Organisations recruiting for a trainee Chartered Accountant role will have specific requirements and will be discerning when it comes to sourcing the right talent for their organisation. Therefore a crucial part of your job search process is to tailor your CV for each specific role and employer you are applying to.  Don’t rely on a tailored application letter as this may not always be read when hiring managers are busy.

Here are some tips to help you with this process:

• Start by creating a professional generic CV which is a strong overview of your career to date including skills, experience and competencies.
• Research the company or sector for which you are applying. Be aware of what skills, experience and competencies are typically required.
• When applying for a particular role read the job specification in detail. Review and analyse it and break it down in to what the key requirements are in terms of experience, skills and competencies. Make a careful note of these.
• Now ensure that you are mentioning each of these in your CV. You must clearly explain that you have successfully demonstrated their requirements in your career to date by providing clear and solid examples. (these can be from school or college and work experience) An effective way to do so is to describe your achievements in each role and to then articulate how they have been beneficial to the organisation.
• Using a bullet point format will be the most effective way of listing your achievements.
• Review the language and ‘buzz words’ that are used in the job specification and make sure that you include some of the same or similar language and terminology. Don’t overdo it either! Be careful not to write the job specification verbatim into your CV. Just strategically and subtlety pepper your CV with similar language.
• Use positive words and action verbs that portray you as a confident, energetic, optimistic and focussed candidate.
• If you have sector specific experience or knowledge clearly show that. If not explain how the experience you have in other sectors is relevant. If you possess experience in similar or related sectors ensure that this is clear.
• Use a profile paragraph at the beginning of your CV to best advantage. Capture the attention of the reader by clearly articulating how you fit the job description in terms of the skills, competencies and experience that you have.This is your opportunity to convince them that you should be included in the shortlist for interview based on the relevance of the combination of your skills and experience.

Tailoring your CV will take time. However it is time well spent. If done correctly it will significantly improve your chance of being called for an interview.

If you have a query, please refer to our support & services page and contact the relevant department with your query.