CV Advice

To help you find the most suitable opportunity in accountancy, your recruitment agency needs an up-to-date CV. Your CV should reflect the services you can provide to showcase your new and long standing expertise, skills, system knowledge, training and qualifications. Letting your recruitment consultant know about your abilities is essential and making your achievements clear on you CV is paramount.

If you are in the process of refreshing your CV, focus more on technical skills, attributes developed in your current position, flexibility, and your capability to fit in with the existing team. Here are our top tips for your CV:

1. Bespoke
Don’t sell yourself short by making your CV look too diverse. Direct the focus towards showing the accountancy skills you excel in. Listing experience from job roles relevant to the area of accountancy and finance is crucial. Be clear to mention the date and length of your experience within the employment putting your best achievements first.

2. Highlight your credentials
Don’t miss anything crucial out. Use key words to emphasise your personal key attributes – ‘Adaptable, flexible, quick to learn, competent, enthusiastic,’ Display your credentials in a career summary at the top of your CV, catching employer’s eyes which is principal in selling ‘you’ from the outset.

3. Make your CV stand out from the crowd
Be different not generic. Employers see hundreds, if not thousands of CV’s; make them remember yours. Don’t just list your skills, provide examples of applying your skills in the workplace and describe what you’ve achieved by listing any key accomplishments. The STAR technique is a useful template to follow; describe the Situation, the Task required as a result, the Action you took and the Result of that action.

4. Presentation
Your CV should be clearly presented with a layout that’s clean and well structured. The upper middle area of the page is where the recruiters eye will naturally look first. Ensure that your most important information is captured here.

5. Update your CV
Always update new skills and don’t keep your CV outdated. Make a regular point of updating new skills, qualifications and experiences. Accuracy and attention to detail show professionalism at the highest level.

6. Seek professional advocacy
Contact Barber McLelland and let us share our superior knowledge of the accountancy profession with you and help you ignite your career platform. Simply give Justin Barber a call on 0114 279 2843, or email justin@bmrecruitment.co.uk