FORTIS – Specializing in Accounting and Finance

July 26th, 2010 by Kira

The other day I searched for a good list of what types of accounting jobs were out there…just check out all the options!

Thanks to Careers in Accounting website for this info!

Audit
Work in audit involves checking accounting ledgers and financial statements within corporations and government. This work is becoming increasingly computerized and can rely on sophisticated random sampling methods. Audit is the bread and butter work of accounting. This work can involve significant travel and allows you to really understand how money is being made in the company that you are analyzing. It’s great background! (Find jobs like this)
(Guide to Accounting Firm Recruiting Professionals) 

Budget Analysis
Budget analysts are responsible for developing and managing an organizations financial plans. There are plentiful jobs in this area in government and private industry. Besides quantitative skills many budget analyst jobs require good people skills because of negotiations involved in the work. (Find jobs like this) 

Financial
Financial accountants prepare financial statements based on general ledgers and participate in important financial decisions involving mergers & acquisitions, benefits/ERISA planning and long-term financial projections. The work can be varied over time. One day you may be running spreadsheets. The next day you may be visiting a customer or supplier to set up a new account and discuss business. This work requires a good understanding of both accounting and finance. (Find jobs like this) 

Management Accounting
Management accountants work in companies and participate in decisions about capital budgeting and line of business analysis. Major functions include cost analysis, analysis of new contracts and participation in efforts to control expenses efficiently. This work often involves the analysis of the structure of organizations. Is responsibility to spend money in a company at the right level of our organization? Are goals and objectives to control costs being communicated effectively? Historically, many management accountants have been derided as “bean counters”. This mentality has undergone major change as managemnet accountants now often work side by side with marketing and finance to develop new business. (Find jobs like this) 

Tax
Tax accountants prepare corporate and personal income tax statements and formulate tax strategies involving issues such as financial choice, how to best treat a merger or acquisition, deferral of taxes, when to expense items and the like. This work requires a thorough understanding of economics and the tax code. Increasingly, large corporations are looking for persons with both an accounting and a legal background in tax. A person, for example, with a JD and an CPA would be especially desirable to many firms. (Find jobs like this)
 

 

Places Where Accountants Work

 

Public Accounting Firms
Public Accountants work in partnerships which provide accounting services to individuals, businesses and governments. The largest, high-profile public accounting firms are known as the Bix Six and dominate the field of accounting. This field offers advancement potential to audit manager, tax manager or partner reached by only two to three percent of new hires. 
Government
Government accountants may work at the local/state level or the federal level and administer and formulate budgets, track costs and analyze programs. This work can have high impact on the public good but can also get political and is subject to bureaucratic obstruction. Government accounting offers advancement in most organizations to controller and possibly to higher administrative positions. Places which hire heavily at the federal level include the Department of Defense, the General Accounting Office and the Internal Revenue Service. 
Corporations
Corporations big and small typically have an accounting group which prepares financial statements, tracks costs, handles tax issues, works on international transactions. The work is exciting and offers tracks to audit manager, tax manager, cost accounting manager and controller on the accounting side or to manager of financial planning and analysis and Treasurer on the finance side. 
Solo
A time-honored form of employment is to become a CPA and hang out your own shingle. This form of work requires you to generate your own business, but has the benefits of offering close customer contact, a high degree of independence and, depending on how good you are, high financial rewards. This work can be risky but puts you in the midst of community affairs. 

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Job Search Tips – 10 Time Savings Tips to Speed Up Your Job Search

July 22nd, 2010 by Kira

(This was a great posting on About.com by Alison Doyle).

Is your job search off to a slow start or getting stuck? Here are some quick time-saving job search tips that will help your hunt for a new job go smoothly.

Be Prepared. Have a telephone answering machine or voice mail system in place and sign-up for a professional sounding email address. Put your cell phone number on your resume so you can follow up in a timely manner. This job search toolkit will help you get everything you need set for your job search.

Be More Than Prepared. Always have an up-to-date resume ready to send – even if you are not currently looking for work. You never know when an opportunity that is too good to pass up might come along.

Don’t Wait. If you are laid-off, file for unemployment benefits right away. You may be able to file online or by phone. Waiting could delay your benefits check.

Get Help. Utilize free or inexpensive services that provide career counseling and job search assistance such as college career offices, state Department of Labor offices or your local public library.

Create Your Own Templates. Have copies of your resume and cover letter ready to edit. That way you can change the content to match the requirements of the job you’re applying for, but, the contact information and your opening and closing paragraphs won’t need to be changed.

Use Job Search Engines. Search the job search engines. Use the job search engine sites to search the major job banks, company sites, associations, and other sites with job postings for you.

Jobs by Email. Let the jobs come to you. Use job search agents to sign up and receive job listings by email. All the major job sites have search agents and some web sites specialize in sending announcements.

Time Savers. Strapped for time? Consider getting help writing or editing your resume. Resume posting services that post your resume to multiple job sites at once can save hours of data entry.

References Ready. Have a list of three references including name, job title, company, phone number and email address ready to give to interviewers.

Use Your Network. Be cognizant of the fact that many, if not most, job openings aren’t advertised. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work. Ask if they can help.

This tip isn’t a time saver, but, it will broaden your online job search resources.

Don’t Stop. Don’t limit your job searching to the top sites like Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs. Check the smaller niche sites that focus on a particular geographic location or career field and you will find plenty of job listings.

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Can an Outside Company Really Understand Your Hiring Needs?

July 12th, 2010 by Kira

 It’s hard to believe that someone outside of your company could often find that perfect match for your new hire when they don’t work in the company, fully understand the culture, and have hands on experience within the workplace.

Well, that’s one side of the argument.

The flip side to this is an objective, third party, who can understand the cultural dynamics yet still be able to choose a candidate solely on skill, qualifications, and personality without letting any previous discord get in the way.

If you’ve questioned whether or not it’s possible for a third party to choose the best candidate consider these factors:

1.  An outside company generally does the hard work for you – meaning they get to choose through the hundreds of candidates to find the few that are a good fit for your company.

2.  You still get to ultimately choose who is RIGHT for you – but it’s easier on your end because all of the backend work has been done for you. (They’ve been prescreened, pre-interviewed, and are already noted as qualified candidates).

3.  A lot of companies and hiring managers are more emotionally involved in the choice of the applicant, an objective third party is often able to see the potential pitfalls with a candidate and company match prior to the company being able to see them.

These are just a few of the differences that are seen when utilizing an outside 3rd party in hiring your next candidate.   To find out if FORTIS is right for you, simply give us a call or email to find out how we can be of service to you.

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What’s Really in a Resume?

July 5th, 2010 by Kira

When putting together a resume we often remember the basics such as job history, dates of employment, objective, or qualifications summary. But is this really what employers are looking for?

Typically individuals have no problem rehashing their work history, the tasks they completed, and their daily operations; however, what is this really saying about you, the applicant?

Sometimes we forget that these skills can be taught and while a company may write “requirements” that specify all of these things are indeed needed for the job, what they are really looking for is value.

What do you bring to the table that is unique, different, outstanding and will inherently increase the company’s overall worth, culture, or sales?

Take a good look at your resume and see if your resume alludes to your personal value or if it simply retells the tasks that you are skilled in.  Companies want to know “what can you do for us?”

Here are some examples:

“Increased productivity by 5% through uncovering and implementing new systems adopted by internal departments in less than six months”

“Tripled sales revenue at both 90 and 120 days of new product launch, currently averaging an increase of  5% in sales goals every month.”

“Trained and facilitated team members in new procedures that lead to lower turnover and increased morale”

You can see the difference besides just rattling off your skill set  and rehasing your role, instead tell your future employer what it is you’ll REALLY be doing for them!

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How to Answer that Tough Interview Question “Tell Me About Yourself”

June 28th, 2010 by Kira

 One of the most frequently asked questions in an interview is “tell me about yourself.”  This is often the dreaded question by the interviewee – concerned about what the interviewer really wants to know, and how much should one really tell?

 Here are a few tips on answering that question while still gaining ground in your interview.

 First, remember you are still in an interview and while inserting something about your personal life is appropriate here it is not required, nor should it be the primary focus. The question is simply asked to get to know your personality better, your likes, dislikes, strengths, challenges, and weaknesses. 

 If you answered the question by saying in my personal life I don’t do much, but watch a lot of TV and hang out with my friends – well, I’m not so sure it would look that great.  That’s totally okay if you do, but remember the place and the setting of your answer!

Tell the interviewer something they can work with – I love to travel, most recently I went to X. I have the work hard, play hard mentality. Or perhaps you could say that you enjoy being spontaneous and creative, the last trip you took you simply went to the airport and chose a city to travel to.

This question gives you an opportunity to focus on your strengths and talents while utilizing personal examples or professional ones.

You can also answer this question by saying what you like in professional settings. For example, you could say I really thrive in a team environment; I like working with others, and having the ability to brainstorm and feed off each other. I’ve always been a team player. I played sports growing up and a team environment reminds me of that camaraderie.  

Think about some of your strengths and talents and see how you can turn those into a story to answer this question.

Some people get caught up when asked what are your top 3 strengths or challenges and rattle off a few things, but this question and the stories and illustrations you can use here can either support that or discount it.

Finally, just be yourself. This question also gives the interviewer a chance to connect with you on a personal level. Interviewee: I want to Xyz College Interviewer: I went there too, or my wife, or my niece, etc – you get the picture!

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Should You Practice Interviewing?

June 21st, 2010 by Kira

 Does the old saying “practice makes perfect” really matter in your job interview? It’s a common concern for most interviewees, worried about how they come across in their interview and how they’ll answer those seemingly tough questions – so the question remains should practice be a part of your job search strategy?

 

“If you‘re not practicing, somebody else is, somewhere, and he’ll be ready to take your job.” Brooks Robinson

 

While the quote may seem a bit harsh, in reality if you aren’t taking the time to polish your interview skills – someone else out there probably is and it can be the deciding factor for what makes your interview go from slightly okay to stellar.

 

If nothing else, practice for confidence. The more you rehearse and visualize the interview process, the questions being asked, and the free flowing articulate answers that you will give – the more confident, calm, cool and collected you’ll be during the interview.

 

Studies have shown that simply visualizing an activity and running through it in your mind can have the same effects as actually going through something physically. The subconscious mind doesn’t know how to tell the difference between something real and perceived – it’s the exact reason we hear about basketball players imaging that smooth “swoosh” of the net.

 

When practicing your interview questions and answers don’t worry about knowing what exact questions they will ask you. What you are looking to do is increase your confidence in your responses, answer slowly and precisely, and be able to think on your feet.  You don’t want your answers to sound scripted and perfected – you want to be real and genuine and practicing too much could make you sound like a professional interviewee.

 

Practice for the sake of practicing, not perfection.

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Job Seekers – 11 Critical Success Factors!

June 17th, 2010 by Kira

Critical Success Factors Exist in Everything We Do; How Are Yours When It Comes To Your Job Search?

Critical success factors apply to everything we do in life and our job search is no exception. Have you ever taken time to categorize and understand what job search, not employment, but job search skills you must have to be successful?

Critical Success Factors

The Critical Success Factors that a job seeker must possess include:

  1. The ability to move on and leave the past behind you.
  2. The understanding that spending your time blaming something or someone will not move you forward.
  3. A personal network that can be tapped for information and help.
  4. The ability to grow and develop a network where sharing and caring are mutual.
  5. An appearance and wardrobe that are appropriate for the opportunity. If you are not sure what is appropriate, contact someone that works there or camp out in the parking lot and observe the people coming and going.
  6. A specific goal. If you present as a “jack or jill of all trades” that will be the type of job and pay level that you receive.
  7. A value proposition. What makes you different and sets you apart? Why should the hiring manager; hire you?
  8. A resume that tells the YOUR story.
  9. Interviewing skills.
  10. A learning mentality
  11. A Social Networking presence that compliments YOUR resume.

This next section addresses a couple of these success factors in more detail. Watch for future discussions of the remaining factors.

My Job Is Gone – Now What?

Many jobs that disappeared will never come back. Either they have gone off-shore, been replaced by technology, or it was determined they did not provide the value to keep them. This does not mean that the person in the job was not valuable, but that the position did not provide the necessary value.

If your job was out sourced overseas or replaced by technology; you must be looking at how you can transition your skill set to another career. You may find a similar position, but chances are that, at the new company, the position will eventually be replaced and in the meantime the pay is most likely not at your previous level.

You Must Constantly Be Updating Your Skills

We all must be continually updating our skill sets. If you are not moving forward, there is no standing still; just falling further and further behind. The ball is truly in your court and you must make the most of it. You can ONLY do this by building your skills.

Continuing education speaks to recruiters and hiring managers. They want to know that they are hiring someone that cares about their own well being! If you are not working to improve your skills, do you really care about YOU? Are YOU important to yourself? If you do not care about yourself, why should the believe that you will care about your job and their business? The action of not participating in self improvement speaks volumes.

Copyright Tom Staskiewicz

About the Author

“Who Knows You?” and “Are You Attracting the Attention You Want?” Following the critical success factors can help you get the following you want and create the brand you need.

Get Our Tips and more at UPPROACH

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_Staskiewicz

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Taming Your Internal Dragons in Your Job Search

June 14th, 2010 by Kira

You’ve received the call about the upcoming interview and you are thrilled about the potential idea of a new position with this incredible company. You call your closest friends and cheer with excitement, but then suddenly the internal dragons come out and seek to sabotage your win.

 

The internal dragons that live within us tend to rear their ugly heads during the interview and job search process. You may think to yourself that “this one won’t work out either” or “they only chose me because of xyz.”  Whatever thought comes to mind, tame your dragons by thanking them for doing their job to protect you and then play the “what if” game.

 

This means that you take the thought that came up for you and then change it around to say “what if this one doesn’t work out?” “What if they only want me to interview because of xyz?”  When you embrace the dragon and work with it instead of against it you remove its power.

 

It is important to take back your personal power, especially during the job search, as it is far too easy to get into a rut, doubt your own worth, and question whether or not searching for a new position really is the right thing to do. As a painless as the process feels, there are millions of success stories of people who waited out the storm and were able to find the perfect position that was waiting for them all along.

 

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A year from now you’ll wish you had started today!

June 8th, 2010 by Kira

“A year from now you’ll wish you had started today!”

This quote was sent to me a few days ago by one of the many email subscriptions I receive on a daily basis…. I couldn’t help but think about how profound this quote was and since it is still on my mind today, and I know it will be tomorrow, I thought I would share it.

I am certain this quote has a different meaning for each person who reads it. I don’t need to create a list of possibilities because by now you have started your own.  What this quote does, is serve as reminder that every day we have choices to make.  Some of these choices acted upon or not, will impact our future quite significantly.  Others, that are quite minor, we could take or leave and the end result or lack thereof will have little to no impact on us.

So what is it that if you started today would have a significant impact on your life or the life of others?  What have you been putting off by saying, “there is always tomorrow, or I will get to that someday?”

Sometimes procrastinating on a project or an action we should be taking actually carries with it a greater burden then completing the actual task itself.  The figurative bricks start piling up and the weight soon becomes overwhelming ultimately forcing change or action.  Wouldn’t it feel better to be in control of what you want to do rather than be controlled by what you are not doing?

Take a moment and decide what is it that you could be doing to better your situation or that of others.  Set yourself a goal for attaining that.  As of this post we have about 34 more weeks left in the year, or about 238 more days….

Shed the anxiety over what you are not doing and feel better by doing what you know you should.  So, anytime you are feeling the weight stack on your shoulders, think about what is causing this and make a decision to take action and you will feel pounds lighter and much happier.   Here’s to losing that figurative weight!

If you liked this post, please let us know…

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Top 10 Job Searching Tips

June 7th, 2010 by Kira

By Paula Stenberg
How many of these have you read? Here we go again, but this time I am concentrating on those matters which have emerged over the last two to three years, that we often neglected or failed to use in the past; mainly it’s to do with new technology.

1. Get a professional email address.

Ditch the babyangel@gmail.com. Now is the time to professionalise yourself, use your proper name or professional name.

2. Google yourself.

Sounds egotistic doesn’t it? But just in case you wrote something many years ago, and it raises its head to bite you in the foot, it is better to check what is out there on you in cyber space. Also while we are at it, blog your email address, telephone number and address as well, all these can leave a digital footprint exposing yourself to other information .

3. Add your email address to your CV or resume.

How many times do I see this omission?

4. Start blogging.

This is a free way of getting yourself known and building your profile.

5. Register on online job sites.

There are many: seek.com, TradeMe/jobs.co.nz, and also check out your local newspaper online listings.

6. Use social networking sites to your advantage.

Make a special professional Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Bebo etc account specifically to your work environment, keep your personal social networks to your friends.

7. Network.

Join societies, organisations and clubs associated to your career. Check out the Yellow Pages and online directories to see what is available, then network with these people.

8. Specialize – Become a Subject Matter Expert.

A sophisticated society has many specialist roles, therefore, the more specialised you are or can become, the more expertise you can provide, and more value to an employer’s team. But don’t forget to be a generalist in all areas connected with your career.

9. Lead from your strengths.

If you know what you are good at, or above average, or just brilliant at … then move from that area first. If you are good at public speaking then use that as your primary form of accentuating your strengths.

10. Mitigate your weaknesses.

Similar to number nine. Play down your weaknesses. Avoid (especially in those first couple of meetings) those things that you are not so good at, or generally don’t like doing.

Paula Stenberg, 2009
http://www.cvstyle.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paula_Stenberg

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