Tips for successful phone interviews

It’s important to be well-equipped for a phone interview and the notion that without preparation, a candidate’s chances of progressing to the next stage of the hiring process is diminished. We now shift our focus to the phone interview itself and share strategies for job seekers to help establish rapport with their interviewer and conduct a successful follow-up to the call. Read more

Interview Tips – Dress & manner are essential

The importance of a professional appearance and strong presentation and communication skills cannot be overstated. These are your personal marketing tools and what appeals to the interviewer’s emotional senses. Read more

During the Interview – Things To Expect

Because each interviewer is different, there are many types of interviews. Some interviewers are skilled at interviewing; others are not. Some are talkative; others let you do most of the talking. Most interviews, however, will range from open-ended, in which the interviewer asks questions and lets you do most of the talking, to the highly structured, in which the interviewer asks many specific questions following a planned format. Many interviews will fall between these extremes; you should be prepared for any style. Read more

Pre-Interview Prep – Avoid Common Mistakes

While you should avoid “over-preparing” for an interview, careful preparation can help avoid serious mistakes and give you an advantage over the competition. Read more

LinkedIn – A networking tool that keeps you connected

LinkedIn has been operating as a well-oiled machine in recent years and remaining under the radar of scrutiny, however even the best performers need a tune-up from time to time. You may have already noticed the tweaks and tools on the site in recent weeks.

The transformation accelerates from a network of intertwined professionals, to a social content sharing platform where users encounter a sleek, modern design with instantaneous user-interface updates. The simplicity of the design offers users the maneuverability to further showcase their profiles while encouraging engaging interactions among users and groups alike. With this being said, the time is of the essence to cultivate your online persona. Read more

Leverage Social Media for career advantages

From Twitter to LinkedIn and Facebook to Pinterest, social media has engulfed our culture and continues to grow in popularity, both in the workplace and from the comfort of our homes. Personal interconnectivity has grown exponentially and the behaviors of digital social engagement have developed into an effortless stream of consciousness. Through this process, we have ignited a generation of socially active users who willingly disperse information to professional acquaintances, family across the globe, and people with whom they have never met or previously communicated. Read more

Personal Branding With Social Media

Social media provides the opportunity for potential employers to gain their first impression of you, even before the initial handshake. Like executive recruiters, many employers are now utilizing social networking sources to vet and uncover information about candidates not included in a resume. In a socially savvy and digitally transparent society, we are plugged in, tuned in and connected. Read more

Best Advice for Recently Qualified CPAs

During the course of market fluctuations over the decades, a career in accounting has presented itself as a sanctuary for success in the financial sector. It comes as no surprise that accounting firms are growing at an exponential rate every year – with a key focus on developing and fostering talent within the financial services industry – and so too, are a wealth of other public and private accounting and finance firms. Read more

What recruiters & employers look for in applicants

In today’s competitive marketplace employers seek and retain professionals who stand out from the crowd. At the forefront of executive recruitment is the notion that an ideal candidate will supersede the expectations of a standardized job description, going above and beyond a bulleted list of tasks. Read more

How to stand out in Finance & Accounting

Do you want to be considered for highly desirable positions with strong compensation? Do you want to be the employee who gets selected for internal promotions & who moves into positions of leadership?  There’s several relatively easy ways to anchor yourself in a company’s culture and cultivate a sphere of influence within professional interest groups. Read more

Goal Setting – Where Do You See Yourself in 5 – 10 Years

Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

As active recruiters, we hear this question presented to job seekers during interviews time and time again. It provides employers with insight into the vision of one’s professional self, and it seeks to establish how well the company and position fit according to the candidate’s objectives and drive for professional achievement. While your ideal career track is not necessarily aligned with this specific timeline, it is vital that you define and articulate the criteria most important to you. Doing so places you and potential employers on the same page of expectations. Read more

Building Effective Networks for Career Advancement

In recent years, our communication preferences have shifted from the traditional means of telephone conversations and face-to-face meetings, to connections powered by the click of a ‘follow’ or ‘connect’ icon online. While the speed of digital interactivity has amplified our reach in the marketplace, our attention to building and fostering meaningful relationships has diminished. This divide creates opportunity. Cultivating an effective network is a beneficial strategy at every stage of your professional development. Whether you are entering an active career search or researching industry trends and referrals – your network is your most valuable resource. Read more

Five Tips to Secure an In-Person Interview

As active recruiters focused on accounting, finance & related disciplines, we have witnessed an evolution in the hiring process, noting a drastic increase of phone interviews for junior and mid-level roles in recent years. Employers have capitalized on the ease of telecommunication as a means for screening candidates in order to identify and narrow the pool of applicants who will be invited for in-person interviews. Read more

Proper resume layout & formatting

A resume is to a job seeker, what a calculator is to an accountant – a tool that quickly facilitates the communication of information, providing an accurate and measurable account of data. In today’s competitive market, it is critical for your resume to stand out and make an impact on hiring executives. However, not by way of glitter explosions, scented stationery or cosmic font colors of the solar system. It happens more often than you can imagine! Read more

Resume Writing: 5 Ways to Stand Out

Executive recruiters and hiring managers navigate through hundreds of resumes for each job posting. Ensuring that your resume stands out from the stack and captures the attention of HR executives is the first step to securing an interview in the hiring process. It’s worth repeating that hieroglyphics, 72-point font and pressed flowers do not an appealing resume make. Read more