Resume Writing Tips & Free Resume Examples

When you learn something new like accounting concepts and terms, it helps to create links between what you know and what you are trying to learn. In some ways, it is like learning a second language and decoding the new word is part of the learning process. For example, trying to translate the Spanish word necesario you might brainstorm with necessary and you would be right. How about blanco? Blanco is like blank which is like white. So, blanco is Spanish for the color white.

Try to make some logical connections about the accounting vocabulary. Take the word - accounting and think about it. Really, the accounting system is a basic counting of what goes on in your business.
Transactions are the business activities, or actions, that build day by day and become your expenses and income. Try to think about the term - transactions. Actions are business activities, and trans means across or thru. These are the basic building blocks of an accounting system. Transactions are to accounting like what raw materials are to a factory, or gasoline is to your engine - the transactions are real and how your accounting system handles them impacts your business.

You must keep a record of your transactions to know how much money your business earned and how much money your business spent. Sounds obvious, right? Ask your bookkeeper or accountant how obvious some transactions are. It can get tricky quickly if you are not clear about what happened in the transaction and how you want it recorded.
In all your business activities, try to think in terms of transactions because once you can identify what transactions occur in your business, you will be able to organize them into a meaningful manner. Right now, take a minute to list what transactions occur in your business each day, week and year. Always thinking in terms of transactions might seem miserly, but it is important to be cost-conscious and honest with yourself about all your transactions. Your success in business depends upon it. Read More..

Applying for A federal job requires you to take a different approach and adhere to a different set of rules and techniques. Unlike private sector recruitment, the procedures followed in federal recruitment goes by certain criteria and rules. The basic idea here is to provide every applicant an equal opportunity. Of late, the OF-612 form, or Federal Resume, is the accepted resume form for federal jobs. Here are 10 key tips to writing a Federal Resume that works:

• Write your educational qualifications in chronological order, starting from high school to college. Include the name and city of each institution, and the type and year of diploma/degree received. Don't forget to highlight the grades that you received and any awards. Make detailed descriptions in the KSA.
• You should explain things in great detail. The underlying reason for this is that education counts a lot more in federal recruitment than in the private sector. Therefore, you should use this format to show (read: market) how well you qualify for the job through your education.
• Don't forget to include information specific to the job as advertised. Information such as the job number, grade and title of the jobs you are interested in applying for.
• Write about any other qualifications that may be even slightly related to the job.

Make reading easy on employers by deciding on a style and sticking to it. You detract from your words and your image when you do the following things:

• Mix differently spaced tabs and indentations.
• Use different spacing between lines. Keep your line spaces the same
  between headings and the body text for each data point. You’re going for
  a finished look, which means no fanciful visual additions.
• Make a habit of mixing bullet styles. You can mix bullets and checkmarks
  if the result is tasteful and doesn’t look cluttered.
  

Whether writing a covering letter or critiquing your resume, imagine you are in the employer's position and need to find a well skilled, reliable staff member who will fit in with the rest of the team. Employers would see you as someone who will save them time and money, as you are bound to be more efficient than someone who doesn’t know how to work on computers.

SAMPLE ACCOUNTING RESUME (YOUR NAME HERE)

1234 Private Street (818) 555-1234

San Marino, AA 22345 Xyz@email.com

Fluent in Spanish Willing to Travel/Relocate

OBJECTIVE

Entry Level Staff Accountant

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, Candidate june, 2008

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

Overall GPA: 3.2/4.0 Accounting GPA: 3.3/4.0

COMPUTER SKILLS

Windows Word WordPerfect Excel Access Lotus Oracle

EXPERIENCE

Consistently employed 20-40 hours per week while attending college.

6/99-Pres. Accounting Intern, JOHN JONES, CPA, Los Angeles, CA

· Work on audits with staff.

· Prepare State and Federal tax returns.

· Review and adjust clients' general ledgers.

· Prepare sales and quarterly payroll tax reports.

9/97-5/99 Bookkeeper, WATKINS HEATING COMPANY, Woodland Hills, CA

· Promoted to Head Bookkeeper after six months.

· Prepared accounts payable, receivable and payroll.

· Trained and supervised assistant bookkeeper.

6/97-9/97 Sales Associate, MAY COMPANY, Canoga Park, CA

· Operated cash register and balanced daily receipts.

· Priced, stocked and displayed merchandise.

· Provided customer service.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Accounting Association Member

CPA Review Course for Fall 2000 Exam (ONLY when applying to CPA firms)

HONORS & ACTIVITIES

Dean's List, three semesters

Supervisor/Preparer: Voluntary Income Tax Assistance Program

V.P. Membership, Director of Tours: Accounting Association

Semester Abroad in france

1. General Copywriting
2. Online Sales Letters
3. Website Content Creation
4. Copy Editing
5. Sales Copy / Brochures

1. Remember that italics, underlining, and fancy scripts may not scan well
2. List each telephone number on its own line in the header
3. Do not use any lines, boxes, or graphics
4. Keep information and elements at the left margin. Centering, columns, and even indenting may change when the resume is optically scanned
5. Make sure the contrast between print and paper is good. Use a high quality laser printer and white or very light-colored 8 1⁄2-by-11-inch paper.
6. Use standard fonts in which none of the letters touch.
7. Mail a high-quality laser print or an excellent copy. Do not fold or use staples, as this might interfere with scanning. You still can use the paper clips
   

• Make the layout as simple and structured, ideally no more than two or three pages.
• If you are using a personal email address make sure this is of a professional nature.
• Prepare your CV in Microsoft Word format so that it can be easily opened and read by prospective employers
• Include contact details for at least two referees, with ideally at least one from your former employer
• Make sure there are no spelling errors, or grammatical mistakes. The application is the only information an employer has about you, and presentation really matters.
• When printing your CV ensure that you use good quality paper.
• Do not attach copies of any certificates or formal qualifications (unless requested), simply bring these along to your interview
• Date your letter. This is standard business practice, and will be part of your file with the employer. It's also the only available reference to your application on your end, and will be the date of application for future reference.
  

• Where is the specific location of the position?
• How soon will you decide on the appointment?
• How will you assess my performance?
• What next?
  

Some tips to Remember

• So if you haven’t moved beyond first base in the interview process, the thank you letter may just be the missing key. In writing the letter, it is best to keep these guidelines in mind:
  
• Send your letter promptly-preferably within the first couple of days and no later than a week after the interview.
  
• Address it to a specific person, and make sure you got the name right.
  
• Keep it brief: A short page of two or three paragraphs will do.
  
• Preferably, type your letter, following the standard business letter format.
  
• Use the letter to reiterate your interest in the job and give a summary of your related skills and qualifications.
  
• Leverage this opportunity to mention important information left out during the interview. This is your chance to make up if you flubbed your answers.
  
• Customize your letter. You don’t need to draft a different letter for each company, but do tailor the content to the interviewer’s particular interests and concerns.
  
• Proofread for misspellings

Name
123 Street
New York, NY 10000
(992) 555 - 6959

Objective

A challenging and rewarding position as a Sales Manager.

Summary of Achievements

• Coordinated accounts for several multi-national corporations.

• Initiated successful venture into key Latin American markets .

• Developed online network linking salesmen, retailers, and factories.

• Strong background in sales, marketing, merchandising, and staff development.

Experience

Ashton & Crawford Inc., New York, NY

Bank Manager, 1996 - Present

Managed deposits of over $25M and loans of $8M. Supervised and motivated a team of tweleve employees. Worked directly with top executives of national and international corporations to deliver excellent service on loans and deposits.

Sullivan Consultants, New York, NY

Manager, 1992 - 1998

Controlled second largest investors' portfolio after only three years with the firm. Consistently high ranking sales performance.

Education

New York University, New York, NY

Some times, students make the same mistakes on the resume, Assuming that your work experience is pretty limited, you need to place the education section of your resume at the top When you fill out scholarship/college applications and ask for letters of recommendation, you’ll find your self referring to it all the time, so it’s definitely best to get a head start on it. The important thing is trying to remember everything you’ve done that’s noteworthy. Another extremely obvious one. Have you held a job? Write that down. It would also be good to write down some contact information for your old boss. Some applications might want him/her as a reference and you might find yourself struggling to find out how to get in contact. If you have any special skills or hobbies that are worthy of mention but not crowd movers, put those down too. If you’ve learned a musical instrument, that’s not exactly ‘unique’, but it does show dedication to a skill and is worth mentioning. Anything you’ve learned but never really put to use is fair game.

And last, Make sure employers are able to reach you. If you have a temporary address on campus, as well as a permanent address, add them both to the top of your resume, along with both phone numbers, your cell number, and your e-mail address.

See This student resume example guideline; open it on new window.

The following points is really help to develop your communicative skills during a practice interview session and help you to manage your body languange;

• maintain eye contact, especially when you are speaking
• sit well in your chair and try to avoid crossing your arms
• avoid fidgeting
• answer questions clearly
• Keep Smile maybe?

Now, You've been called for an interview tommorow, How do you feel? stress? happy? or what?! Dont worry at all. Its the time to prepare your self. Keep your emotionally as well. Remember, during an interview, you are there to sell yourself to your prospective employer by interviewing like an expert. It's vitally important to gain as much expert knowledge as you can about your prospective employer before the interview, do some research to see what interesting references come up.

Call the company and ask for some general questions, offcourse without referring to yourself as a potential employee: you may find out new information about promotions, recent staff news or other key developments. Visit the website to(if they have)

also dont forget to take a look for indicators of the skills required, for example:

• ability to work with minimal supervision
• competence to meet deadlines and work under pressure
• discretion and understanding the need for confidentiality
• a proficiency in the use of English
• typing skills and expertise in the use of common office systems and software

• Familiarity with office applications such as word processing, spreadsheet and database software
• Being able to manage several tasks or projects at once
• Other job-specific requirements, such as supervising others or dealing with confidential information
• Being well-organized and approaching complex tasks in a logical manner
• And most important is An Excellent oral and written communication skills

Consider a few conflicting thoughts:

• Over 50% of people lie on their resume.
• A Monster.com blog about the dangers of lying on your resume elicited 60 comments from job seekers recommending lying and only 46 discouraging it. Recommenders justified lying by claiming: everyone else is doing it, companies lie about job requirements, and it's hard to get a good job.
• Executives caught lying on their resumes often lose their jobs. Consider the high profile exits at Radio Shack, MIT, Notre Dame, and Herbalife.