[leglock]

I’m somewhat confused as to the appropriate sections that should be included on a resume and have seen others who have had questions on this as well. Seems like advice on the net is quite varied.

For those of you who have gained employment or received good resume assistance, is an Objective section included in your resume?

What main section headings are included in your resume?

Thanks

[ruggercpa2b]

I removed the objectives section I used to have because you constantly have to change it to match what they are looking for and sometimes what you say in that statement can work against you. I sometimes forgot to tailor my resume for the job so I just stopped having an objective. I have a summary, education, and experience. I got a job at a Big 4 with that format but it doesn't mean its a great format.

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[Anonymous]

My sections include; header, position (I address the position I am applying), summary of qualifications, professional experience, education, and my last line that states references can be furnished upon request.

For more specifics; I include 3 short even columns of qualifications in bullet point format which have the more important qualifications relating to the job listed first. I only list past 3 employers and 3-4 job functions with each position. I do list my GPA in the education section, however, I have heard of some leaving this out with lower GPAs. Most firms will request transcripts anyway.

Additionally, I've always learned that a resume should fit NEATLY onto one page. Make sure your margins are even and all lines are indented appropriately to appear neat. Quadruple check your resume for errors and have a friend do the same.

[nosleep135]

I follow this:

https://www.baruch.cuny.edu/careers/media/PDF/Resume_Writing.pdf

[TNCPA16]

I'm currently recruiting for a staff auditor position for my department, so I've looked at a lot of resumes recently. Objective statements are fine to include, but make sure to tailor to the position for which you are applying. I've noticed a lot of people include really generic statements, which to me is a waste of space (think something like: “I am looking for a position in a company where I can utilize my accounting knowledge”). That tells me absolutely nothing about you or what you are looking for, so in my mind, it's better to leave it off. I also recently had a resume where the person said in their objective statement that their goal was to work in public accounting – that's great, but then why are you applying for an internal audit job? So if you do include it, make sure it is relevant to the job.

If you are straight out of college, I think the best format is: Objective, Education, Experience, and then depending on the persons – include memberships/honors/activities/skills at the bottom. If you are experienced, then I'd switch it up a little: Objective, Experience, Education/Certifications, Memberships/Skills/etc. I wouldn't have more than 5 sections on a resume, so you may need to combine some things.

Other pointers:

-If you've had multiple jobs, only list the most relevant

-Proofread and get someone else to proofread for you. I can't believe how many resumes I get with spelling and/or grammar errors.

-If you are CPA eligible and/or already taking the exams, make sure to include that – that is definitely something employers want to know. I won't interview anyone who is not eligible.

-Unless you have been working for awhile, your resume should only be 1 page long. If it extends a couple of lines over to another page, reformat so it will fit on one page.

-Don't list courses you took in school on your resume (this seems to be a “thing” now). If you have an accounting degree, I assume that you have taken all of the relevant courses. This is a waste of valuable resume space, in my opinion.

-If your GPA is below a 3.0, don't list it. And also don't ever lie about your GPA. I just cancelled an interview today for someone who rounded up her GPA on her resume.

-Finally, don't list things you did in high school on your resume.

Anyway, just my 2 cents!

[leglock]

A followup question is in my case, I graduated college in late 90's with a degree in Finance, then in 2012, I enrolled in a community college's cpa certificate program to get the necessary accounting classes and 150 hours. I completed the community college program.

My dilemma is if I should list my education chronologically, my community college accounting work from 2012 will be shown first and my 4 year degree will be shown second because I graduated in 97. Would it be wrong to reverse the order so my 4 year degree is shown first?

Also, I just received my cpa license last week, so I don't know if it's even necessary to show the community college program completion on my resume.

All suggestions are appreciated.

[Kimboroni]

Applicable education should still be shown. Show the most recent first, still. You could do something like this:

Accounting Certificate (bold)

__________ Community College, xxxx to xxxx

Bachelor's Degree (bold)

__________ University, xxxx to xxxx

…or however it fits in best.

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[TNCPA16]

It's acceptable to list education on a resume without including the dates you attended/graduated.

[Author]

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