Extracurricular Skills Help Career

Sherri and Terry are both up for the same job. Both have nearly the same amount of experience and education. But Sherri has something that Terry doesn't - experience in and knowledge of the company's field.

In addition to one's accounting background, possessing additional knowledge is more than just useful for landing a job. In some cases it's helpful to do the work, and in other cases that background is required.

Bonus Skills

"For instance, there are a number of accountants who have an undergraduate degree in engineering, and then decide to get an MBA with an emphasis in accounting," says John Edson, CPA, and partner at Blanski, Peter, Kronlage, and Zoch. That crossover can be extremely helpful.

"They're dealing with estimates of how much it costs to build a piece of equipment," says Edson. "They're drawing on both their accounting and engineering skills."

While additional education and experience is helpful, don't overlook the necessity of accounting professional development.

"If the accountant already has the specific knowledge, it would be helpful to apply it as there would be deeper knowledge on process flows," says Susan Thomas, division director of Accountemps in Minneapolis. "However, this is really a nice to have.'"

Some companies look specifically for accountants with certain backgrounds. But filtering hires for that precise skill set can leave the position vacant longer.

"They do limit themselves, and they'll take longer than if they were willing to take someone with the same number of years, but no experience in that field," observes Edson. "There are a few industries where employers look for people with that experience. Industries like healthcare and construction require it."

Skill Builders

Accountants should look for any opportunity to learn job-specific skills.

"We work with candidates who are currently attending school to assist them with practical work experience," says Thomas."I encourage students to gain more experience and exposure this way. Be sure to take full advantage of any and all internship programs. If the school or university offers programs to work with companies in case study or any type of consultative way, that would be helpful."

"It's more often that people gain industry experience on-the-job," says Edson.

"In this tight accounting market, some employers are hiring entry-level positions with non-accounting degreed candidates and providing additional training to those individuals," says Thomas. "However, these candidates must be motivated, possess a strong work ethic, be fast learners, know Excel, Word and Outlook, and have the ability to be technically savvy to pick up the specific systems quickly."

Robert Elsenpeter is a freelance writer from Blaine.