One common challenge faced by accounting interns is demonstrating relevant experience in their resumes, especially if they are still in school or have limited work history. Our guide helps to address this issue by providing strategies to highlight academic coursework, extracurricular activities, and transferable skills that show potential employers your capacity for the job, even without extensive professional experience.
Dive into our concise guide to learn how to:
- Show your accounting intern career's brightest moments through your resume's summary, objective, and experience sections.
- Explore top-notch accounting intern resume examples to understand how to distinguish yourself from other candidates.
- Identify the most sought-after accounting intern skills and certifications in the industry.
- Design a structured yet unique resume layout.
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Tips for refining your accounting intern resume format
The resume format sets the stage for your professional narrative. Ensure it:
- Adopts the reverse-chronological format, placing your most recent experiences at the forefront. This format is ideal for those with relevant and up-to-date experience.
- Features a clear headline, making it straightforward for recruiters to access your contact details, portfolio, or current role.
- Stays concise, ideally spanning no more than two pages, focusing on relevant experiences and skills.
- Maintains its layout by being saved as a PDF, ensuring compatibility with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
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Pro tip
Keep your accounting intern resume clear and concise. Top professionals narrate their career stories while highlighting their strengths.
Essential sections for your accounting intern resume, favored by recruiters:
- A clear header with pertinent links and contact information.
- A concise summary or objective, offering a snapshot of your career milestones and your fit for the accounting intern role.
- An experience section detailing your professional qualifications and achievements.
- Skills sections that align your talents with job-specific keywords and requirements.
- Education and certifications sections that underscore your dedication to industry-specific growth.
What recruiters want to see on your resume:
- Understanding of Accounting Principles: Knowledge of basic accounting principles and standards like GAAP or IFRS is critical for an intern. Any coursework, certifications, or experience that illustrates this understanding should be highlighted.
- Software Proficiency: Experience with accounting software (like QuickBooks or Excel) or other relevant tools such as data analysis software can make a candidate stand out.
- Attention to Detail: Accounting involves dealing with numbers and financial data where precision is key. Therefore, recruiters look for candidates who have demonstrated attention to detail in their previous roles or projects.
- Analytical Skills: An ability to analyze financial reports and forecasts is highly valued in the accounting field. A candidate's analytical skills could be showcased through relevant academic projects or work experiences.
- Communication Skills: Good communication skills are necessary for explaining complex financial information to non-financial team members. Showcasing these skills through team-based projects or experiences can be beneficial.
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Optimizing your accounting intern resume experience section
Your resume's experience section should resonate with your accomplishments while aligning with the job's demands. Here's how:
- Highlight significant career moments, and back them up with relevant skills.
- Analyze the job description to address both basic and advanced requirements.
- If you have unrelated roles, consider a separate section, but emphasize transferable skills.
- Avoid listing roles from over a decade ago unless they showcase your trajectory, especially for senior roles.
- Illustrate how your contributions enhanced the team or company, linking challenges to solutions.
Review how seasoned accounting intern professionals have crafted their experience sections, emphasizing their contributions.
- Assisted in preparing financial statements and reports, ensuring accurate data entry and calculations.
- Conducted regular audits to identify discrepancies and implemented corrective measures resulting in a 15% reduction in accounting errors.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to streamline the accounts payable process, optimizing efficiency by implementing a digital invoice tracking system.
- Managed payroll processing for over 200 employees, ensuring timely and accurate payment distribution.
- Assisted in budget analysis and forecasting, identifying cost-saving opportunities that resulted in a 10% reduction in operational expenses.
- Prepared tax documents and liaised with external auditors during the annual audit process, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
- Performed reconciliations of bank statements and resolved discrepancies, maintaining accurate financial records.
- Assisted in the implementation of an automated expense tracking system, reducing processing time by 30%.
- Participated in monthly financial analysis meetings, providing insights on cost variances and suggesting strategies to improve profitability.
- Collaborated with the accounting team to streamline the accounts receivable process, resulting in a 20% decrease in outstanding payments.
- Assisted in the preparation of financial statements and facilitated the year-end audit, ensuring compliance with accounting principles.
- Implemented internal controls to enhance data accuracy and integrity, reducing errors by 25%.
- Managed full-cycle accounts payable process, ensuring accurate coding, approval, and timely payments.
- Assisted in the implementation of an ERP system, leading data migration efforts resulting in improved efficiency and better financial reporting.
- Analyzed financial data to identify trends and anomalies, providing actionable insights for management decision-making.
- Processed vendor invoices and reconciled accounts, resolving discrepancies resulting in improved payment accuracy.
- Prepared monthly sales tax returns, ensuring compliance with state regulations.
- Assisted in the development of financial models for budgeting and forecasting purposes.
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams to implement a new inventory tracking system, resulting in a 20% reduction in stock discrepancies.
- Assisted in the analysis of revenue and expense trends, identifying cost-saving opportunities and suggesting process improvements.
- Prepared financial reports and presentations for senior management, summarizing key performance indicators and highlighting areas for improvement.
- Managed fixed asset register and conducted periodic audits, ensuring accurate recording and tracking of company assets.
- Developed and implemented standardized accounting procedures, resulting in improved efficiency and consistency across the organization.
- Assisted in the preparation of annual budget plans and monitored variances to achieve financial targets.
- Processed payroll for hourly and salaried employees, ensuring compliance with wage and hour laws.
- Collaborated with external auditors during the quarterly review process, providing necessary documentation and explanations.
- Assisted in tax research and analysis, identifying opportunities for tax savings resulting in a 12% decrease in overall tax liability.
- Conducted financial analysis and prepared monthly management reports, assisting in strategic decision-making.
- Assisted in the implementation of a new accounting software system, streamlining processes and increasing data accuracy.
- Collaborated with the internal audit team to perform control testing and identify areas for improvement.
Quantifying impact on your resume
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Writing your accounting intern experience section without any real-world experience
Professionals, lacking experience, here's how to kick-start your accounting intern career:
- Substitute experience with relevant knowledge and skills, vital for the accounting intern role
- Highlight any relevant certifications and education - to showcase that you have the relevant technical training for the job
- Definitely include a professional portfolio of your work so far that could include university projects or ones you've done in your free time
- Have a big focus on your transferable skills to answer what further value you'd bring about as a candidate for the accounting intern job
- Include an objective to highlight how you see your professional growth, as part of the company
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Pro tip
Use the SOAR (Situation - Action - Results) method for each of your accounting intern experience bullets. Reflect on specific challenges you've addressed, the actions you took, and the outcomes. This approach also preps you for potential interview questions.
Highlighting your hard and soft skills on your accounting intern resume
The skills section of your accounting intern resume should showcase your capabilities that align with job requirements.
Your hard skills, or technical skills, demonstrate your proficiency with technological innovations and specific software. On the other hand, your soft skills illustrate how you'd excel in the workplace environment with personal attributes like resilience, negotiation, and organization.
For a well-rounded accounting intern resume, it's essential to include both. Here's how to craft a standout skills section:
- Prioritize skills listed at the top of the job advert.
- Highlight unique skills you've honed over time.
- Choose soft skills that resonate with the company or department culture.
- Address essential job requirements by listing key skills for the accounting intern role that haven't been mentioned elsewhere in your resume.
Check out our sample skill list for accounting intern to get ideas on the most sought-after hard and soft skills in the industry.
Top skills for your accounting intern resume:
Microsoft Excel
QuickBooks
SAP
Oracle Financial Services
Accounting Software
Data Entry
Financial Reporting
Tax Preparation Software
Spreadsheet Management
Basic Accounting Principles
Attention to Detail
Time Management
Communication Skills
Analytical Thinking
Problem-Solving
Teamwork
Adaptability
Organizational Skills
Work Ethic
Critical Thinking
Pro tip
Don't go all over the place with your skills section by listing all keywords/ buzzwords you see within the ad. Curate both hard and soft skills that are specific to your professional experience and help you stand out.
Highlighting education and certification on your accounting intern resume
Your education section is a testament to your foundational knowledge and expertise.
Consider:
- Detailing your academic qualifications, including the institution and duration.
- If you're still studying, mention your anticipated graduation date.
- Omit degrees that aren't pertinent to the job.
- Highlight academic experiences that underscore significant milestones.
For accounting intern roles, relevant education and certifications can set you apart.
To effectively showcase your qualifications:
- List all pertinent degrees and certifications in line with the job requirements.
- Include additional certifications if they bolster your application.
- Provide concise details: certification name, institution, and dates.
- If you're pursuing a relevant certification, indicate your expected completion date.
Your education and certification sections validate both your foundational and advanced knowledge in the industry.
Best certifications to list on your resume
Pro tip
If you have plenty of certifications, prioritize the most relevant and industry-recognized ones. Arrange them based on their relevance to the job at hand.
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Adding a summary or objective to your accounting intern resume
One of the most crucial elements of your professional presentation is your resume's top one-third.
This most often includes:
- Either a resume summary - your career highlights at a glance. Select the summary if you have plenty of relevant experience (and achievements), you'd like recruiters to remember about your application.
- Or, a resume objective - to showcase your determination for growth. The perfect choice for candidates with less experience, who are looking to grow their career in the field.
If you want to go above and beyond with your accounting intern resume summary or resume objective, make sure to answer precisely why recruiters need to hire you.
What is the additional value you'd provide to the company or organization?
Now here are examples from real-life accounting intern professionals, whose resumes have helped them land their dream jobs:
Resume summary and objective examples for a accounting intern resume
Extra sections to boost your accounting intern resume
Recruiters love candidates who offer more. Share your personality or extra industry credentials. Consider adding:
- Projects showcasing standout work.
- Top awards or recognitions.
- Relevant publications.
- Hobbies and interests that reveal more about you.
Key takeaways
- The format and layout of your accounting intern resume should reflect your career experience;
- Use the resume summary and objective to highlight your most prominent accomplishments;
- Always be specific about your experience and consider what value each bullet adds to your accounting intern application;
- Consider how your academic background and technical capabilities could further showcase your alignment to the role;
- Your soft skills should contribute to your overall accounting intern profile - aligning your personality with your professional self.
