Job Interview Questions. Educational background

If you're interested in an accounting career, you should choose courses that prepare you for your future profession. (Most states now require accountants to have the equivalent of five years of educational experience covering accounting, business and general knowledge areas in order to be eligible for CPA certification, but you should take these courses regardless of whether you intend to pursue a CPA or not.)

These college-level courses help the aspiring accountant to develop the fundamental competencies, such as strategic thinking, communications and technology proficiency, as well as technical accounting knowledge, that are crucial to the profession. The chart below provides a sample of specific course topics that are most applicable to the accounting profession.

Financial statement analysis	Auditing
Intermediate accounting	Advanced accounting
Corporate finance	Investment accounting
Mergers & acquisitions accounting	Management information systems
Forensic accounting	Environmental accounting
Fraud detection and prevention	Managerial accounting
Cost accounting and control	Not-for-profit and government accounting
Taxation of business entities	Tax strategies for corporations
International tax	Individual tax planning

What do I put on my resume?

Your resume is an opportunity for you to market yourself. The recruiters are not expecting you to have a lot of work experience, but you should point out the skills that are important to accountants. Accountants must be interested in analyzing financial information. All accountants will work in team, interacting throughout their careers with accountants; therefore, communication and interpersonal skills are also extremely important. Computer skills are also important, as working with spreadsheets will be required to analyze financial information.

In addition to analyzing financial information, you will be asked to identify and analyze information processes, evaluate the effectiveness of those procedures and identify recommendations for improving the data processes. In addition, you will be asked to review accounting or tax standards to determine the appropriate accounting, then document and explain the basis for your decisions. As you advance in the firm, you will be required to develop and maintain relationships with clients and sell additional work. You will be asked to deal with difficult clients and issues and determine how to address these issues.

Accountants typically have a strong interest in numbers and analyzing them. Often, you will find that they also have an interest in analyzing process and information flows, identifying improvement opportunities and having the ability to make decisions that will affect the daily operations of clients. Organization and time management are also extremely important, especially during busy season, as you will be expected to work overtime during tax season. You will need to be flexible to accommodate uncertainty, the demands of a heavy workload and potential travel to various client sites. To summarize, the following are the key skills:

Analytical skills - To analyze financial data, identify and explain discrepancies and variations.

Teamwork - To work well with team members and clients to obtain necessary information.

Communication - To interact with clients to discuss issues and obtain information in a professional manner.

Organization/time management - To prioritize and juggle various tasks, and to identify and discuss time constraints.

Flexibility - To adapt to changing clients, schedules and working hours.

As you are preparing your resume, you should ensure that you identify and show these skills as much as possible. You are not expected to talk about each and every aspect of the jobs that you have had, but you should always talk about the experiences that are relevant to your career search.