Interview advice needed, Accounts assistant/Accounting roles

db141414

Hi,

I'm in need of some help, after having several interviews and not progressing or being offered a role, I have come to accept its down to my interview technique. I was wondering if anyone could help me beyond the typical Google advice.

Just a bit of background info:
-Unemployed
-1 years experience in accounting practice
-1 years experience in commercial industry
-Studying for professional qualification

I'm having a lot of mixed feedback, some examples are:

Accounting firms- Very articulate, very well presented

Tech firm- Great cultural fit, but accounting skills not up to scratch.

Media firm- Exceptional technical skills, best test paper of all candidates, but not progressing because of a too formal and logical style in interview. Could someone try decipher that? (I used the STAR approach a lot and thought I demonstrated really well)

I am also struggling on the right way on how to answer the follow questions correctly:

What are you looking for/expecting from this role?
(am I supposed to answer with why I want to do accounting? or relate to the skills/responsibilities and how I can contribute to the firm?

What are your key selling points (why should we hire you)?
(I find that "attention to detail, proactive, great technical skills (with examples)" aren't really separating me apart from competition)


Why do you want to work for this company?
(Great pay, because I need a job, because I have the required skills- I don't actually say this but what are they really looking for in an answer?)
How do you deal with multiple requests at the same time under pressure?
(I usually answer with how I give myself more time, stay late etc prioritize based on value/status of work, but what is the end point of this question?
I also don't have experience for some of the tasks required of the role, I usually fit all desired skills and cover other areas of the responsibilities really, which is why I get interviews. However I'm not sure how to embellish or explain the lack of experience.

I feel that I have actual responses to every question but not stand out answers or correctly structured ones.

Apologies for the long post, I do appreciate any help at all, I know a lot of these are dependent on my skills and experiences but a rough guide/structure or example would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance

InsideInsurance

db141414 wrote: »

Media firm- Exceptional technical skills, best test paper of all candidates, but not progressing because of a too formal and logical style in interview. Could someone try decipher that? (I used the STAR approach a lot and thought I demonstrated really well)

I am also struggling on the right way on how to answer the follow questions correctly:

1) What are you looking for/expecting from this role?
(am I supposed to answer with why I want to do accounting? or relate to the skills/responsibilities and how I can contribute to the firm?

2) What are your key selling points (why should we hire you)?
(I find that "attention to detail, proactive, great technical skills (with examples)" aren't really separating me apart from competition)


3) Why do you want to work for this company?
(Great pay, because I need a job, because I have the required skills- I don't actually say this but what are they really looking for in an answer?)

4) How do you deal with multiple requests at the same time under pressure?
(I usually answer with how I give myself more time, stay late etc prioritize based on value/status of work, but what is the end point of this question?

5)I also don't have experience for some of the tasks required of the role, I usually fit all desired skills and cover other areas of the responsibilities really, which is why I get interviews. However I'm not sure how to embellish or explain the lack of experience.

To interpret the media firms feedback, just sounds like they didnt think you'd be a good fit for the team. Too formal/ cold/ logical rather than outgoing or funky or whatever their style of media is.

1) This is looking at your motivators, what are you wanting to get out of the job? Is it just a pay cheque? Are you wanting a job that you will do until retirement? Are you wanting just to get generic experience? Is there something specific you are looking to get, eg experience of media? A chance to do commercial finance rather than just ledger entries?

2) As you say, but relate them back to the company and how it'd benefit them. Dont ever say your a perfectionist or workaholic though!

3) This isnt why do you want this role but why do you want to work for this company. Its another way to test you've done some research on the company and an opportunity to discuss anything you know about their culture, the prestige of working for a multinational/ blue chip or challenges of working in a small company/ startup etc

4) This is a question about time management, prioritisation and managing expectations. Saying you will simply work late isnt the right answer as no one can work 24/7. You can start or finish with a comment about ultimately sometimes is about putting the hours in but really its more about talking to the different people to get the relative priorities, ensuring you agree with people when your going to deliver their tasks. Being open with people about the conflicting timescales and the impact on when you'll be able to do things and ultimately escalating things to your manager etc if you cannot agree relative priorities or if your constantly getting 36 hours of work a day.

5) When you are hiring perms you arent looking to get people that are 100% perfect at everything otherwise they will want to leave immediately as they are ready for the higher grade role/ challenge. Contractors are different but thats another matter.

Interviews are for you to sell yourself not for you to say what you cannot do. Even if you are asked about something that you dont have experience with you can either draw a parallel to something you do or give a short example of another time when you've been asked to do something outside of your skill set and how you overcame the challenge, delivered on time and are presumably now a master of that thing.

db141414

InsideInsurance wrote: »

x

Thank you very much, you have been very helpful.

Kynthia

The media firm didn't think you were the right personality fit for their firm. Nothing you can do about that other than try to tailor your outfit and answers based on the firm interviewing you, but even then they might find someone they can imagine fitting in better. This works both ways as the interview is also a chance for you to see if this is the company and role you really want, although people are less fussy when unemployed obviously.


1) I would talk about the role specifics that were sent out, what you hope the role will include and why. Why you want to do that role and those tasks, why you will enjoy it or if it will present new challenges or if it's things you've done in the past and were good at, or if you think it will help you progress in your career as it will give you skills you'll need for promotion (in the long distant future as you don't want them to think you'll leave soon or only want the role above but will settle for this one for now).


2) In my industry you shouldn't just say that you are good at this or that, it's all about giving examples of how you are good at this or that. So have examples to back up why they should employ you. Also you really need to think about what you can offer that not every single applicant is offering, so try to think about how you are a little different such as you have relevant industry experience, or different industry experience that will add value, or certain experience or qualifications you have, or your good management skills, or the ability to learn new things quicker than most, or whatever it is.


3) They want to see that you actually want to work for them rather than just want any job and they want to see that you've researched them. So discuss a little about what you know about them and why they appeal to you. Are you interested in what they do, have you heard they are a great employer (in what way), as they are large will they have room for you move internally for different experiences, or are they small and you will get to do a bit of everything.


4) Just saying you will work more hours isn't very clever and is limited on how successful it will be as there's only so many hours in the day. I would discuss about finding out which tasks are most important and the impact of them being late, which have deadlines that can be pushed back, delegate what I can, bring in extra temporary resources if needed/allowed, stay late if needed, etc. Then I would discuss about if this kept happening I would look at more efficient working practices and processes, would any new software improve the speed of completing some tasks, can some automation be brought in as it would also improve accuracy, and finally perhaps the team needs to grow if important work is continuously as risk of not being done or staff are being overworked but it would be last on the list after other suggestion.


5) You don't explain your lack of experience, as hardly anyone has experience of everything in a new role. You sell yourself. You say what you do have experience of and what you are good at. Then if asked about something you haven't done before you explain where you have similar knowledge and transferable skills, or you say how you would go about getting this skill/knowledge.

dancingfairy

It doesn't sound like you are doing anything drastically wrong to be honest. So you weren't the best fit for the media company and the others maybe you were second or third choice. Sometimes it's just a numbers game or being in the right place at the right time.
Depending on where you are geographically there may not be a huge rise in the number of jobs available and there may be an awful lot of people chasing those precious few vacancies.
Unfortunately you are unemployed and you will be up against people who aren't. It puts you at a bit of a disadvantage already. The fact you are keen, seem to be approaching things in the right way and are studying will all go in your favour though. It's just a matter of persevering I think and staying positive.
You may also want to consider volunteering, perhaps by doing the books of the local PTA, or some sort of voluntary organsation. You should be able to do this from home and/or in the evenings and is something that when you do get a job you can continue with.
df

db141414

Thank you for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

I have another question, what is the significance of being in employment in regards to securing a new job, I hear it is a big advantage but why is this?

I have been employed by a temp firm(admin role) for quite a while now, could I potentially say that's what I'm currently doing use this (and say I want a new challenge etc), would this be of advantage?

InsideInsurance

Ultimately the person interviewing you is a human being, they are trying to make a decision that could well have a moderately material impact on their working life and so want to get it "right".

Whilst there has been a drive in the volume roles to try and scorecard the interview process in reality a lot of it comes down to personal preferences and "gut feel".

If I have someone sat in front of me that has been unemployed for 4 months I am going to think why? Why did the last company let them go? Why haven't they managed to find another job before now? Do I trust the answers they are giving to these questions? Were they got rid of because whilst they are technically competent their interpersonal skills are shocking and no one can stand working with them?

In reality you look at their current situation in the context of their wider CV. If they have worked for a dozen companies, 2-4 years with each one, no notable gaps until now then you'd probably not be bothered. If they've worked for 8 companies this year alone or consistently have large gaps between roles then their current situation comes more into play.

I certainly wont discredit anyone who is unemployed at the moment, they can be an advantage if I need someone quickly, but if I have two otherwise equal candidates and notice periods arent an issue I may go for the employed one simply because of the doubts over being unemployed

As a counter example, I know a contractor that works 6-7 months a year in the UK over winter and spends the summer at his property in Italy. Effectively he is semi-retired and his day rate is more than enough to last a year considering both his homes are mortgage free etc.

On his CV there are big gaps over the last 5 years but there is a regular pattern to them, he does go back to the same client multiple times and so evidently they didnt get rid of him because he's useless and his story feels true. My only consideration with him isnt that he is unemployed when applying but what happens if the project over runs and I need him for 8 months, does he just disappear after 7 months and leave me in the lurch for the last month.