Skip to content

This site uses cookies to store information on your computer. Some are essential to make our site work; others help us improve the user experience. By using the site, you consent to the placement of these cookies. Read our privacy policy to learn more.

Close
AICPA-CIMA
  • AICPA & CIMA:
  • Home
  • CPE & Learning
  • My Account
Journal of Accountancy
  • TECH & AI
    • All articles
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Information Security & Privacy

    Latest Stories

    • AI-driven spreadsheet tools — what CPAs need to know
    • Is spending on technology spinning out of control?
    • Using 3 Excel View tools to manage large spreadsheets
  • TAX
    • All articles
    • Corporations
    • Employee benefits
    • Individuals
    • IRS procedure

    Latest Stories

    • Social Security wage base and COLA announced for 2026
    • Congress passes bill requiring IRS to clarify math error notices
    • AICPA seeks IRS guidance on tip, overtime tax deductions for 2025
  • PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
    • All articles
    • Diversity, equity & inclusion
    • Human capital
    • Firm operations
    • Practice growth & client service

    Latest Stories

    • Social Security wage base and COLA announced for 2026
    • Navigating outside investors: Safeguarding ethics and independence in evolving practice structures
    • Congress passes bill requiring IRS to clarify math error notices
  • FINANCIAL REPORTING
    • All articles
    • FASB reporting
    • IFRS
    • Private company reporting
    • SEC compliance and reporting

    Latest Stories

    • SEC accepting Professional Accounting Fellow applications
    • SEC names new chief accountant
    • SEC ends legal defense of its climate rules
  • AUDIT
    • All articles
    • Attestation
    • Audit
    • Compilation and review
    • Peer review
    • Quality Management

    Latest Stories

    • Right-size your quality management documentation for SQMS No. 1
    • PCAOB publishes guidance related to Audit Evidence amendments
    • AICPA unveils new QM resources to help firms meet Dec. 15 deadline
  • MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING
    • All articles
    • Business planning
    • Human resources
    • Risk management
    • Strategy

    Latest Stories

    • Promotion opportunities abound for CFO hopefuls
    • Business outlook brightens somewhat despite trade, inflation concerns
    • AICPA & CIMA Business Resilience Toolkit — levers for action
  • Home
  • News
  • Magazine
  • Podcast
  • Topics
Advertisement
  1. newsletter
  2. Cpa Insider
CPA INSIDER

The top 5 ways to improve your résumé

A recruiter weighs in on how to make your résumé stand out.

By Courtney Vien
September 23, 2019

Please note: This item is from our archives and was published in 2019. It is provided for historical reference. The content may be out of date and links may no longer function.

Related

July 22, 2019

Strategic career mapping can lead to professional fulfillment

June 12, 2019

How to keep fear from short-circuiting your career

June 10, 2019

Finding time for new skills while working

TOPICS

  • Professional Development
    • Communication

Beth A. Berk, CPA, CGMA, is a Maryland-based recruiter who started her business in 2005 specializing in matching CPAs with the right employers. The JofA asked her how CPAs can write better résumés and what pitfalls they should avoid.

JofA: What’s something all CPAs should know about résumés?

Berk: Keep an updated résumé on file. At least once a year or so, take a look at it to make sure it reflects any new promotions, accomplishments, or projects you’ve been engaged in, or additional skills you’ve acquired. If your company merged or was acquired, you should update your résumé to reflect its new name as well as reference the previous name.

Disclose accurate job titles held. Many times I see a résumé where somebody will just mention one higher-level title when they’ve been with a company for 10 or 15 years. It’s a little misleading if they put the one title down for the whole time that they’ve been there. Either note each title you held and the respective dates and duties, or state something along the lines of “promoted during tenure” after your current title.

Account for your time. Another thing that I personally think is misleading is to not account for all your time on the résumé, including gaps, sabbaticals, and relocations, as well as jobs held in general. There are ways to summarize your prior experience, such as picking a point in time (“2005 and prior”) and then summarizing what you did, e.g., “I worked for CPA firms in the metro D.C. area preparing a variety of tax returns.”

JofA: What are the top five things that can be improved on most résumés?

Berk: Number one is formatting. Most résumés do not tend to be consistent in terms of the font sizes or the bullets lining up. Or the font size or style is hard to read. Remember that, basically, if you’re sending a résumé in, this is the first impression you’re giving of yourself. If your résumé looks a little sloppy, and you’re being hired for a job that requires communication skills, what would employers think your work product and correspondence to clients would look like?

Advertisement

Number two is information about employers. Many times, company names do not clearly indicate what a company does, so someone may not be able to tell whether it’s an accounting firm or an engineering firm or a law firm. I would suggest including one line or two to indicate what type of entity the employer is (e.g., for profit, nonprofit, publicly traded), who they sell to (e.g., commercial clients and/or government agencies), the industry if it’s not obvious (e.g., public accounting, hospitality, or real estate), as well as the number of locations in the United States or globally and number of employees. And if you’re able to do so, disclose either the revenue or the budget size as well. This line could appear either in between where you list the company name and location and your titles and dates, or after your titles and dates.

Number three is accomplishments. CPAs tend to be very humble and very factual and detail-oriented. They don’t necessarily toot their own horn about their accomplishments or include metrics. So it’s very hard to tell what somebody accomplished in a job. It is OK to indicate in each job description on your résumé a separate subtitle saying, “Accomplishments include:” and list a few that you’ve achieved.

If you feel like you’ve achieved quite a bit and you really want to showcase your accomplishments, it’s OK to create and attach a separate addendum. However, use the same format as your résumé.

Number four: Credentials, including education, licenses, certifications, memberships, and volunteering. It’s OK to break those out separately.

Anything that might come out in a background check that doesn’t match your résumé could potentially work against you. So I’m a firm believer in indicating those schools that you attended, the type of degree and the major, and the city and state or country they were in. And if you only attended some courses at a specific school, state that as well.

Also, only include memberships that are current, or indicate the years that you were a member of a professional organization. If any of your certifications or licenses are no longer active, it’s OK to indicate that they were awarded and when. However, indicate whether they’re active or not.

Any volunteer activities in lieu of working are OK to list between the different jobs that you worked. However, make sure the fact these activities were not paid is clearly stated. But if the activities didn’t involve the skill sets that you’re trying to display, or are not relevant to the role you are seeking, put them either in their own section or in the “Other” section.

Number five is software applications and technology skills. If you do have a separate section for these, don’t put any software skills or other technology-related skills down unless you can hit the ground running with them if you’re hired for them. Only list those skills that you’ve used in the past three to five years, and include the versions of software you know as well. However, if you simply want to show that you have used a variety of applications, name them when you describe your respective jobs.

Advertisement

Courtney Vien (Courtney.Vien@aicpa-cima.com) is a JofA senior editor.

Advertisement

latest news

October 24, 2025

Social Security wage base and COLA announced for 2026

October 22, 2025

Congress passes bill requiring IRS to clarify math error notices

October 22, 2025

AICPA seeks IRS guidance on tip, overtime tax deductions for 2025

October 21, 2025

IRS offers relief on car loan interest reporting under H.R. 1

October 20, 2025

STEM designation for accounting has strong support

Advertisement

Most Read

Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room
Using 3 Excel View tools to manage large spreadsheets
IRS furloughs nearly half its workers, closes most operations
Annual inflation adjustments announced for tax year 2026
Paper tax refund checks on the way out as IRS shifts to electronic payments
Advertisement

Podcast

October 23, 2025

Reflecting on AI’s rise in accounting, looking to what comes next

October 16, 2025

AI, succession, the talent pipeline, and defining ‘unapologetic’ ambition

October 8, 2025

Shutdown concerns, the quest for tax guidance, the future of IRS service

Features

AI-powered hacking in accounting: ‘No one is safe’
AI-powered hacking in accounting: ‘No one is safe’

AI-powered hacking in accounting: ‘No one is safe’

Building a better firm: How to pick the proper technology
Building a better firm: How to pick the proper technology

Building a better firm: How to pick the proper technology

Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room
Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room

Why accountants need to master the art of reading the room

How BI and analytics enhance management accountants’ partnering role
How BI and analytics enhance management accountants’ partnering role

How BI and analytics enhance management accountants’ partnering role

SPONSORED REPORT

Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season

Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season

As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.

From The Tax Adviser

September 30, 2025

Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1

August 30, 2025

2025 tax software survey

August 30, 2025

Are you doing all you can to keep the cash method for your clients?

July 31, 2025

Current developments in S corporations

MAGAZINE

October 2025

October 2025

October 2025
September 2025

September 2025

September 2025
August 2025

August 2025

August 2025
July 2025

July 2025

July 2025
June 2025

June 2025

June 2025
May 2025

May 2025

May 2025
April 2025

April 2025

April 2025
March 2025

March 2025

March 2025
February 2025

February 2025

February 2025
January 2025

January 2025

January 2025
December 2024

December 2024

December 2024
November 2024

November 2024

November 2024
view all

View All

http://JofA_Default_Mag_cover_small_official_blue

PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

Learn about important news

This quick guide walks you through the process of enabling and troubleshooting push notifications from the JofA on your computer or phone.

CPA LETTER DAILY EMAIL

CPA Letter Logo

Subscribe to the daily CPA Letter

Stay on top of the biggest news affecting the profession every business day. Follow this link to your marketing preferences on aicpa-cima.com to subscribe. If you don't already have an aicpa-cima.com account, create one for free and then navigate to your marketing preferences.

Connect

  • X Logo JofA on X
  • facebook JofA on Facebook

HOME

  • News
  • Monthly issues
  • Podcast
  • A&A Focus
  • PFP Digest
  • Academic Update
  • Topics
  • RSS feed rss feed
  • Site map

ABOUT

  • Contact us
  • Advertise
  • Submit an article
  • Editorial calendar
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms & conditions

SUBSCRIBE

  • Academic Update
  • CPE Express

AICPA & CIMA SITES

  • AICPA-CIMA.com
  • Global Engagement Center
  • Financial Management (FM)
  • The Tax Adviser
  • AICPA Insights
  • Global Career Hub
AICPA & CIMA

© 2025 Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. All rights reserved.

Reliable. Resourceful. Respected.