It’s time to take the next step in your accountancy career.
After evaluating your skills, exploring the market, and creating your professional plan, the next step is getting ready for those all-important interviews.
The interview is one of the most important parts of the hiring process for both you and your employer. It’s an opportunity for you to demonstrate why you’re the perfect person for the job and a chance for your interviewer to go beyond the basics of what they can learn in your CV.
However, the interview environment has changed somewhat in the last couple of years as the accounting sector has continued to evolve. With this in mind, it’s worth making sure you’re fully prepared for what this crucial conversation might entail.
Here’s how you can prepare for your accountancy interview.
1. Be Prepared for Different Types of Interviews
Face-to-face interviews aren’t the only way to connect with a would-be employer in one of the most crucial stages of the hiring process. Increasingly, companies have begun to embrace the video and virtual interview process, to help them sort through candidates with greater speed.
If you’re planning on applying for new financial roles this year, make sure you determine what kind of interview you will be having. A video interview may require additional preparation. For instance, you may need to learn:
- How to set up your camera and home office space to show your professional side.
- How to use the various features of the video conferencing tools you’ll be using.
- What kind of capabilities you can use to give presentations and show your skills.
Being fully prepared will help you make the right impression in your interview because you can spend more time answering crucial questions and less time fiddling with technology.
2. Do Your Research
Once you know what kind of interview you’re going to be dealing with, the next step is finding ways to impress your hiring manager. One of the best ways to do this is to research the company in question. Doing your homework shows you’re passionate about the brand and interested in its success.
Find out whether the company is growing rapidly at this time, and prepare some notes on how you think this growth might influence their financial skills requirements in the years ahead. Remember, talking about accounting and financial concepts in relation to the right industry can help to set you aside as a specialist.
For instance, if you’re applying for an accounting job in a manufacturing company, discuss how the manufacturing industry is being affected by the current economy and what you know about ensuring growth in this area.
3. Prepare to Demonstrate your Competency
Even if the hiring manager of your interview doesn’t define the conversation as “competency-based”, there’s a good chance they’re going to be looking for examples of your competence in various areas. With this in mind, it’s helpful to prepare some stories you can use to demonstrate your skills in areas you know might be crucial to your would-be employer.
Rather than just listing the same skills you do on your CV, use your interview as a chance to showcase how you’ve used your talents in the past. For instance, if your hiring manager asks you about your experience dealing with tax audits, you can discuss how the previous audit you worked on affected your client or manager and what you did to help them.
Stories can also be an excellent way to demonstrate your soft skills. If your interviewer asks if you’re a team player, you can discuss how you’ve worked with other financial professionals in the past and how you played your part in helping these peers to achieve their goals.
You can even use a story to explain how you’ve adapted flexibly to the challenges of the pandemic over the last couple of years to show how agile you can be.
4. Demonstrate your Enthusiasm by Asking Questions
While the interview is primarily an opportunity for your hiring manager to get to know you better, this doesn’t mean you can’t also use it as a chance to gather more information about the company. Asking questions during an interview can show your excitement for the role.
Don’t just ask about salary or the kind of benefits you’re going to get. Instead, ask your hiring manager how they’re planning on dealing with any specific financial issues that might be influencing their industry right now, and use this as an opportunity to share your ideas. This makes you look informed and intuitive.
When asking questions, make sure the answers to those questions aren’t available publicly for everyone to see, as this can make it seem like you simply haven’t done enough research. Instead, focus on questions that highlight your expertise, knowledge, and enthusiasm.
5. Work with a Financial Recruiter
Working with a financial recruiter is one of the most effective ways to improve your chances of success, not just in the interview but in the entire hiring process. The right recruitment team will be able to connect you with companies and potential employers who have the perfect job for your skills and experiences, which makes proving yourself in an interview much easier.
Financial recruitment professionals can also share useful information about a potential employer with their candidates, so they know what they can mention in an interview and what sorts of topics they may need to stay away from.
A financial recruitment agency will help draw your attention to the things that matter most to any employer you’re applying for a job with. This can give you the extra guidance you need to adapt your interviewing strategy for each opportunity.
What’s Next?
Work with a recruitment agency with experience in accountancy to help you find the perfect roles to apply for this year. The recruitment professionals at Rebus have years of experience helping accounting professionals navigate the job market.
Reach us via email or on 01282 930 930.
Thanks
Rachel Mitson
About Rebus Financial Recruitment
Rebus Financial Recruitment provides a specialist and focused recruitment service to its customers, which historically range from various organisations, including SMEs, to large PLCs.
We strive to offer both the client and candidate a seamless recruitment experience. Using our expertise, we get to the heart of employer and employee needs, and, in doing so, we match the two perfectly. To find out more, get in contact with one of our team today, or you can call us on 01282 930930.
