Accounting jobs are largely competitive. The average open position get anywhere from 20 to 200 candidates, and each one mostly has a similar background and education. If you were chosen to an accounting job interview, this means that your resume was better than 95 percent of the other candidates. You should feel proud that you got this far.

But the procedure isn’t over yet. You yet have to complete the job interview procedure, and show that you’re a better choice than the some candidates that remain.

Tips to Beat the Accounting Interview

Preparation is going to be the key to victory at an accountant interview. It is crucial that you take the time to practice common interview queries for accounting jobs, hold mock interviews, read up on interview strategy, and more.

This article has compiled various tips and tools related particularly to jobs in accounting and bookkeeping. This will assist you to impress the interviewer, prepare for the interview, and make definite that you put yourself in the best position to get the job.

Common Accounting Interview Queries

The following are several queries from accounting job interviews that you should prepare to answer.

Although, keep in mind that all employers are different.

Some usual accountant interview queries involve:

• Tell me about a time you found a discrepancy that would save the company money.
• What made you decide to pursue a career in accounting?
• What types of accounting software programs are you most familiar with?
• Have you ever been inquired to fudge numbers in case to get better results?
• Are you willing to compromise your integrity if it would benefit the company?
• Have you ever found an error that would cost the company money? What did you do?
• Tell me about a time you tried to improve an accounting procedure.
• Do you consider yourself up to date in the latest tax laws?
• Explain a time when you had to explain a complex accounting strategy to someone without an accountant background.
• How well do you manage the pressure of deadlines? Can you give me an instance?

These are just some of the many accountant job interview queries that you might be facing. Make sure you also observe the job description, play close attention to the company history, and more, to get a better concept of what you may be inquired.

Tips to Succeed at the Accounting Job Interview

It is significant to prepare for the accounting job interview queries. But that is mere the first step. You’ll also require making sure that you are ready for the interview as a whole, and all that entails.

The following are several accountant specific interview tips, and do not forget to review EIT for broader interview tips and strategies:

• Come Prepared – If you consider you’ve a portfolio, involving charts, graphs, paperwork, etc., that could help you in getting the position, make sure you bring it to the interview. Have it professional bound, consider copies for each potential interviewee, and be ready to defend your work if needed.
• Know Your Answers – This might be repetitive, given the section above, but it is worth mentioning again. Few job interviews ask broad queries, such as “what is your greatest weakness.” That is not the case at accounting interviews. Accountant interview queries and answers are almost always concentrated on achievements and tasks in your history. Have great answers ready, and practice as several common and uncommon accounting interview queries and answers as you can.
• Recognize the Strengths – Pay attention to what the job entails most, and tailor your answers to fit that job. Are you auditing? Managing accounts? Budgeting? Projecting? Giving analysis? Whatever the primary functions of the job will be, that requires to also be the focus of your interview answers.
• Be Numbers Based – Accounting is a numbers based job. But it is also a job that should have particular numerical achievements. For instance, “I found a discrepancy that saved the company money” is far less impressive than “I found a discrepancy that saved the company $100,000.” Try to integrate specific numbers, even if it is the amount of data you entered.
• Have Proof of Planning – Similarly, accounting jobs need an eye for detail and a strict commitment to planning and organization. In ideal case, come prepared with answers that show that you’ve this quality. Even if you don’t receive any organization based queries at your accounting interview, it assists to integrate instances that show you are an organized, efficient worker.

You should also be prepared for the kind of workplace. Most accounting job employers need to see that their candidates are professional, because they are mostly in charge of money and sensitive financial data. Coming in a suit, or some kind of equivalent, assists to ensure that you give off that sense of professionalism that is needed for this type of position.

Plan, Practice, and Succeed at Your Job Interview

You’ll require proving you have a specific skill set to succeed at the job interview – one that is tailored to the requirements of accounting jobs. That is something that your own experience and knowledge will give. If you’ve an excellent grasp of the industry, your possibilities of succeeding at the job interview are much stronger, simply because you can answer technical queries with ease.

But there is more to being prepared for these interviews than generally having technical knowledge. To beat your competition, consider the above accounting interview tips as an initiating point, and sustain to practice answering interview queries often.