As an Accountancy Recruitment Consultancy we are committed to helping our candidates achieve their personal goals – a successful interview is a key part of that process.
Interviews, whether for a graduate part-qualified, qualified or senior executive role need not be stressful – they are an opportunity for you to show you are a talented, enthusiastic professional who will be a valuable asset to the organisation. Treat the interview as a business meeting and conduct yourself in the manner you would in a meeting at your current or past employer. Whether for a permanent, temporary, contract or interim management role, the principle is the same.
The following interview guidelines will help you to present yourself well and begin the relationship with your potential new employer on the right footing. Your Toner Graham consultant, whether based in the Midlands, South East or South West, is very well-placed to help you.
Before the interview
Research is a critical part of the interview for all accounting jobs. Appropriate research for each accountancy vacancy demonstrates your genuine commitment to the right career move and your interviewer will be impressed with your knowledge of their business.
As a minimum you should:
• Understand the main business of the company
• Review industry facts, figures and trends including the company’s key competitors
• Review mission statements, past performance, future goals and current press releases
As a good recruitment consultancy, we will ensure you are well prepared on the culture of the business and the personal attributes of the interviewer as well as the specifics of the permanent or temporary finance vacancy you are interested in.
During the interview
Remember the basics:
• A positive, warm greeting is essential - first impressions DO count in interviews for all finance vacancies.
• Sit in a comfortable position, speak clearly with confidence and remember to maintain good eye contact with the interviewer(s)
• LISTEN carefully to what is being asked, and ensure you answer the questions
• Remain positive throughout the interview, avoid negative language or traits
Interview questions
The list is endless and will vary depending on whether the role is part-qualified, qualified or senior executive, and whether it is permanent or temporary. Good interviewers will focus on open questions, allowing you to freely tell them what you are good at and what you are like in the work environment. Be prepared to talk for a while when asked:
• Tell me about yourself?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• What do you like and dislike most about your current role?
• Are you happy with your career to date?
• How have you handled difficult situations in your life/career so far?
• Talk me through your various jobs to date and what you have learned most from each one?
• Would you call yourself a team player and how would you support this?
• Why do you want to work for us?
These open questions should get the meeting flowing – your fluency will increase your confidence and inspire the interviewer that the character fit is right.
Additionally you should be prepared for more specific job-related questions – particularly given the nature of most accounting jobs where a technical element is required. These will often be focused on examples from previous accounting jobs on your CV - therefore have a thorough understanding of everything you have stated on your CV.
Your questions
Prepare questions for the interview - they will be expected and the quality of your questions can often result in the job offer going your way. Whilst it’s true that a good recruitment consultancy will be able to furnish you with most of the information you need, they will not know everything!
Ask sufficient questions to give you the comprehensive understanding you need about the business and role which enables you to make a decision when a job offer is presented to you.
General
Clarify date, time and venue with your recruitment consultancy – larger businesses can have numerous sites around the same town/city!
Make sure you are on time - but don’t appear anxious by being too early. 10-15 minutes before is a good guide.
First impressions start with security, receptionists and other staff you may meet in the reception area – ensure you are courteous, personable and professional.
The above is an overview to help you during the interview process. Meeting a Toner Graham consultant will be an invaluable experience as we interview you as a client would for a specific finance vacancy. We will be thorough, probing and challenging in order to ensure we understand what you represent.
One of the common criticisms of Accountancy Recruitment Companies is not providing candidate feedback after an interview. Beginning with our initial registration interview, we will always provide you with feedback, no matter which accountancy vacancy you are being considered for, because we know how valuable it is.
Please call one of our consultants if you would like more information on any of the above.
One page is too short, five is too long. Two to four pages is about right.
Your front page should summarise:
• contact details
• qualifications and early education
• language fluency
• systems fluency
• current (last job) … always list employment in reverse order
Peculiar/company-specific job titles should be replaced with a generic description of the role.
Give a brief description of what you are/were responsible for, with some dimensions including turnover, number of people, lengths of projects, etc.
Show how well you performed in the role with examples of achievements in bullet point format … not just a record of your responsibilities.
Briefly describe your employer, particularly if a smaller, unknown company.
The last three to five years are relevant, prior to this should be one-line entries of employer and position.
Personal summaries are generally not well received as they are not necessarily objective.
