By Ali Farooq, Recruitment Team Lead
Job seekers often dread writing resumes. They either don’t know where to begin, how to quantify skills or how to highlight a diversified work background? Our list of resume tips will guide you in crafting a job-winning resume.
It is difficult to detail every accomplishment or job you’ve had in your career without making your resume overly lengthy. What really helps is customizing your resume based on jobs you want to apply for. Highlight relevant skills and work experience that position you as an ideal candidate for these specific roles. List the software’s that you’re proficient in and outline projects you have worked on. Refrain from stating the obvious such as great organizational skills, know how to use Microsoft Office, or that you speak English. This adds unnecessary additional bulk to your resume.
Numbers are attention grabbing and helps in conveying your career story effortlessly. Recruiters and Hiring managers are often strapped for time. Therefore, include results in numbers and percentages to detail your impressive work history. Be as specific as possible without having too much text on your resume.
In the Finance and Accounting field, certifications are crucial. They demonstrate skills, knowledge and a candidate’s dedication. Certifications prove that the candidate is a motivated learner who wants to enhance his/her skill set. Whether you’re actively pursuing or have completed a certification, be sure to always mention it in your resume – it can give your resume a boost over other candidates.
A correctly formatted resume showcases professionalism and attention to detail. Always use easy to read fonts, double check the grammar and space your content appropriately. Avoid abbreviations as they can be counterproductive. Finance professionals use multiple abbreviations such as AP is “Accounts Payable” and CF is “Cash Flow”; Assume that, the recruiter reviewing your resume may not have the same level of understanding and can overlook such key details. Make sure to include an eye-catching headline and summary that compels hiring managers to read more about you.
Recruiting and AI now work hand in hand. Most companies have an applicant tracking system in place to sort through resumes. In order to ensure that your resume gets noticed, you must use relevant keywords from the job posting. Both ATS and recruiters tend to skim through resumes for specific keywords that match the job criteria.
Find your next Finance. Accounting & Administrative job with PTC Recruiting. We are a specialized accounting and finance recruiting firm with nearly three decades of experience filling positions for some of the best employers across GTA and southern Ontario.