Key Skills for your CV in Accountancy

Accountancy is a big ballpark, and there’s obviously a glut of different roles in different businesses, which will all require different skills to be showcased at any given time.

However, there are some key skills that are intrinsic to any accountancy CV, and you should demonstrate these visibly throughout your application.

Hard work and balance

Nothing can prepare you for the days you will spend working at your desk all day and then going home in the evening to study for another significant period of time, but that is the fate that awaits all trainee accountants throughout period of their junior years.

What you can show is that you are able to multitask and hold down a variety of different tasks at once. Talking about your academic achievements whilst holding down a position of responsibility in a society and a temporary job, for example, would be a good way of showing that you are good at time management and able to juggle tasks confidently.

Teamwork and leadership

The classic. Every job in the financial sector needs this, but in accountancy it is exceptionally important because of the nature of the industry – accountants work as part of teams in order to reach the conclusions of any given project.

As such, you should be looking to show both your leadership and your team-player skills at any given opportunity, and you can do so in a variety of ways. Societies or sports are a good starting point, but even group projects as part of your degree could be a good place to start. Whenever there is an opening to slide this in, make sure you do.

Client skills

Obviously there are a huge variety of people that you will meet in an accountancy role, from those you work with every day, to the clients you will work for. Building rapport and trust with these clients is essential to your success in the industry, so any way you can show that your interpersonal skills are well developed should be exploited to its maximum.

Whether you worked in a shop or behind a bar, or simply were a representative for your University on Open Days, your ability to interact with new people and get them to trust and respect you can only stand you in a positive light, so make sure that you have managed to build in your interpersonal abilities into your CV.