What to look for in an Applicant
Posted by Administrator on Sep 29, 2008
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.
- 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
- DONT simply answer yes or no
- DONT pretend to understand
- DONT rely on your resume
- DONT make negative comments
- DONT over answer
- DONT ask about salary and benefits during initial interview
The Accountants Job
Posted by Administrator on Aug 18, 2008
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
Posted by Administrator on Jul 5, 2008
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.
Dos and Donts
Posted by Administrator on Jun 3, 2008
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 dos and donts to guide you:
Here are some donts to remember:
Accounting Job Interview Sample Questions (Part 3 of 3)
Posted by editor on May 30, 2008
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)
Posted by editor on May 26, 2008
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)
Posted by editor on May 23, 2008
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
Posted by editor on May 19, 2008
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)
Know Your Working Conditions
Posted by editor on May 16, 2008
by Chubs
When you’re in a job interview, normally what happens is that you, as an applicant, just answer whatever the interviewer asks you. Recall that what makes an interview successful is your ability to create an atmosphere of interactivity, meaning try to ask questions yourself. More often than not, your interviewer will appreciate your capacity to come up with questions about the position and will definitely consider this as a plus point in your application. Now, don’t stress yourself too much in thinking about smart questions to ask. Start with the nature of the position which includes duties and working conditions. Knowing the work conditions of the position you’re applying for will also help you to evaluate the company’s offer. Most accounting and auditing jobs are office-based and may sometimes require you to travel to offer your service to other branches and firms of the company. Also inquire about your work hours and schedule since these information will be integral to how you will weigh your decision to accept the position.
Entry-level Accounting Job Interview Tips: The Four Main Fields of Accounting
Posted by editor on May 12, 2008
by Chubs
Just like any job applicant, the job offer (which includes the nature of your work, the compensation and benefits, etc.) is the single most important thing you want to know immediately in an interview and asking about the job description (JD) will help you assess the offer your interviewer is willing giving you. The JD indicates specific job duties required for accountants and auditors and these can be classified into four main fields of accounting:
a) Public accounting – You are needed to provide accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services for clients such as corporations, individuals, government, or nonprofit organizations.
b) Management accounting – You are expected to keep record and analyze the financial data of the company you will be working for.
c) Government accounting – You will be keeping and examining the records of the activities, which are subject to government regulations and taxation, of government agencies, private businesses and individuals.
d) Internal auditing – You are required to check the accuracy of the company’s internal records and screen for waste, fraud or mismanagement.