When Joyce Favor (not her real name) entered college, she knew she wanted to get a degree in business but wasn't sure what area of business. In addition to getting counseling from her academic advisor and at the school's career center, she decided to get some real-world experience to help her figure things out. Sample Resume for New Graduate in Accounting (a new window or tab will open for all sample resume links).
During her freshman year Joyce got an entry-level job in a large auto shop as a sales support person. Even though she didn't have much responsibility, she had the opportunity to observe how various departments work together to make a business run smoothly.
One day in her low-key job, opportunity knocked: her boss asked if Joyce could create a spreadsheet for a special sales project. Joyce not only created it, she became the primary data-entry person for the project. And thus her love of accounting began!
By her sophomore year she was ready to declare her major: Accounting. She found a new job as a bookkeeper in a local multi-media company where she could use her strong math and computer skills. By her senior year her career was on course as she took an internship in a department store.
Just before graduation in 2011 she put together this resume, which she used to apply for a full-time job at the department store where she was still an intern.
Things to note about Joyce Favor's resume for an accounting job:
Because her B.S. in Accounting is new and highly relevant to her objective, she placed her Education section near the top of her resume, just before Professional Experience.
Joyce included "Concurrent with Education" in the section heading "Professional Experience." What a great way to tell the employer she's a hard worker: She held down a job while going to school full-time.
Achievement statements are modest, yet meaningful. Joyce doesn't use dollar signs and percentages to state her value. Rather she refers to qualities such as accuracy and timeliness. This is excellent for the accounting field where modesty backed by a good work ethic is appreciated. This type of achievement is also appropriate for a new college grad just starting her career.
The overall look of the resume is clean and straightforward. In fact, Joyce chose a resume format with lines because she felt it looked organized and represented her professional approach.
Susan
Ireland is the author of four job search books including The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect
Resume, now in its 5th edition. For more information
about writing your resume, read Susan's books or visit Susan's Website SusanIreland.com. For immediate help with your resume and cover letter, check out Susan's Ready
Made Resumes and Cover Letters, an online resume builder to help job seekers quickly create an effective resume. Follow Susan on Twitter @SusanIreland, visit her JobLounge blog, and interact with her on the LinkedIn's JOBS Group (Job Openings, Job Leads and Job Connections!) in her ** Let's Talk Resumes ** featured discussion.
