How to Draft a Professional Accounting Assistant Resume?
A great accounting assistant resume needs to be well organized and carefully structured. It needs to have a uniform tone and a consistent style. A good resume will always play to your strengths and convey all your top qualities and skills to hiring managers and potential employers. In order to achieve that all you need to do is decide on the correct format and an appropriate structure for your accounting resume. A well formatted and neatly structured resume is your ticket to grabbing the accounting assistant position of your liking. Let’s explore this in more detail.
Choose a Suitable Resume Format
There are many considerations to make before you choose the most suitable resume format for your accounting assistant resume.The choice of the resume format depends on your career stage, employment history and the kind of position you are applying for. All these factors determine the format of your accounting assistant resume. From the multitude of formats that are available, we have shortlisted the three most commonly used resume formats. Let's take a look at them
Chronological Format
If you are an experienced accounting assistant with a consistent career progression with minimal gaps in your work history then the chronological resume format is the perfect choice for you. In this format, your work history will be listed down in a reverse chronological order placing your most recent job in the top spot. During the hiring process, hiring managers give high preference to the chronological format as it is easy to scan through your professional background and it provides a recruiter with all the pertinent information placed in the top sections.
Functional
A functional resume is ideal for candidates who are switching careers or have long gaps in between jobs or possess a relevant skill set. If any of these scenarios apply to then a skill based functional format is the right format for you. A functional resume format will focus on highlighting your skills and achievements rather than focus on your professional background.
Hybrid
A hybrid format contains the best of both worlds as it is a mix of the chronological and functional formats. This format begins with a skills summary section followed by a reverse chronological list of your work experience. This format is ideal for entry level accounting assistants who are new to the workforce and have limited work experience but have all the necessary skills to be considered for an accounting assistant role.
Structure of an Accounting Assistant Resume
Accounting assistant resumes should reflect the same attention to detail and meticulousness that is expected of them in their accounting assistant jobs. This can be achieved by paying keen attention to the structure of your accounting assistant resume. To effectively write an accounting assistant resume, requires you to divide it into different sections to offer easy readability and makes it visually appealing. Regardless of the format of the resume you pick, these important sections must figure in every accounting assistant resume.
Header
The header section is essentially the top part of your accounting assistant resume that contains all your professional contact information.
In this section, you need to provide your full name, job title, phone number and a LinkedIn profile link. It is advisable to double check all the details and ensure there are no errors in your contact information.
Professional Summary
A well drafted professional summary or a resume objective can make all the difference to the way your accounting assistant resume is viewed. In this section you get the opportunity to provide a quick overview of your career, highlight the specific job related skills and touch upon your career goals as an accounting assistant.
A professional summary should capture your work and career progression while highlighting your strengths and relevant skills in the accounting and finance sphere in a concise manner. It should not extend more than three to five sentences and it should be crisp and to the point.
A competent professional summary should include your job title followed by the number of years of experience you have as an accounting assistant. Then you can follow that up with highlighting your skills and work experience. At the end of your summary you need to subtly conclude by how you will make a valuable addition to any accounting team.
Work Experience
The crux of an accounting assistant resume lies in its work experience section. In this section, you will need to describe your work history in detail with the main focus on your responsibilities and professional achievements you have had with each job. It is important to remember not to clutter this section and present your professional background in an organised manner.
Firstly, it is important to make sure that you list your professional history in a reverse chronological order. This entails listing your latest job in the first position and then make your way backwards from there.
While listing down your previous employment details, make sure to list your job title, the company name, and the dates of employment and include both the start and end dates.
Always use bullet points to list down your responsibilities and achievements for each job you have held as an accounting assistant. Use phrases and avoid the use of long paragraphs as a hiring manager might lose interest in your accounting assistant resume.
Start each bullet point with an action verb like assisted, managed, supervised, maintained etc. This maintains a uniform tone across your work experience section of your accounting assistant resume.
Mention your professional achievements supported by tangible examples and specific metrics. It comes across as a lot more legit and highly professional rather than just using vague statements and phrases.
Skills
The skills section of your resume should contain all the necessary technical skills and soft skills that are required by a potential employer. It is highly recommended to go through the job description section in the job posting and incorporate the exact keywords to highlight your accounting assistant skills.
Here are some of the relevant skills that can be included in your accounting assistant resume.
- Financial reporting
- Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable
- Reconciliation
- Proficient in accounting software (QuickBooks)
- Data entry
- Accounting data analysis
- Time management
- Multi-tasking
- Problem-solving
- Attention to detail
Education
The minimum educational requirement for an accounting assistant is a high school diploma. However, candidates with a bachelor's degree in commerce, finance or accounting will definitely be given a higher preference by a hiring manager. List your educational qualifications by mentioning the degree, the name of the institution and your graduation date.
Certifications
If you have received any relevant certification in the field of accounting then it is a good idea to mention those in a separate section. Some of the certifications you can receive as an accounting assistant are as follows.
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
- Professional Bookkeeper Certification (PBC)
Additional Sections (Optional)
If you would like to enhance your accounting assistant resume further then you can consider adding additional sections to boost your chances of grabbing the attention of a hiring manager. These sections should complement and emphasise your professionalism and commitment towards your career growth.
Professional Affiliations and Associations
If you are a member of any accounting organisations or associations, you should mention it separately on your resume. Some of the associations formed for accounting professionals include American Association of Finance and Accounting, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and International Federation of Accountants.
Languages
If you are fluent and well versed in more than one language, it can be beneficial to mention that in your accounting assistant's resume. Being bilingual or multilingual can open multiple other job opportunities for you in the job market. Mention the languages that you know and add the level of fluency for each of them (Basic or fluent).
Tailor Your Accounting Assistant Resume for Each Job Application
Customising your accounting assistant resume before every job application is crucial. Every job ad has a unique set of skills and qualifications that they are in the lookout for. Hence, one generic resume cannot be applicable for multiple job applications.
Accounting roles can vary across industries and tailoring your resume allows you to mold your resume to address industry-specific needs, terminology and skillset.
Most companies have automated their recruitment process and adopted the use of applicant tracking system software to screen and filter resumes. Ensure that during your job search, you need to scan the job description section and then incorporate the same keywords into your accounting assistant resume. This increases your chances of getting approved by the applicant tracking systems software.
A customised resume has a higher success rate of landing you an interview than a generic one. When a potential employer sees the exact skill set requirement they need on your resume, they are more likely to view you as a potential candidate.
Proofread and Edit
This is an unskippable step to finalise your resume and get it ready to be sent out into the professional world. Proofreading is required to eliminate any typos, grammatical errors and to correct formatting and tone inconsistencies.
A fresh perspective always helps so we recommend you to get a second opinion from your colleagues, mentors and take their feedback to fine tune and finalise your accounting assistant resume.
If you would like a little more assistance beyond this guide, then you should check out our extensive collection of resume examples and resume templates and start your job search journey on the right note!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the ideal length of an accounting assistant resume?
An entry level accounting assistant should only have a one page long resume. A senior level accounting assistant with an extensive work history can extend their resume to a second page.
What skills should an accounting assistant put on a resume?
The skills for accounting assistant are diverse and here are a few of the skills that can be mentioned on their resume.
- Financial reporting
- Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable
- Reconciliation
- Proficient in accounting software (QuickBooks)
- Data entry
- Accounting data analysis
- Time management
- Multi-tasking
- Problem-solving
What is the ideal format for an accounting assistant resume?
The ideal format for an accounting assistant resume is a chronological format where the main emphasis is given to your work history which is listed in a reverse chronological order.
