Provisional Accounting Blog

Social media is a great way to connect with family and friends. However, it can also be an easy way to ruin your chances of getting your dream job.

If you think hiring managers don’t scour the Internet to find your social media profiles ─ think again. Your presence on major platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest is easily accessible, serving as a great way for potential employers to learn more about you.

5 Ways to Clean Up Your Social Media Profiles

Preparing to start your job search? Take the following five steps to clean up your social media profiles first:

• Choose a Professional Profile Picture: Sure, an outrageous or inappropriate profile picture will get a few laughs from your friends, but it won’t impress any hiring managers. Choose a profile photo for each of your social media sites that you wouldn’t be embarrassed for a future employer to see.
• Think Twice Before Posting: Some topics just aren’t meant for social media. Avoid posting on sensitive topics such as politics and religion ─ and never use profanity. You don’t want to risk offending a hiring manager with controversial content. If you’re not sure if something is appropriate to post, it probably isn’t.
• Enable Privacy Settings: If you don’t want a potential employer to see your profile ─ or certain parts of it ─ enable privacy settings to restrict who is able to view it. All major social media platforms allow you to put privacy settings in place, allowing you to effectively create separate public and private online personas.
• Review Who You Follow: On sites like Facebook and Twitter, it’s easy to forget who you’ve followed or “liked.” Closely examine who you’re keeping up with to make sure you don’t have anyone controversial on your list, as this information is public. Updates from these users may be entertaining, but they’re certainly not worth risking a job to read.
• Share Industry-Relevant Updates: Demonstrate your sincere interest in your industry by using your social media accounts to position yourself as an industry leader. Post relevant articles, follow leading professionals and share your thoughts on current trends.

If you need a little help polishing your online presence to impress potential employers, contact Accountingpros Recruiting + Staffing. Our firm has been the Northwest’s leader in specialized accounting recruiting and staffing services for 20 years! We take a consultative approach to provide customized accounting and finance staffing solutions, which includes temporary/contract, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire placements.

In an ideal world, your boss would grant you regular raises, so you’d never feel like your salary didn’t quite cut it. However, it doesn’t always work this way, so you may find yourself having to ask for a raise.

The appropriate time to ask for a raise is after you’ve been employed by the company for at least one year ─ or if you have gone for an entire year without one. Pay raises are often awarded when performance reviews are given, so if you’re not granted one then, it’s time to state your case.

4 Solid Reasons to Ask Your Boss for a Raise

Most employees would happily accept a raise, but not everyone has a solid reason to request one. If you find any of the following four situations applicable, it’s time to gather up your courage and ask your boss for more money:

• Prove You’re Making Below Industry Average: Think your salary is less than the industry average? Prove it! Research your job title on sites like the S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to see what other professionals in your field are earning. Show this to your boss to support your claims.
• Highlight Your Achievements: Have you developed initiatives that have saved the company time and money? If you’ve spent the past year working hard to make the organization more competitive, be sure to clearly state your accomplishments. Great work deserves to be rewarded.
• Point Out Additional Responsibilities You’ve Taken On: If your job has evolved over time, causing you to take on additional duties, you should be compensated for the extra effort. Present your original job description to your boss ─ along with a list of your added responsibilities ─ to make it clear the position has changed direction since your first day on the job.
• Note Current Inflation Rates: If inflation rates have notably decreased the value of your salary, don’t be afraid to mention this. It’s not your fault that inflation is on the rise and your bank account shouldn’t have to take a hit.

Ready to make your next big career move? Contact Accountingpros Recruiting + Staffing. We’re the experts at matching specialized accounting professionals with leading companies in the area, offering temporary/contract, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire positions.

There’s nothing worse than uncomfortable pauses and silences during a job interview. It’s important to create a strategy to ensure you always have something valuable to add to the conversation, so you don’t fall short.

You’ve already impressed the hiring manager with the credentials on your resume, so be sure to prove you also have the conversational skills needed to succeed. Being good on paper can score you an interview, but you won’t get the job unless you’re just as convincing in person.

5 Tips to Create Flowing Interview Conversation

Need a few pointers to hold up your end of the conversation during your next job interview? Follow these five tips to keep the dialog flowing:

• Conduct Research on the Organization: Prior to the interview, find out as much as you can about the company history, products and services and current initiatives, so you can hold your own during the conversation. Being in-the-know allows you to ask informed questions and avoid awkward silences when discussing company matters.
• Prepare a List of Questions: Make a list of questions to ask the interviewer, both to show your genuine interest in working for the company and to fill in conversation gaps. It can be difficult to come up with questions on the spot, so preparing them in advance allows you to have time all the time you need to think.
• Listen Carefully: When you’re nervous, it can be easy to focus on everything but what the interviewer is saying. However, do your best to avoid this and hang onto their every word. Listening closely ensures you won’t get left behind in the conversation, making you appear disinterested in the job.
• Avoid Interrupting: If the interviewer says something you want to comment on, be sure to wait until they’re finished talking. Interrupting is an easy way to disrupt the flow of any conversation.
• Close by Asking About the Next Steps: Create a solid ending to the conversation by asking the interviewer when you can expect to hear from them next. This is a great way to wrap the conversation up, while showing your continued interest in the job.

Need a little help making a lasting impression at your next job interview? Contact Accountingpros Recruiting + Staffing. We’re skilled at connecting specialized accounting talent with top companies in the area, offering temporary/contract, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire employment.

Most hiring managers receive a large number of resumes for each job posted, so it’s impossible for them to carefully read each one. Many companies use resume scanning software to search for specific keywords in candidates’ resumes, helping to identify top contenders.

No matter how qualified you are for the job, if you fail to include these target keywords in your resume, your application could be placed in the rejection pile without ever making it to the hiring manager’s desk. Consequently, the importance of including keywords in your resume cannot be denied.

3 Tips to Incorporate Keywords into Your Resume

When reading a job description, look for words and phrases used multiple times throughout the posting ─ these are your keywords. Incorporating those relevant to your experience into your resume is a must. Work them into your resume copy in at least one of the following spots:

Add Keywords Below Your Job Title.

Simply add the keywords you’ve noted from the job description under your own job title. Don’t get too carried away though, keep it to four or five keywords or phrases, as you don’t want to go overboard. For example, you could organize it to read like this:

Payroll Tax Consultant
Certified Public Accountant. Skilled at SAP and PeopleSoft. Multi-State Payroll Tax and FEIN Experience. Dedicated Problem-Solver.

Work Keywords into Your Profile.

Rewrite the profile section of your resume to include relevant, specific keywords from the job description. If you’re a true match for the job, there’s a good chance you won’t actually have to do much editing.

Include Keywords in Your Professional Experience Section.

Edit the body of your resume by swapping relevant keywords with similar words and phrases already included in your resume. You’ve probably already listed everything the hiring manager is looking for, but you need to edit the copy to include the exact keywords so you aren’t mistakenly passed up.

It’s important to remember to incorporate the keywords in a manner that flows properly and sounds natural. Simply stuffing keywords into a sentence will look strange and get you nowhere but the rejection pile.

Need a little help polishing your resume?

Contact Accountingpros Recruiting + Staffing. Our team has been the leader in specialized accounting recruiting and staffing services in the Northwest region for 20 years! We offer temporary/contract, temp-to-hire, and direct-hire placements.

Share This Article on Social Media.