Do you ever feel like you’re slowly drowning in an ever increasing workload? If so, you’re not alone. Finance and accounting professionals are frequently expected to deliver strategic results with fewer resources. To help you regain control of your time, here are some tips to help you identify where you’re spending your time, how you can become more efficient, and most importantly how you can increase your value within your organisation.

1. Improve your email practices

Love it or hate it, many organisations rely heavily on email. Undeniably it’s had a huge and beneficial impact on business, but it can also be a massive time suck. One strategy that can help you avoid wasting time by reading, reviewing, deleting or writing e-mails that offer no value is maintaining ‘Inbox Zero’. This is the practice of emptying your email inbox every day to avoid getting bogged down in mountains of emails. To become an ‘Inbox Zero’ master you have to be a little brutal: If the email is something actionable, do the task straight away, if it’s for someone else to do, delegate it immediately, if you do decide to do it later – flag it with a reminder, and here’s the important bit …. if you don’t need the email for later, delete it! Deleting emails is one of the most productive email habits you can adopt today. The other side of the coin is to avoid sending emails that are of little or no value. Ask yourself honestly, do you really need to send that email?

2. Manage your time effectively

Sometimes a little organisation can go a long way. Taking the time to organise your workload with to-do lists and project timeframes can help you save oodles of time in the long run. By breaking your projects down, you’ll be able to identify what needs to be prioritised and the deadlines that you need to work to.

3. Only schedule productive meetings

Meetings need to deliver a return on investment for your time. By fostering a culture of only scheduling meetings with an objective, you’ll be able to avoid those pointless meetings that’s only purpose is to schedule another meeting. With a goal in mind, you’ll be able to identify the necessary people for each meeting and avoid wasting valuable resources.

4. Manage the number of projects you work on

It’s all too common for managers to dole out an untenable workload, which in turn actually slows down progress across the board. To help you avoid this problem you’ll need to manage upwards and push back where necessary, working with your team to identify the key priorities.

5. Focus on quality and providing valuable insight

Whilst you might think that taking on loads of projects will impress your employer, your value to the company will be defined by the quality of your work and the insights you provide to help steer the direction of the company. Rather than spreading yourself thinly, take on fewer projects that will create a direct impact every time.

6. Organise your workspace

Organising your workspace is time well spent. By maintaining a tidy workspace, you’ll become more efficient and productive as you’ll be able to locate important items quicker, avoid working around endless clutter, remember important tasks, and focus on your workplace goals easier. It will also have the bonus of giving your workspace and you a more professional demeanour. Work out what is essential for your workspace and what clutter needs to be binned or filed away. Over time this practice should become second nature, and you’ll be able to work clutter free.

7. Learn new Excel tips that will increase efficiency

Excel is one of the most amazing pieces of software and it’s constantly improving. With it come a million and one time saving shortcuts and tricks to learn, so it’s totally worth devoting a small amount of time a week to trying out new tips. For some handy timesavers check out the ExcelTips site.

8. Be open to digital change

Technology is revolutionising the way we all work, but it is those early adopters who are open to digital change that will reap the biggest rewards. Try and keep up to date with the technology and software that’s available. If you’re not already filing to the cloud or using apps in your day to day life, you’re already one step behind. The right technology will undoubtedly increase your productivity and make your life easier, so what are you waiting for?


Written by Financial Staffing Solutions, specialist financial recruiters covering all accountancy and financial roles. If you’re looking for a new position within this sector, or need to hire a finance professional, then get in touch:

https://www.staffingsolutions.co.uk/

020 8532 2644

Today’s recruiting and interview process comes in all shapes and sizes. Preparation is absolutely essential if you want to make a lasting impression and stand out to an employer. Here are some of our favourite articles from around the web to help you prepare for the unexpected and ace your next interview!

This first post outlines some of the most common types of interview. Make sure you know the type of interview that you’re heading into! If these details aren’t provided by the company, don’t be afraid to ask – this will only show your enthusiasm for the role

What Types of Job Interviews Are There?

Depending on the job you are applying for, there are several types of job interviews that your potential employer may conduct. Before you go for your interview, it’s important that you make sure that you are informed about what type of interview that will be conducted, so that you can prepare for it appropriately.

Once you’ve confirmed the interview details, you need to turn your attention to researching the company and preparing for questions they might ask you. Here are some of the fundamentals to preparing for your interview. Make sure you put aside a good amount of time to each of these steps so you know the company, the role your applying for and yourself, inside out!

10 Crucial Steps To Prepare For The Interview –

You’ve secured an interview, congratulations, all your hard work has paid off. But you are not out of the woods yet! It is time to prepare for the interview! I’ve worked with numerous job seekers who have made assumptions about the interview process which ended up biting them.

As part of your interview preparation you’ll no doubt prepare answers to some of the most common interview questions typically asked, which is great! But what happens when you get caught off guard and you’re asked questions that you’re not prepared for? This post offers some all-important advice to help you manage this scenario

4 Ways to Handle Interview Questions You Don’t Know How to Answer

Preparing for interviews is serious business. But even if you practice, and practice, and practice, you could still get a question you just don’t know how to answer. Whether it’s a technical question on something you’ve never heard of before or just something completely unexpected, a question that stumps you can really throw off the pacing of the conversation and leave you a bit shaken up.

If you’re like the many others out and let your nerves get the better of you during an interview, our final pick offers some valuable tips to keep you cool-headed and calm

5 Strategies For Overcoming Interview Nerves | CAREEREALISM

Your stomach begins to churn, your palms sweat profusely, your mouth goes dry, and your voice begin to shake… and that’s when you’re just thinking about your forthcoming job interview. We all get nervous for job interviews, as nobody likes being in the hot seat, being assessed on what they say, and how they react to different questions.

We hope you find these insights useful and they help you ace your next interview. If you’re looking for a role in Finance or Accountancy, get in touch with our team – we’d love to help!

It’s that time of year again when businesses are gearing up for the end of the financial year. As an Accountant or Finance professional, this will probably mean that you’re having to manage your time more effectively in order to take on a heavier workload and meet tighter deadlines. To help you survive this busy season, we’ve compiled 5 top picks to help you save time and stay motivated!

7 Tips and 3 Jokes to Help Accountants Survive Busy Season

Busy Season. Mention of the words raises the blood pressure level of every public accountant and tax professional. The long hours, tight deadlines, and constant pressure can be grueling. You well know, it starts around mid-January and lasts through April 15 th. Thank goodness it’s already March!

If it’s efficiencies that you require, the next two posts provide some useful Excel tips to help you speed through your worksheets and fix hidden errors:

4 Excel Tricks for Accountants

Whether you work for a public accounting firm or are an accountant at a company, Microsoft Excel is likely an essential part of the work you perform. While I worked in public accounting, I used excel on a daily basis for numerous work assignments.

How to debug Excel spreadsheets

CPAs are often tasked with vetting or working with numbers in a spreadsheet. And while accountants are well-trained to identify and correct accounting errors, spreadsheets bring the danger of many other types of errors. Field audit results compiled by University of Hawaii professor and spreadsheet expert Ray Panko showed errors in 88% of 113 spreadsheets audited between 1995 and 2007.

Or perhaps you’re looking to achieve better time-management? This post shares some tried and tested techniques from seasoned Accountants:

What Tax Accountants Know About Surviving Life’s Busy Seasons

Accounting can be a great profession for work/life balance overall. However, as any accountant knows, that is not the case during “busy season” (often from January to March for auditors, or into April for those dealing with taxes). Long hours are the norm.

Last but not least, whilst productivity is key during this time, this shouldn’t be to the detriment of your own health. Here are some all-important tips for staying healthy and achieving a better work-life balance during tax season:

work-life-balance-tax-season

Tax season is synonymous for most accounting professionals with long hours and stressful days. But stress can lead to burnout, relationship trouble at home and even increased risk of getting sick. With some planning, you can take care of yourself, spend time with your family and provide exceptional service to your clients.

We hope you find these posts useful – and of course if you’re thinking of making a career move, feel free to call us, we’d be delighted to help.

Search

You may already know that we have recruited further consultants to join our successful team in Loughton.  In fact, we’re seeking TWO more people to come on board and give their careers a rocket launch.

Why Loughton?  Being on the edge of the hustle and bustle means we have more quality time to interview candidates and build relationships with our vast client base.  Our state of the art offices are located right by the central line, with fast and easy access into town.  So one day we might be taking a leisurely drive through beautiful countryside to visit clients in the heart of Essex, and the next we’re whizzing up to Liverpool Street to provide our first class service to our clients there. Just 30 minutes door-to-door gives us valuable time to review CVs and match them to job specs.

A good deal of our clients are in docklands, the city and dotted around the west end, so we enjoy the dynamism of the capital when we visit, without the stress of the regular rush hour commute.  Doesn’t that sound great?

So if you’re an experienced recruitment consultant ready to take a step up, earn a city salary locally and bring a new level of excellence to the business, call us today!

We’re offering…

  • An excellent package, with a competitive starting salary and benefits
  • Uncapped commission
  • Ongoing training and career development
  • The opportunity to run your own team
  • Share option plan

Please send your CV to Alan Marcelis at Alan@staffingsolutions.co.uk, or call 020 8532 2644 to find out more.

 

 

With the growth of webcams and ‘video chat’ software, employers are increasingly using video interviews as part of their candidate screening process. If you haven’t already had a video interview, it won’t be long. Video interviewing offers so many benefits for employers that hiring managers across the world are getting on board. They allow employers to shorten the hiring process, saving both time and money. Employers are even using pre-recorded interviews to quickly and efficiently screen lots of candidates. Video interviews also help employers to combat skills shortages by widening their talent pool by including global candidates and remote workers.

Whether this is your first video interview or you’re reading this in readiness for what the future may hold, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Surely it’s just the same as a face to face interview!

Well, in our experience you’ll need to do all the usual interview prep, plus a little extra to take into account the differences of a video interview.

Below we’ve included our top tips to give you the best possible chance at acing your video interview.

Choose your location carefully!

The best location for a video interview is one that offers quiet surroundings where you won’t be disturbed. Ideally this will be a setting that presents a professional environment.  Avoid anywhere noisy or potentially distracting such as a café or pub. Choose a quiet room at home and remember, if there are family members or friends in the house, make sure they know you’re not to be disturbed. If that’s not possible try contacting your local library or look for conference spaces to rent at local hotels or offices. Many organisations offer conference rooms to rent on an hourly rate.

If you do hire a conference space, make sure that you hire it for longer than the interview is scheduled for. You don’t want someone walking in asking for you to vacate the room because your time is up; it won’t leave a good lasting impression on your potential employer.

Check your backdrop and lighting

It’s often surprising the sorts of things interviewers see in the background of a video interview. A messy room or an inappropriate picture can be off-putting to an interviewer. A plain wall or bookcase is an ideal backdrop, whereas the view of your kitchen or bedroom can be less appealing.The other thing to take into account is the lighting within your chosen space. You don’t want your lighting to be too dark or too light. You want your interviewer to be able to see you as clearly as possible.

Test your tech

Whilst your wifi or connection is probably out of your control, it’s at least worth checking your connection to make sure that it’s reliable. A good way of doing this is to test the connection on Skype. As a connectivity back-up it’s a good idea to set up your phone as a personal hotspot incase you need to connect it to your computer.

If you’re not already a regular video chat user try some test calls with friends. Test your sound quality and camera to ensure everything is crystal clear. The other thing to remember is that your interviewers may ask you to share your screen if you have a portfolio or presentation. Practice doing this and ensure that you have a clean desktop, you don’t want your interviewer to see anything inappropriate.

Dress to impress

What you wear can be just as important as what you say. We always suggest that you wear exactly what you would for a face-to-face interview. Just because the interviewer can only see your head and shoulders doesn’t mean that you should neglect your bottom half. You might need to stand up to get something and a pair of tracksuit bottoms (or less) won’t reflect you in the best light. Dressing professionally can also help to put you in the right mindset for an interview whilst boosting your confidence.

Use positive body language

Positioning your camera is going to be an important step in ensuring that your video interview goes well. Make sure you’re able to look directly into the camera as this will mean that you’re also making eye contact with your interviewer. This will help to build a personal connection with your interviewer whilst also showing that you’re a confident communicator.

Practice makes perfect

As with any interview, practice is essential. Ask a family member or friend to give you a Skype call. If possible they should be armed with some practice interview questions to put you under the spotlight. As well as practicing your answers this will give you the chance to practice speaking into a camera. Speak slowly and clearly, enunciating your words to ensure that you come across in the best light.

Final thoughts

When it comes to the interview itself you’ll still need to do all the usual preparation to ensure that you can illustrate that you have the right skills and experience for the role. To help you prepare check out some of the tips in our previous post. https://www.staffingsolutions.co.uk/essential-interview-checklist/

Written by Financial Staffing Solutions, specialist financial recruiters covering all accountancy and financial roles. If you’re looking for a new position within this sector, or need to hire a finance professional, then get in touch:

https://www.staffingsolutions.co.uk/

020 8532 2644

Recruiting financial staff for SMEs can be a struggle when you’re up against larger organisations with the brand recognition, advertising budget, and wage packet to price you out of the top talent. With recent news that the professional jobs market is on the up, it’s likely to get increasingly competitive.

New survey data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) revealed that professional recruitment firms have 12% more vacancies on record than this time last year. APSCo’s data showed that growth in the professional staffing market is rising across all the trade association’s core groups. Finance and accounting vacancies grew by 13%, IT by 11%, engineering by 7%, and media and marketing by 1% showing the market’s current stability and strength.

 In such a competitive market it’s crucial that SMEs have the best recruitment tactics in order to attract and retain financial talent. With this in mind we’ve put together 4 steps that will help tip the balance in your favour.

Build your employer brand & promote your company values

 As an SME you might not have the same brand recognition as some of the larger employers, but you can still punch above your weight if you develop a strong ’employer brand’.

To build your employer brand you’ll need to give candidates an insight into what it might be like to work for you. Large employers find this difficult as they invariably present their formal corporate façade. SMEs on the other hand have more of an opportunity to show a little character. Use your website and social media presence to show off your ethos to potential candidates. You could consider running a ‘day in the life of’ feature to show what it’s like to work in finance at your company. By presenting an open, supportive, and positive working environment you can convince candidates that working for your SME is the right career decision to take.

Recruit for the right fit before qualifications

 Whilst qualifications for finance and accountancy roles are a given, once candidates have jumped over that hurdle it’s best to look to their soft-skills to evaluate how they would fit into your organisation. Working in an SME can be like being in a family, and such close quarter relationships require strong interpersonal skills. Communication and rapport building will be essential to ensure they can work closely with your existing staff, garnering their support and getting the results that you need. You’ll also need someone that’s flexible and able to manage their workload to meet the fast paced and ever changing needs of an SME.

As an SME it’s not only important to attract talent, you also need to retain it. Recruit talent that can grow with your company and the future needs of your business. Your senior financial staff will undoubtedly need replacements so you should assess every potential hire with the question “can I see this person progressing within our business?”. If the answer is yes, you could be on to a winner.

Sell the benefits of working for an SME

 When competing with larger employers, you have a perfect weapon in your arsenal; the benefits of working for a smaller company. Working for an SME means that employees are exposed to more of the business. This will give them the diversity and experience that they wouldn’t get working for a large company, helping them to grow. This growth often leads to faster career development as the employee becomes more integral and in tune with the needs of the business. It’s also important to remember to show off any benefits that your particular SME offers such as flexible working, training, and mentoring as these can all help to show that you’d be a good employer to work for.

Refine your hiring process

 A strong hiring process is well defined and efficient making the process easy to engage with for applicants. When developing a job description for a new role make sure that you have the buy in from all the relevant parties, and that you have all the information that you’ll need from the start. You don’t want to be tweaking what the job entails half way through the recruitment process as this will be disheartening for potential candidates and make it difficult for your hiring managers to evaluate candidates using the same criteria. Keep recruiters up to date throughout the recruitment process so they can keep candidates informed ensuring that even unsuccessful candidates are left with a positive experience of your company.

By following these tips you’ll develop a reputation as an employer that people want to work for, helping you to attract quality talent and reduce staff attrition.

Written by Financial Staffing Solutions, specialist financial recruiters covering all accountancy and financial roles. If you’re looking to hire a finance or accounting professional, then get in touch: www.staffingsolutions.co.uk – 020 8532 2644

If you apply for a job, talk to a recruiter, or even make an informal enquiry with an employer, it’s more than likely that they’re going to check out your LinkedIn profile. Social screening has become a go-to step in the recruitment process and whilst your other social profiles such as Facebook and Instagram should be set to private, your LinkedIn profile should stand proud.

Whether you’ve developed a killer CV or made a great impression over the phone, if your LinkedIn profile is lacking you’ll be leaving some serious doubts in their mind.

During LinkedIn’s early years, LinkedIn profiles were basic; a near copy of a CV. Nowadays a LinkedIn profile can be so much more. It’s a chance to elaborate on your experience, showing the effects that you’ve had in previous roles, whilst elucidating your value to prospective employers.

In this post we’re going to give you the advice you’ll need to make your CV standout from the crowd, enticing employers and recruiters alike.

Include your contact details

 It might be one of the most obvious steps, but it’s amazing how many people fail to include up-to date contact details. Ensure that your email address is professional and one that you check regularly. If you’re really serious about networking it’s also a good idea to include your phone number. You can even add your Twitter profile if it’s going to show you in a good light.

Match your profile to your chosen audience

 When it comes to your audience and the language that you use, LinkedIn profiles can be a little tricky. A CV can be re-worded and tailored to match each employer. When writing your LinkedIn profile, you have a decision to make; be more general to attract a wider range of employer or be specific and tailored.

That decision will rightly depend on your situation but if you can it’s better to focus your profile on your primary job target. Being specific will help you avoid presenting a confusing profile, letting an employer digest your experience and skills with ease.

Write an engaging profile headline

Your profile headline is probably more important than you might think. To put this to the test, open LinkedIn in a new tab and search ‘People’ for any role that comes to mind. Just like a Google search you’ll be presented with a taster of limited information; a name, a photo and a headline is all that you get to entice the reader. Writing ‘Financial Accountant at Pro-logic Incorporated’ just isn’t enough anymore. Think of it like writing a front page headline, if it’s boring the paper will never sell.  Go one step further by describing your responsibilities, niche specialisms and value proposition such as ‘Helping SME’S increase their sales and profits while reducing risk.’

Add a profile summary

The next step is to write a detailed yet succinct profile summary. The idea of your profile summary is to give employers a snapshot of your skills and experience to encourage them to read more. When you’re writing a profile summary, think about the buzzwords that employers might search for.

The key is to include the number of years’ experience that you have, your job title, the skills that set you aside from other candidates and one or two achievements from your career history that show your worth to an employer. This should help them to imagine you in the role that they are hoping to fill by thinking about the effect you may have in the workplace.

Choose your photo wisely

 Your photo is one of the first things that an employer or recruiter will see. Making a good impression is a must and trust us, getting the right photo will take some time and thought. The good news is you don’t need a professional to take it, just a decent smart phone and a patient photographer.

Unless you have a picture that suits LinkedIn already, it’s best to get one taken just for LinkedIn. To set the scene, choose a background that isn’t distracting such as a wall painted in one colour. Be dressed in something professional that you would wear to work. Ideally you want it from the shoulders up, with your face taking up at least 60% of the photo (no long distance artsy shots). Finally, remember to choose the right expression. You want to seem friendly and approachable, whilst avoiding looking like the office clown.

Add an honest and detailed work history

 It’s essential that you include an honest and detailed work history. LinkedIn is in the public domain so avoid the temptation to inflate any of your responsibilities. If you are looking to move up the ranks, you’re going to need to give honest examples of how you’ve worked at that level.

Encourage your contacts to endorse your skills and ask for recommendations   

 Endorsements and recommendations can help to give your profile real gravitas. They show that people are willing to put their reputation on the line for you. For endorsements one of the best ways to encourage endorsements is to endorse your contacts. Endorse them for their key skills and they may well repay the favour.

When it comes to recommendations, the best way to get them is to ask. Contact colleagues that you’ve worked with closely in the past. Explain to them that you are hoping to improve your LinkedIn profile and that you would like a recommendation about your skills and work ethos. A well written recommendation is one of the best things you can get for your LinkedIn profile so you should see this step as a matter of urgency.

Quantify your achievements with supporting stats

 Employers love quantifiable information. Statistics offer evidence to support any of your achievements, and they let an employer see the effects that you’ve had in a previous role in numbers, especially important for finance roles. One thing to be aware of though is to avoid including any sensitive information such as company figures, opt for percentages where necessary.

Share or publish interesting content and join relevant groups

 To get even more out of LinkedIn it can be a great idea to share or publish interesting content. If you can share content that is useful to other LinkedIn users you’ll be able to carve out a reputation as someone that is active within your industry.

To take it to the next step you could even consider publishing your own blogs to share your expertise with the wider world. By writing thought provoking and useful content you can show that you’re a thought leader. If your contacts share your content they’ll be actively promoting your LinkedIn profile to their contacts.

The final cherry on the top is to join relevant LinkedIn groups, sharing your own content and engaging in insightful discussions with people in your sector. Manage all of these steps and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a master of LinkedIn. What are you waiting for?

Your LinkedIn profile should reflect a superb CV.  If you need a little extra help to sharpen them up, call us for advice on 020 8532 2644 and don’t forget to connect with us on LinkedIn.

 For more tips, market news, salary surveys, and the latest career opportunities download our app, it’s completely free. https://www.staffingsolutions.co.uk/app/

Written by Financial Staffing Solutions, specialist financial recruiters covering all accountancy and financial roles. If you’re looking for a new position within this sector, or need to hire a finance professional, then get in touch: https://www.staffingsolutions.co.uk/ – 020 8532 2644

Like buying a house, getting married, or going through a divorce, an interview is one of those stressful situations that make candidates break out in a sweat. Having helped thousands through the interview stage we know that the best way to overcome interview stress is to be well prepared. That’s why we’ve put together this essential interview checklist to help you put your best foot forward.

Pre-interview preparation

Make sure you know the format of the interview and what’s expected of you

Before your interview check out what the format will be. Is it going to be a panel interview or a one to one interview? Will it involve any tests or will you be required to give a presentation? Often this information will be provided for you by the recruiter or employer but if there is limited information don’t be too shy to ask.

Look up who’ll be interviewing you

On many occasions you’ll find out from the HR department or recruiter who’ll be interviewing you in advance. If you don’t, you can check with your contact or recruiter to find out. This will give you the advantage of being able to do a little background research. Having a little information about what makes your interviewer tick and what their specialities are could help you to connect with them and give you the edge on other candidates. If you have a strong social media presence, that will leave a good impression and you could even connect with them on social media.

Research the company

Researching the company is one of the most important steps in your preparation. As well as finding out information about the company in general, it’s also useful to find out what projects they are involved in, if they have taken on any new clients, or if they’ve made any new appointments recently.

If they have a blog or news section on their website, this is a great place to start. You should also google their company for any mentions on industry sites or external blogs, as well as seeing what updates are on LinkedIn or Twitter about the company. This gives you the opportunity to discuss things that you’ve learned about their company in an interview showcasing your research skills and proactivity. If you’re lucky you may even be able to relate your skills and experience to a challenge or project that they’re facing at the moment.

Think of examples that prove you have the skills and experience they’re looking for

To show to an employer why you are the candidate for the job you’ll need to provide examples that showcase your skills and experience. To help you structure your answers you can use the well-known STAR model. Firstly set the scene by describing the situation of your example. The next step is to explain the task or activity that required your input. Follow this up by describing the action that you took, and finally round up your example by summarising the result of your actions.

Write a list of questions you’d like to ask them

An interview should be a two way street. As well as allowing an employer to find out whether you are the right candidate, it is your opportunity to assess whether the company and role is right for you. When deciding what to ask steer clear of questions about company benefits, annual leave and pay increments and instead focus on elements important to your role and department. You could ask what may be expected of you in your first month or year, or ask about challenges they are facing in your department at the moment.

Make sure you know where the company is

Woe betides the interviewee that gets lost on the day and turns up late. If you need to, do a dry-run to ensure your journey goes as smoothly as possible.

 

On the day

Dress to impress

First impressions are important.  If you’re not sure what the dress code is, formal is always best. It’s a rare occasion that you can offend by over dressing but under dressing can be seriously off-putting to a potential employer.

Have your paper work in order

Have copies of your CV, a copy of the job ad, and a notepad containing your background research & questions for the company to hand. Not only will this give you the opportunity to have a quick glance whilst you’re waiting to go in, it will also help to show to an employer that you’re organised. They may even ask to see your CV on the day and having one to hand is always a plus.

Prepare a portfolio with examples of your work or certificates of your qualifications

For certain roles it can be beneficial to have examples of your work or certificates with you on the day. Evidence is king and it can often be the determining factor in successfully getting the job.

Take anything you’ve been asked to prepare with you

If you’ve been asked to prepare anything for your interview, make sure you have it on the day. It’s also worth having it in different formats in case there are any technology issues on the day, as well as the bonus of being able to give out physical copies to the interviewers which they can keep after your interview.

Have a bottle of water

Whilst it’s likely that your interviewer will offer you a drink, just in case they don’t, it’s a good idea to have your own. Nerves have a tendency to dry your throat and sipping water can also provide extra thinking time if there’s a question you want to consider.

A strong smile, a firm handshake and positive body language

When you’re introduced to the interviewer make sure that you smile and extend a healthy handshake. When you’re in the interview lean in slightly towards the interviewer to show interest and avoid confrontational or defensive positions such as crossing your arms. Maintain eye contact with the interviewer to show confidence (even if you’re panicking on the inside) and listen carefully to ensure that you’re providing the right information.

With the right preparation behind you you’ll be ready to ace the interview and get this job. Good luck on the big day!

Are you thinking of changing jobs this coming year? If so, be sure to download our app for Android or iPhone today.

 

If you’re like many of the candidates we come into contact with, you’re probably always looking for ways to further your career and better yourself professionally. With that in mind, three articles have caught our attention this week that we wanted to share with you.

The first looks at the integral role of Finance in leveraging the business wins to be had from Big Data. Is this perhaps a cause you should be championing in your organisation?

Finance Should Hurry to the Big Data Party
The second pick this week shares some great insights on how your fellow accountants are leveraging social media to great effect in their professional lives. Could you be doing more with this?

How other Accountants are using social media

Last but not least, some interesting insights derived from a Deloitte survey looking at how Finance departments could make the Management Information they produce more insightful:

3 ways to improve the quality of management information

Hope you also find these interesting – and of course if you’re toying with a career move, feel free to call us and we’d be delighted to help.

Job interview preparation is a key ingredient in securing that next Accounting or Finance career move you’re aspiring to. You’ve put in all that effort to perfect your CV; you’ve worked with a recruitment agency like ours to secure the right interviews – so don’t fall at the final hurdle through insufficient interview prep.

Here are three articles that’ll help you be fully prepared for that next opportunity. The first gives you a head-start if you might have to tackle phone interviews:

Why Phone Interviews Are So Hard-and How to Ace Them Anyway

Then there’s the critical issue of preparing for tough interview questions

Prepare For Difficult Interview Questions | CAREEREALISM

Last – but by no means least – is the critical issue of why you want to work for that particular company. Getting your answer to this one right can go a long way towards securing that job offer

4 Better Ways to Answer “Why Do You Want to Work at This Company?”

Hope these pointers help – and from all the team at Financial Staffing Solutions, good luck in that next interview.


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