Tips on Reaching Your Goals of Being an Accountant

So you graduated high school, got accepted into college, and decided on your major of accounting. Now what?

Set Goals and Stand Behind Them

There are many things to you need to do to get yourself from freshman to Graduate and having that dream job. Most importantly, you’ll need to have goals for yourself. You’ll need short term and long-term goals. And you need to stand behind whatever they are even if they change over the next few years or not. Set some goals to get through the year, as well as how you plan on getting to graduation day on time; we all know it’s becoming more rare that students graduate in just four years. You’ll also need to plan goals on getting that dream job I mentioned. How? Don’t wait till the last minute! More and more now, recruiters are looking at sophomores and juniors, not seniors!

Implement Those Goals

After planning goals, you’ll need to figure out how to accomplish and start the steps of reaching those goals. First and foremost you’ll want to stay on top of your schoolwork. A GPA of 3.0 or better is often required for jobs, so you will want to make sure you strive for A’s and B’s (but of course the more A’s, the better). Next you’ll want to get involved as much as you can both on campus and off. Join groups and clubs and take leadership positions. Because so many students have good grades you will want to have something that sets you apart from the rest. Show them all why you are the best choice.

Internships

Internships are so important now because firms are looking for younger students to work with them over graduates. Internships can help students out in many ways. While taking an internship you are able to get hands on experience with great firms and learn the job before you graduate. They also give you an opportunity to network with individuals who work at these firms. It’s always a plus to have connections. Get yourself out there to who ever you can. Show that you are an important person and have someone special to offer companies when you talk to their recruiters. Internships also look great on your resume and in a lot of instances students are offered full time jobs for when they graduate at the completion of their internship.

Getting Ready For Interviews

First you have to create a resume. It is a good idea to have the career center at your school, or a professor, guide you and give you pointers. Once you have that finished you can start applying to internships and sending your resume out. Even if your not sending it directly to a firm to apply you should still give it out to people whom in the future might want to take a look at it. Once applying is done and you have your interviews set up, you will need to get ready for each interview. In order to prepare for interviews you should know about the company, who they are, what they do, what they offer, and their core values. This shows that you care and are interested. Make sure to bring a few resumes with you and practice with friends or family members sample interview questions. This will help you not to stall when the interviewer asks questions. Confidence is very important in an interview, because it shows that you take the initiative and by coming prepared; this shows respect. Dress attire is also important, obviously first impressions mean something. Guys will want to wear a conservative suit and tie; make sure it is ironed. You should be clean-shaven, polished shoes, etc. Ladies should wear a conservative suit as well, and have clean nails and hair. Don’t wear a lot of makeup! Now that you have practiced and are dressed, you’ll want to arrive about ten minutes early because this can help decide who gets the job. Walk in confident, shake hands firmly, and tell them why you are there. After answering their questions, tell them what you know and ask some of your own questions. Upon leaving ask for a business card and send a thank you card soon after. In time you will receive calls and be offered internships, and eventually a full time position. Even if some firms you specifically applied to, do not call, keep your head up because chances are your previous networking will land you your dream job!