If you’re hoping to land a great accounting job, you need to excel in the interview. This means preparing in advance and having some stock answers in mind for common interview questions, so you’ll know exactly what to say to impress a hiring manager. Being prepared helps overcome the nerves of the job interview.
While you cannot prepare an answer for every single question that’s likely to come up, there are a few common queries that most accounting applicants face during the interview process. Here are five key questions that you’ll likely get that you should be prepared to answer.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the accounting profession?
You should be prepared to provide an answer to this question that shows you’ve given serious thought to your profession and that you keep up-to-date with industry trends. Are you reading blogs? Do you belong to LinkedIn groups? Where are you getting your information to stay on top of the latest trends and challenges?
Which accounting applications have you used in the past?
The more applications you’ve used, the more of an asset you will be to the new organization. Of course, you need to be honest about your past experience with applications, but you should make sure not to leave any software off your list you are familiar with. How did you learn these new systems? When you transitioned between systems, which skills worked with both systems and which skills did you need to learn for the new system.
Describe the pros and cons of different accounting packages you’ve used.
This is an opportunity to show off both that you’ve been thinking about how to do your job and that you are clearly familiar with accounting software programs. Be sure to think about some specific pros and cons that you can share. Take your answer to the next level and think about how your past experiences relate to the position and company you want.
Describe account processes you’ve developed or improved
Providing specific details about how you’ve improved efficiency and can better serve your clients is helpful in impressing a hiring manager. Were you able to reduce costs by 10 percent? Were you able to cut five minutes off a repeatable process, which saves the company more money than it appears?
Describe a time you helped reduce costs at a previous job
The company considering hiring you wants to know you’ll be able to add value to their organization. Showing off what you’ve done for past employers can be very helpful in proving you’d be a good hire. If you were proactive in this aspect, explain how you made it work for the previous company and earned buy-in from the rest of the team.
Work with a top temp agency in Westchester
Vanguard Staffing can help you to land an interview with a great company where you can show off your accounting skills. To find out more about how a top temp agency in Westchester NY can help you to find an accounting job you’ll love, give us a call today.