Much has been written recently of the core skills which business graduates will need to succeed in future but what is already happening to start to address the future of jobs in what is now called the ‘Fourth Industrial Age’!   

When University of Waikato, Business School Lecturer Jackie Allen ‘plugged in’ an online learning experience from ‘start-up’ AccountingPod in 2016, she was looking for solutions to preparing her students to cope with the ‘pace of change’ in business today and the uncertainty of tomorrow.

Resilience and Flexibility Needed

Says Jackie “we have to build resilience and flexibility” in our students to better equip them for the current and ongoing business disruption. Jackie was looking to better engage her students with real and current tools in use in the business ecosystem while still meeting the course learning outcomes. She had already run a basic Xero course to introduce her students to the cloud but wanted to push beyond that simple exercise and needed new content, new tools and new connections to manage student learning.

Jumping the Technical Skills Gap Sooner

The AccountingPod founders, Judith Cambridge and XingDong Yan had seen the lack of ‘current applied’ business knowledge of graduates first hand, when interviewing candidates for their CA firm in New Zealand and confirmed via a survey of 500 students during 2016. Candidates were consistently demonstrating a lack of knowledge of business cloud, digital solutions and practical New Zealand business contextual knowledge which would allow them to move quickly from ‘technical compliance’ into the much needed advisory and thinking space for business. Says Judith ‘as public practice accountants we all know how the technology we use today has absolutely changed the work available for a graduate. Couple that automation with any other disruption; including offshoring, outsourcing or just training of clients to do more with these online tools, and you have to ask, ‘what are our graduates going to do’?”

Answer, “we have to help them jump the technical skills gap sooner to where they can add real value to business.”

Enter AccountingPod where students are given a ‘real financial experience’ by each having their own SME, its data both financial and non-financial, and access to unique instances of online business tools in which to practice.

Stretching Horizons

That 2016 pilot at University of Waikato was deemed a success and the course was offered again in September 2017.

Says Jackie, “as an educator, focusing on Accounting and Accounting Information Systems, I cannot overstate how energising it is to have access to a learning solution like AccountingPod.  This learning approach enables students to fully immerse themselves in a real business.  The structure of the learning portal guides students through a series of modules and tasks, which are designed to stretch their horizons.  By the end of the month-long AccountingPod experience our students have interacted with local, national and global resources in a way that allows them to bring together a wide range of skills and knowledge, developed through their tertiary study.  AccountingPod was a challenging experience and those students who fully engaged with the process thoroughly enjoyed it – that’s what education should be about!”

Gaining Behavioural Insight

Text answers in dashboard format for teacher review, auto marking, feedback and webchat support are all part of the AccountingPod experience but there is also opportunity to research insights into student online learning behaviour, an emerging area of interest to educators. See example in the total ‘time spent per day’ graph, below. The peaks generally align with each learning module closing date.

Summary

At AccountingPod, real and recent business data is used to curate unique new learning content. This experiential and applied approach to business financial capability learning represents a fresh and innovative addition to an educators toolbox in their search to equip the student of today with practical skills for tomorrows ‘future of jobs’.

AccountingPod Ltd is an EdTech [Education Technology] Company based in Queenstown NZ. They can be contacted at www.accountingpod.com

Jackie Allen is a Business School lecturer at the University of Waikato and can be contacted at  jackie.allen@waikato.ac.nz.

When it comes to landing your dream accounting job, your CV could be just the ticket to get you that initial foot in the door and secure an interview – but how do you ensure your CV is added to the interview pile rather than thrown straight in the bin?

Putting together a successful CV is easy once you know how. It’s a case of taking all your skills and experience and tailoring them to the job you’re applying for. But what if you don’t meet the right criteria? We’ve put together the following tips to help you get started in creating a successful CV and securing your first (or next) accounting job.

Get the basics right
There is no right or wrong way to write a CV but there are some common sections you should cover. These include: personal and contact information; education and qualifications; work history and/or experience; relevant skills to the job in question; own interests, achievements or hobbies; and some references.

Presentation is key
A successful CV is always carefully and clearly presented and the layout should always be clean and well structured. Always remember the CV hotspot – the upper middle area of the first page is where the recruiter’s eye will naturally fall, so make sure you include your most important information there.

Stick to no more than two pages
A good CV is clear, concise and makes every point necessary without waffling. You don’t need pages and pages of paper – you just keep things short and sweet. A CV is a reassurance to a potential employer, it’s a chance to tick the right boxes. And if everything is satisfied, there’s a better chance of a job interview. Also, employers receive dozens of CVs all the time so it’s unlikely they’ll read each one cover to cover. Most will make a judgment about a CV within sections, so stick to a maximum of two pages.

Understand the job description
The clues are in the job application, so read the details from start to finish. Take notes and create bullet points, highlighting everything you can satisfy and all the bits you can’t. With the areas where you’re lacking, fill in the blanks by adapting the skills you do have.

Tailor the CV to the role
When you’ve established what the job entails and how you can match each requirement, create a CV specifically for that role. Remember, there is no such thing as a generic CV. Every CV you send to a potential employee should be tailored to that role so don’t be lazy and hope that a general CV will work because it won’t.

Create a unique CV for every job you apply for. You don’t have to re-write the whole thing, just adapt the details so they’re relevant.

Making the most of skills
Under the skills section of your CV don’t forget to mention key skills that can help you to stand out from the crowd. These could include: communication skills; computer skills; team working; problem solving or even speaking a foreign language. Skills can come out of the most unlikely places, so really think about what you’ve done to grow your own skills, even if you take examples from being in a local sports team or joining a voluntary group – it’s all relevant.

Making the most of interests
Under interests, highlight the things that show off skills you’ve gained and employers look for. Describe any examples of positions of responsibility, working in a team or anything that shows you can use your own initiative. For example, if you ran your university’s newspaper or if you started a weekend league football team that became a success.

Include anything that shows how diverse, interested and skilled you are. Don’t include passive interests like watching TV, solitary hobbies that can be perceived as you lacking in people skills. Make yourself sound really interesting.

Making the most of experience
Use assertive and positive language under the work history and experience sections, such as “developed”, “organised” or “achieved”. Try to relate the skills you have learned to the job role you’re applying for. For example: “The work experience involved working in a team,” or “This position involved planning, organisation and leadership as I was responsible for a team of people”.

Really get to grips with the valuable skills and experience you have gained from past work positions, even if it was just working in a restaurant – every little bit helps.

Including references
References should be from someone who has employed you in the past and can vouch for your skills and experience. If you’ve never worked before you’re OK to use a teacher or tutor as a referee. Try to include two if you can.

Keep your CV updated
It’s crucial to review your CV on a regular basis and add any new skills or experience that’s missing. For example, if you’ve just done some volunteering or worked on a new project, make sure they’re on there – potential employers are always impressed with candidates who go the extra mile to boost their own skills and experience.

 

List your AccountingPod Experience!

Learn to use current industry tools, like Xero, while working on a real data set from actual businesses. Our online platform is designed to provide students with real experience using the latest financial technology. You’ll get a badge on your LinkedIn Profile and you should definitely list your real financial experience on your CV. If you haven’t already, enrol now!