Critique My Resume (Commerce Student Graduating in 6 Months)

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  scrimshaw on 12/01/2016 - 20:27

  +1

  I can still see your name on Dropbox, M.T :)

  Login to Dropbox and changing your profile name to a pseudonym.

  • 

    Doggiie on 12/01/2016 - 20:30

    HAHAHAH you got me :)

    Changed now

    • 

      scrimshaw on 12/01/2016 - 20:32

      +1

      First off is cover letter. Each cover letter is tailored specifically to a certain position. So you shouldn't be sending the same cover letter for every job application. To me, your letter looks very generic and doesn't seem to be giving me much information as to what you are good at, and what your skills are.

      Read the job description and the selection criteria very carefully and address each of them individually using the STAR method. If the job entails customer service, then go ahead and harp about it, otherwise don't highlight it too much. If the job requires you to have Excel, then talk about how familiar you are with it and provide some real life examples of your work skills.

      If at this point you don't know what STAR means, you really should be practicing and practicing until you are familiar with how to address the selection criteria.

      This guide from Monash has some samples, have a good look at it

      https://www.monash.edu.au/students/career-connect/apply-for-…

      • 

        Doggiie on 12/01/2016 - 20:46

        Yes I do think that my cover letters were quite generic, thanks for the link. I have never actually known of what the aim of a cover letter is apart from 'selling' yourself.

        I was always under the assumption of using the STAR method in answering interview questions. I guess I was wrong, I'll try my best to accommodate application selection criteria.

      • 

        scrimshaw on 12/01/2016 - 20:51

        +1

        @Doggiie:

        The STAR method can be applied to both cover letter and interviews. You want the employer to be interested in the letter and follow up with you afterwards, so the cover letter needs to explain why your job skills are relevant.

        If you read the Monash Guide, the Table of contents:

        Identify employer needs and the value you can bring to the organisation with the skills you can offer. Describe your specialist skills - relevant qualifications, experiences, achievements and skills as your selling point. Give examples to support your claims.

        Briefly describe your course (if not finished include your finishing date), majors or specialisations and results if they are strong.

        In any case since you are studying Finance and Accounting, you should have some academic accomplishments to talk about. I wouldn't focus too much on 'time management' — time management is something anyone can learn on the job, but not everyone has a lot of accomplishments, so talk a little about those. experience with projects (whether part of university course or work experience) are also an attention grabber.

        In your letter, you could say

        ---

        Currently studying at NSW University undertaking a Double Degree in Accounting / Finance, my studies focus on financial planning, general bookkeeping and data analysis. My GPA average to date is GPA 6.2. I have been equipped with a skill-set that is a good match for the needs of your clients - ________, ________ and _________ requirements for both small business and Fortune 500 companies. I can offer the following skills to your team:
        * Advanced Microsoft Excel Skills
        * Intermediate Skills in VBA and Microsoft .NET framework
        * Knowledge of MYOB 2013
        * High competency in creating / drafting sales, logistics and KPI reports
        * Exceptional front-facing customer service skills with the ability to speak Conversational Vietnamese

        In addition, I have demonstrated a high level of customer service working in various industry sectors, including 12 months experience working at yada yada yada Company selling Yada yada products, as well as having 2 years of experience as a Customer Service representative at 'Fashion Pty Ltd'. As a result, I have proven the ability to adapt to the diverse needs of customers, interacting professionally with both internal and external customers of the business. My capabilities are reflected in consistently exceeding KPI targets and positive feedbacks in performance evaluations.

      • 

        Doggiie on 13/01/2016 - 08:21

        @scrimshaw: From just reading your sample cover letter I can definitely see that I'd want to hire you and not me. I can see what you mean by getting to the point, it's clearer and more engaging.

        I will definitely try my best to improve my writing skills in terms of the cover letter. All those essays in high school and university makes you want to blabber and applications want you to be sharp, it's so different!

        I honestly think I should start fresh on my cover letter though. I think you could notice it was made over a period of time so possibly it has gotten chunky when I amended it over the years and months.

    • 

      JSQUARED on 12/01/2016 - 20:33

      Now you need to remove the author of the Word documents!

      • 

        Doggiie on 12/01/2016 - 20:37

        At this rate you guys can probably find out where I live, where I work, and my height…

      • 

        altomic on 12/01/2016 - 21:07

        +2

        @Doggiie: your PIN is 4382

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  mja65 on 12/01/2016 - 20:54

  A few suggestions:
  1. The bullet points listed in your experience section of your CV don't read well. They're a mix of what you have done versus what skills you've obtained. I'd suggest separating this and making it clearer.

  1. You are looking for a job in accounting yet your CV doesn't really spell out your skills in this area

  2. Your cover letter is too generic. What have you researched about the company demonstrates why you would be a good fit? You are also unclear in the role you are applying for. I am not sure if you are applying to professional services firms like PWC, Deloitte, etc, but these firms do a lot of different things. This goes to the point of researching the role you are applying for. For example, data analytics (referred to in your cover letter) is often (but not always) performed by areas of the firm which don't relate to accounting at all. You should research the area of the firm you are applying for and tie the cover letter (and potentially the CV) to this area

  3. I don't mean to offend, but your cover letter doesn't read well. While (mostly) grammatically correct, it's quite wordy and could be shortened. You also use a lot of commas and clauses in your sentences. Short and sharp is best! Also avoid things like "great interest" (versus interest) and words like "enrich" (which you use twice)

  Accounting firms receive a lot of applications and you need something to stand out. Having said that, it depends on who reviews the applications - some recruiters won't even read the cover letters at all.

  To give you an idea, I would look at a CV for around 30 seconds to a minute and make a call as to if I wanted to interview that person. That's after the recruiting team have screened candidates. I would rarely look at the cover letter (it's often stripped out before being sent to me). Having said that, I would make judgements on the candidates fit for the organisation and desire to work there as well as their written English (extremely important when writing reports) based on a poor cover letter.

  Good luck!

  • 

    Doggiie on 13/01/2016 - 07:58

    Thanks for the tips. I will try to clean up the experience portion of my resume.

    1. I honestly don't have experience to relay about accounting. I do have very extensive knowledge about Excel, would you consider that as something accountants and auditors do?
    2. Yes I do agree my cover letter is too generic, and I had a feeling I had a problem so I posted it up for assistance. I don't exactly have many people to ask because my family have always been in the lower working class so they don't know anything about resumes and cover letters. The dream is the big 4 banks or big 4 professional firms, but I'm not pick, I'm more looking for a stepping stone out of my current lifestyle.
    3. Cover letters should hit straight to the point? I guess that does make a little sense. I'm not writing an essay right? And interviewers would not want to spend much time per person.

    I'm not offended, I am genuinely looking for help, to open my eyes on what I'm missing.

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  currentfad on 12/01/2016 - 21:43

  You should really take the references bit out. Take your reference sheet with you in case, when you get to the interview stage. Also check out https://www.reddit.com/r/resumes/, especially the FAQ.

  • 

    Doggiie on 13/01/2016 - 08:02

    I have always been told to have a reference but at the bottom to show that you do indeed have references, and that all they need is to ask. It does waste a few lines on a very space conscious document. I'll have a think about it.

    Ahh a reddit link. Looks interesting actually. An entire community to critic a resume. I might try them once I revamp my application documents.

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  [Deactivated] on 13/01/2016 - 00:16

  One of the first questions I throw at accounting candidates in interviews is "I can see what you did, but what did you achieve?" Whilst some sort of basic work experience is a must, it's also important to demonstrate how you added value to that particular workplace.

  I don't read cover letters personally, but if I did you would've lost me at arranging working hours and night classes. That's getting ahead of yourself, it's better to broach the topic at the interview. Otherwise be careful not to fall into the trap of talking too much about what a great opportunity it would be for you, focus on what you can bring to the company. Always tie your sills / experience / attributes to the job requirements.

  Get rid of ICAA / CPA eligible from your resume that's meaningless, only list it when you become an associate member of either body. CA probably the better regarded one in the market so I'd go down that route, but your experience counts for more than the professional body you're with.

  Someone mentioned this above - you are including skills under duties eg "people skills to interact with…." - it'd read a lot better if you kept it to duties only eg "liaise with …" followed by your achievements and have a separate skills summary elsewhere in the resume.

  • 

    Doggiie on 13/01/2016 - 08:14

    As @scrimshaw has mentioned, I need to implement the STAR method in my applications as well. I have been practicing face to face interviewing skills to make sure I do push the Results of from the Situation. I will definitely try to include more of what I achieved through my applications.

    I don't want to to be a nagger, but I feel like I don't have accounting related experience. It's that cycle of you need a job to get experience, and need experience to get a job. Would you have any tips to mask my lack of industry related experience?

    I have definitely fallen into the trap of what a great opportunity it would for me. I shall amend.

    Yes I did find that my experience for my current job as very long, but it was more like I wanted to push it as gaining a lot of experience. I guess it's rubbing the wrong way because I do put other items which are not job duties. I I'll also fix this up.

    Thank you for your response!

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 13/01/2016 - 19:47

      You're misunderstanding my point on your experience for current job - it's your strongest role so by all means sell it, but phrase the points differently so they read like duties.

      Entry level roles will always attract candidates light on experience so don't stress too much about that. The important thing is to tie in the skills and experience you've picked up in non-accounting jobs to the job requirements - which shouldn't be too hard to do when you've had systems, inventory management and basic management accounting exposure. From the employer perspective it's a question of can this candidate do the job, and what has he/she done to differentiate themselves from all the other graduates?

      In terms of where to apply, if you can get into professional services esp big 4 and move into commerce later on that's the first prize, but it's not the end of the world if you go into commerce directly if you can get into a medium - large company with development opportunities and technically skilled managers willing to mentor you.

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  My2cents on 28/01/2016 - 02:45

  Not sure if your still seeking feedback as some time has elapsed since the last response. I usually just browse the forums rather than responding but you seem genuine/enthusiastic and I can relate to your posts. Dont want to come across rude but your resume and cover letter need some improvement if you really want to get a leg in - they are the reason why you not getting any responses.

  You dont specifically need to be an accountant to get an accounting role, you just need to know how to relate what you've done to what they are looking for. I worked in a big 4 accounting firm for almost 7 years and screened/interviewed graduate cvs as a manager there - now working as an auditor in commerce. Happy to give you some advice, let me know if your still keen to here it.

  • 

    Doggiie on 29/01/2016 - 19:05

    Hi I'll definitely take some advice! Since this thread is old, I don't want it to revive this thread too much. Can we talk through private message instead? I can't private message you right now because your your account doesn't allow it though.

    I have 'improved' my resume significantly since then, and I can definitely give it a show.