepares you for specialized fields of knowledge, like working with specific accounting software. You might even have specialized expertise in applying accounting concepts or analyzing financial statements within a particular industry.
Unpaid Experience
Remember to list any unpaid experience in which you used some accounting or finance knowledge. Any volunteer work that had to do with accounting-related functions counts.
Did you help with fundraising activities? Have you kept volunteer records orderly? Did you support an organization with money-raising efforts?
If not, it’s never too late to volunteer. You might enjoy it, and it just might help you stand out as the well-rounded candidate many employers seek.
Showcasing Your Experience on a Resume
You must gain experience and communicate that competence on your resume to achieve the well-paying jobs you want. It’s time to toot your own horn just a little.
Employers look for hard and soft skills–the technical knowledge you get from education, plus the harder-to-verify things they’ll learn about you when they meet you in person.
As technological advances take over mundane accounting functions, analytical skills are becoming more vital. Employers desire employees who can take numerical data and use it to help them or their clients make sound business decisions.
List as many applicable hard and soft skills as possible on your resume. Below are some examples.
| Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
|---|---|
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Attractive Experiences
What kind of experiences are most attractive today?
Today’s employers like to see proficiency in financial reporting and analysis. In addition, any experience in analyzing financial transactions like accounts payables and receivables or credit analysis and control will help you stand out. You’ll be better able to take on strategic roles that complement automated functions.
Demand for cost accountants and someone to handle cost planning to overcome economic instabilities will increase.
Tax accounting experience is another growing area. Tax software is helping with many tax duties, leaving experienced tax accountants to handle more complex reporting and planning.
Employers will likely need someone who can provide valuable insights from computer-generated data. Being familiar with cloud-based accounting and other intelligent technologies utilizing AI for more efficient processes will help you stand out to many organizations.
Boost your resume and increase your hireability by gaining additional experience with innovative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and machine learning (ML).
The Right Stuff
Knowledgeable accounting and finance professionals are in demand. Technology may take over routine tasks. However, it doesn’t take away the human touch of analyzing, problem-solving, and relating to other humans.
You can improve your desirability and career projection with experience in working alongside growing technological functions. You’ll need to understand and apply accounting principles, analyze financial statements, utilize accounting software, interpret financial data, and problem-solve.
Any experience you have that deals with handling money or accounts helps. Consider both paid and unpaid work. Boost your knowledge and resume with a commitment to learning, taking advantage of internship opportunities and continuing education programs to ensure you have “the right stuff.”
