Prepare For An Accounting Interview

You know finance and accounting inside and out. You can prepare Financial Accounting Standards Board reports in your sleep, and a ledger sheet – mere child's play to you.

Going into a job interview you know you're the best candidate. Unfortunately, you don't interview well. Accountants are great with numbers, but they might not be the best at communicating their skills and need to spend time getting ready for a job interview.

Prepare Yourself

Brian Back, co-owner of Ambrion, a Minneapolis staffing service, recommends a three-step approach to preparation:

"It's very easy to do these days, now that we have the Internet," says Back. "It's almost expected."

Tell Your Story

Preparing to tell the interviewer about yourself is the most involved part of getting ready.

Pay attention to things that are missing and the interviewer isn't asking about. For example, if the job requires four years of experience and you only have three, but the interviewer isn't asking about it, make it a point to do it yourself.

"If they aren't brought up, then explain why you are still ideal," says Langer.

Back advises accountants to structure their personal stories as one would formulate formal communications - it needs a beginning, middle and an end.

"Tell them what you're going to tell them; then tell them; then tell them what you told them," says Back.

Preparing for the questions you'll be asked isn't impossible. Performing a Google search for accounting interview questions will bring up a lot of examples.

Coming Back For More

If you are brought back for a second interview, then there's more work to be done.

"If you're savvy enough to ask questions in the first interview, find out where they might think you're weak and then bolster those areas," says Back.

Recognize who the second interviewer is and what his or her role is in the organization.

"Be yourself," advises Langer. "Be who you are, but remember that you are in a sales role."

If you have questions that weren't answered in the interview, it's best to follow-up with a telephone call.

"I 100 percent say it's OK to call," says Langer. "You never know how you're being taken in an e-mail."

Robert Elsenpeter is a freelance writer from Blaine.