Provisional Accounting Blog

You’re well aware that hiring managers receive dozens of resumes for each open position, so it makes sense to want to put your best face forward. However, lightly embellishing your resume or straight up lying won’t get you anywhere in the long run. It’s true that may people lie on their resumes, but that doesn’t make it okay. Liars always get caught — and when they do, they take their reputation down with them.

4 Key Areas to Fact Check on Your Resume

Before submitting your resume for an open position, take the time to review it for accuracy. Pay special attention to these four areas, as this is where people are most likely to fabricate the truth:

1. Education: Make sure every last detail of your educational background adds up. If you started working on a degree, but didn’t graduate, don’t claim you did. Double check your GPA to ensure it’s correct. Omit any awards or honors you embellished a bit to make yourself appear more competitive.
2. Accomplishments: If you’re going to make claims of lofty job performance, you better have the evidence to back it up. For example, if you cite sole responsibility for creating a cost-cutting measure that helped your employer save millions, you better be telling the truth. It’s much worse to look like a liar than an honest person who hasn’t achieved any heroic measures.
3. Skills: It’s only natural to want to have every skill listed as a requirement and a “nice to have” for a job you really want, but lying will catch up with you. Even if you make it all the way through the hiring process without anyone realizing you don’t have these skills, how are you going to explain that you don’t know what you’re doing when given your first assignment?
4. Employment: Make sure all your employment dates and job titles are absolutely correct. You can expect any potential employer to conduct a background check on you and if you’ve provided false dates and fabricated job titles you will get caught and you won’t get the job. It’s much better to admit that you had an employment gap or had to work a long time before getting a promotion, than to get busted for lying.

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Are you thinking of expanding your team? If so, it’s important to involve the whole group. Your employees are impacted by every move you make, so allowing them to play a role in the hiring process makes them feel valued.

As the boss, you have a limited view of what goes on with your team all day. Sure, you’re well aware of the projects they have on their plates, but when you’re not working side-by-side with them, it’s hard to see what’s really going on. Some people may be overwhelmed, but not say anything because they don’t want to complain. Others might have great ideas about how your company can grow, but keep quiet because you don’t have the specialized talent needed.

Surveying the whole team on your hiring needs is a great way to gain a well-rounded look at areas where your company is thriving and those that need some improvement.

3 Ways to Hire Right with the Help of Your Team

If you’re not using your employees to help figure out your hiring needs, you’re missing out. Three ways they can prove invaluable to this process are:

Identifying Gaps

Ask your team about roadblocks they’re currently encountering due to staffing shortages or not having the specialized talent needed to do their best work. Use this information to create positions that can fill the gaps and help your employees perform at optimal levels.

Planning for the Future

Gather your team together to discuss the direction the company is headed. Create a plan of where you’d like your organization to be in five years and use this to determine who you need to hire to get there.

Finding the Best Cultural Fit

It’s always risky when you’re the only one candidates meet with before a hiring decision is made, because you might miss important clues that the person isn’t right for your company. Include key employees in interviews to help determine if candidates are a good cultural fit.

Does your Seattle area company need top accounting talent?

If so, partner with Accountingpros Recruiting + Staffing. Our team of seasoned recruiters is committed to providing you with a relationship-based approach throughout the entire staffing process, to ensure we find the best possible person for your team.

When you have a staff filled with excellent workers, it’s never easy to decide who to promote. It’s always tempting to choose your favorite employee or the person with the longest tenure, but basing your decision on these factors won’t help your company get to the next level. Put your personal feelings aside and focus on business needs to help make your choice.

4 Tips on Deciding Who Should Get a Promotion

If you’re having a hard time determining which person is the right fit for a promotion, ask yourself the following four questions to find your answer.

1. Are they a good leader?
   

   Everyone doesn’t have what it takes to be a leader — and that’s okay. Anyone holding a leadership role must have the ability to motivate and inspire others to do their best. Your top performing employee may be the most skilled person on your team, but if they don’t exhibit leadership characteristics, putting them in a managerial role could be a disaster.

2. Do other employees like them?
   

   Promoting from within is great for your company culture, but it can be tricky. It’s important to choose a person for a leadership position who gets along well with their colleagues. Transitioning from team member to team leader is challenging for everyone, so you need someone who can do it in a tactful manner. Moving a person people generally don’t like into a managerial role can have a very negative impact on morale and performance.

3. Can I rely on them?

   When you promote an employee, you need to know you can trust them to handle increased responsibilities. If a person has proven themselves to be unreliable, you definitely don’t want to give them a greater stake in your company. You need loyal senior level employees that you can always count on.

4. What are their relevant accomplishments?

   The future of your company is largely dependent on the success of your leadership team. You need forward thinkers who are excellent at what they do. Choose someone who has proven themselves to be an invaluable asset to your organization, by working hard and coming up with innovative ideas to grow your bottom line.

Searching for top accounting talent to add to your team? Partner with Accountingpros Recruiting + Staffing. Our temporary/contract and direct hire candidates go through an extensive background screening process, ensuring you the highest quality employee to work for your company.

Finding a great new job is always challenging, but if your work history includes being fired, you have an extra hurdle to overcome. Many interviewers will flat out ask if you’ve ever been involuntarily terminated from a position, while others will question a gap in your resume that will inadvertently cause you to have to reveal the unpleasant truth. Either way, it’s important to realize that getting fired isn’t the end of your career.

Many of the most successful people in the world have been fired at least once. Whether you were let go for a legitimate reason or no fault of your own is really irrelevant at this point. Hold your head up high and approach each interview with confidence, because you are a talented professional with a lot to offer.

How to Approach Job Loss in an Interview

Need a little help explaining why you were fired? Follow these three steps to handle it eloquently:

Don’t Get Emotional

Getting fired isn’t a pleasant experience. No matter how long ago it happened, the memory probably still stings a bit. You’ll need to put these feelings aside for the interview and keep your emotions out of it. If you were recently fired, discuss your frustrations with a friend or family member, so they don’t come tumbling out during your interview.

Keep Your Explanation Brief

There’s no need to divulge a lot of information about the situation that caused you to lose your job. Offer a brief overview to answer the question and move on. If you don’t dwell on the fact that you were fired, the hiring manager probably won’t either. Use your interview to discuss more important things, like why you’re a great fit for the job.

Explain What You Learned

Most interviewers are sympathetic to the fact that getting fired can happen to anyone. Turn the experience into something positive by explaining what you learned from it. This shows your ability to accept your mistakes and move on, which will certainly impress the hiring manager.

If you’re in the market for a great new accounting job, contact Accountingpros Recruiting + Staffing today. We specialize in matching top accounting talent with leading companies in the Seattle area.