Accounting Job Interviews Tips

Accountancy Training

Administrator — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:35:26 +0000

Image Source: aspentraining.net

The training ground for an accounting career greatly varies. Sometimes, a degree in accountancy is not needed to be able to land the accounting job. Usually, accountants are evaluated with their length of work experience. Some accounting pre requisites include basic computer lessons in relatively general applications so they can be trained to use these programs which they will greatly use when involved in an accounting job or some related field. Computer classes often need to work with spreadsheets and some accounting softwares like Microsoft Excel and QuickBooks. Microsoft Word is the basic application you should be able to handle comfortably. Essentially, what an accountant needs after this is the aptitude for numbers.

Business image

Administrator — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:53:29 +0000

Image Source: hreoc.gov.au

Business is really like a game. Almost ending up between sport and war. Strategy needs to be employed to be able to win in a battle or a sport. Right? And in playing any sports, you need to acquire the best equipments so that you can have a fair chance or even a greater advantage over the opponent. Much like in business, you need to sport a crisp, business like image. It can really help you get the job you desire and the benefits that should come with it. It is inevitable that certain things in life, we ca not control. The very thing that we can control is how we should look, our image. You should avoid the pitfalls with these tips. You can de stress your image.

Attract. Look business-like and stylish,at the same time. Wear a well coordinated outfit.
Organize your wardrobe. Separate business attire from the casual ones. Keep at least three complete outfits that are ready to wear and pressed.
A tailored jacket is your armor. Long sleeves are a necessity. Wear socks or hosiery. This is non negotiable.
Shoes say a lot more than you stepping on them. They are a strong indicator of who and how you are. Polish them and make sure they are in mint condition.

What to look for in an Applicant

Administrator — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:35:44 +0000

Image Source: talentpen.com

Interviewing applicants are very difficult. Most especially when you’re looking for accountants. These are job positions that require precision and wisdom. Practical wisdom, that is. Some tips for the interviewer might help you narrow down the potential employee to a numbered few.

What you should look for in an applicant:

Integrity… If an applicant shares unsolicited private information about a competitor they have worked for, you can be sure he’s going to do the same to you.
Detail Oriented… Accountants need to be accurate. If you can particularly tell that a person seems disorganized during his interview, that’s a good sign he may be wrong person for the job.
Knows how to Damage Control… Problems come and go on a daily basis in any business or job. You want a somebody thinks well, fast and solves problems rather than rant about it.
Positive Outlook… People who thinks positive almost always come up with the best solutions.

The Accountants Job

Administrator — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:02:03 +0000

Image source: www.targetedsearch.net
In many public firms, accountants become increasingly responsible for management of other accountants and acquiring new accounts instead of pure accounting work.

Since all of these tasks require a high degree of teamwork, leadership and charisma, the accounting job interview will seek to uncover these attributes in addition to technical accounting skills. For that reason, someone preparing for an accounting job interview needs to spend a little bit of time working on their response to questions outside the realm of accounting. Their first step should be to do some research and discover exactly what the accounting job they are pursuing will consist of, in the short and long term. This research may be done with a combination of published and personal investigation and should uncover four elements; the daily duties, the desired results of the job, the personal characteristics the company desires; and the future career paths available to the position.

Accounting Job Search Secrets

Administrator — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:57:23 +0000

The accounting job market is not a level playing field and you may find it hard to land those rewarding accounting positions in top corporations unless you know what to do and how to go about it. There are numerous executive accountants who became successful not just because of their educational attainment and experience but they used job searching techniques.

The Accounting Job Search program will help you to apply some of those techniques to give you a shot at landing that profitable accounting position. This program is not based on your education or experienced but on what the market demands.

Do�s and Don�ts

Administrator — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:32:06 +0000

So you have been invited by your chosen company to come for a job interview, will this be your big career move or are you going to throw it all down the drain? Here are some do�s and don�ts to guide you:

DO come on early
DO fill out forms completely
DO pronounce the interviewers last name correctly
DO show enthusiasm
DO wait to be told to be seated
DO listen carefully
DO ask for a job description
DO communicate sincerity

Here are some don�ts to remember:

DON�T simply answer yes or no
DON�T pretend to understand
DON�T rely on your resume
DON�T make negative comments
DON�T over answer
DON�T ask about salary and benefits during initial interview

Accounting Job Interview Sample Questions (Part 3 of 3)

editor — Fri, 30 May 2008 06:09:44 +0000

by Chubs

General Ledger

1. Kindly share your experience with general ledger.
2. Explain the seven basic categories used in general ledger.

Payroll

1. Can you tell us about your experience in payroll?
2. Using the Internal Revenue Service rules, what criteria differentiate a consultant from an employee?
3. Have you experienced any disputes in handling payroll? How were you able to manage this conflict?
4. Were there any particular methods you used to ensure fewer discrepancies in managing payrolls?

Supervisory

1. Share any supervisory experience you had in an accounting department.
2. Did you ever use cost-cutting measures to resolve any problem within your department?
3. How were you able to monitor the performance of your department?

Accounting Job Interview Sample Questions (Part 2 of 3)

editor — Mon, 26 May 2008 06:04:21 +0000

by Chubs

Cashier

1. Can you tell something about your experience as a cashier?
2. Have you encountered any disputes during this experience? If you did, how were you able to resolve the issue?

Cost Accounting

1. Can you share with us your experience in cost accounting?
2. What are the methods you used to allocate support costs? How were they effective as methods?
3. Explain the purpose of a chargeback and name the proponents of an effective chargeback.
4. Have you experienced implementing or administering a chargeback system?
5. Define fixed costs, variable costs, and marginal costs.

Fixed Assets

1. Kindly describe any experience you had in fixed assets accounting.
2. What is depreciation? What are the ways used to calculate depreciation?

Accounting Job Interview Sample Questions (Part 1 of 3)

editor — Fri, 23 May 2008 05:50:00 +0000

by Chubs

It is always better if you have an idea of what questions will an interviewer typically ask an applicant for an accounting job. Here are some basic accounting job interview questions which are categorized according to specific fields:

Accounts Payable

1. Can you tell something about your experience in accounts payable?
2. How many invoices have you managed on a weekly/monthly basis?
3. What are the necessary steps you would consider before approving an invoice for payment?
4. What kind of information do you require before you approve an invoice for payment?
5. Have you experienced handling any invoice discrepancy? If so, how did you resolve the discrepancy?
6. Have you experienced getting involved in an invoice dispute? How did you manage the issue?
7. Can you tell the difference between billable and non-billable expenses?

Accounts Receivable

1. Can you share your experience in collections?
2. Let’s say you’re in a situation wherein you were asked to prepare a bill for services, what information do you think should be indicated in the bill?

Audit

1. Share your experience in performing audits.

Look Ready, Feel Ready

editor — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:42:58 +0000

by Chubs

Sure you’ve already read the tips in polishing that killer resume of yours and practicing your charm skills to impress your interviewer with your sure-win answers, but still, as an applicant, you should always ask yourself, “Am I really ready?” Being prepared does not only mean finishing your resume and heading off to your interview with your practiced answers, but more importantly, it also means feeling ready and boosting that confidence in you to make you feel that you are going to get that job. To feel ready is to look ready that is why here are a few reminders to help you feel and look ready for that killer job interview:

For the guys, wear:

• Suit in solid color, preferably navy or dark grey
• Long sleeve shirt that matches your suit
• Belt
• Tie
• Black or Dark socks
• Leather shoes
• Little or no jewelry (a watch and/or a ring will do)

For the ladies, wear:

• Suit preferably in navy, black or dark grey
• A comfortable suit skirt
• Blouse that matches your suit
• Conservative shoes
• Pantyhose in neutral shades
• Little jewelry (no dangling earrings and bracelets)