Looking for your next accounting job? Competition can be fierce as you move up the ladder. As such, it helps to identify some of the industry’s common job search challenges and learn how to overcome them.
Accounting skills provide a great basis for a career. Prior to the pandemic, the unemployment rate in the U.S. accounting industry sat at 1.4% — less than half the national average at the time. In normal times, finding a job in the industry is relatively easy.
However, that doesn’t mean that accounting job searches lack challenges. It’s not just about finding a job. Rather, it’s about locating the right job.
With this in mind, here are some of the common hurdles you’ll encounter as you search for an accounting position and how you can sidestep them:
Overcoming These Hurdles For Your Next Accounting Job
You Can’t Score an Interview
You blast your resume to every potential employer. Yet, you have trouble getting interviews for the accounting positions you want. Here are a few steps you can take to improve your chances:
Upgrade Your Resume
It’s possible you aren’t selling yourself well enough. Take a close look at your resume. From grammar and spelling to format, review every aspect of the document. The right tweaks can greatly improve your chances of being noticed.
Target Your Efforts Better
You might not be chasing the right accounting opportunities. Make sure your qualifications match the positions you have picked out for applications.
At the same time, customize your resume for each application. By targeting your efforts to your best prospects, you get the most out of every application.
Improve Your Network
Avoid becoming another resume in a pile. Instead, connect with people in your network to see if you can fast-track your consideration. If you don’t have a strong network, look for ways to increase your web of contacts.
You Attend Lots of Interviews, But Don’t Get Any Offers
You’ve successfully mastered the resume stage of the job search process. However, you keep tripping up at the next level. You have little trouble impressing hiring managers with your initial application but haven’t turned conversations into an offer yet.
Often, this is just a matter of chance. Depending on the situation, it can be easier to score an interview than it is to turn an interview into an offer.
The statistics bear this out. One study found that about one in seven applicants receives an interview. Meanwhile, another data set suggested that employers will typically talk to 6-10 candidates for a single position. Taking the high end of that range means you’ve got a 14% chance to land an interview and only 10% odds of leveraging that meeting into an actual job.
So don’t get discouraged. It might just take time. However, you can also improve your chances. Here are some steps to take:
- Increase your pre-interview research
- Prepare answers to common interview questions
- Practice your interview skills with friends or family
- Hire an interview coach
You Receive Multiple Offers
This falls into the category of one of those “good problems.” Job searches sometimes take a feast-or-famine character. You run through a series of frustrating rejections and just when it seems like you may never receive an offer, multiple companies express interest at once.
In these cases, weigh your options carefully. Identify the position that gives you the best near-term advantages (higher salary, better benefits, etc.). However, also take a broad view of the situation, considering which option provides the most long-term benefit for your accounting career.
You can fast-track your job search by turning to a recruiter. A top staffing agency, like Elby Professional Services, will locate the best accounting positions for you.
Looking to make a smooth transition to your next accounting job?
Contact Elby today to take the hassle out of your job search.
