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Manage your online reputation! Get tips on how to check your online reputation before applying for the job. Read this guide to learn how to clean up your online presence.
You’re not a CPA but you know AR, AP, payroll, and QuickBooks back to front. Prove your money-tracking skills to hiring teams with you professional accounting clerk resume.
Your accounting clerk resume has to work like Intuit. Why? Because accounting clerk jobs are dropping. The culprit is those oh-so-clever software tools like QuickBooks and Xero. They let office clerks and remote workers in Pakistan do the books. Your mission? Show you’re worth your weight in tax breaks.
You’ve got this!
You’re about to see an accounting clerk resume example you can change to fit any accounting clerk position. You’ll also get easy steps to write a resume for accounting clerk jobs that’ll land 10x more interviews than any other.
Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.
Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.
Need a special kind of accounting resume? See these guides:
Roman Arkell
Accounting Clerk
781-984-9624
romanzarkell@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/romanzarkell
twitter.com/romanzarkell
Professional accounting clerk with 3+ years of experience providing accounting support. Seeking to provide my accounting skills at scanx incorporation. At Spire Impulse, streamlined the AP process to reduce un-invoiced total from over 50% to 12%.
Experience
Accounting Clerk
Spire Impulse
Aug 2018–Jan 2020
Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievement:
Accounting Clerk
Fund Alpha
June 2017 to July 2018
Finance Lecturer
Virtuoso College
May 2015 to May 2017
Education
BS in Financial Accounting, Boston University
2011-2015
Skills
Additional Activities
President, Lynn Business Society
Co-Author, Finance Research Paper
Here’s how to write an accounting clerk resume step-by-step.
Why does format matter in an accounting clerk resume? Think of it this way: a big jump in travel expense is a red flag, right? So is a massive drop in advance tax payments. If the IRS sees those, they may do an audit. Well, bad resume formatting is a red flag for your job search. It looks lazy.
So—
Here’s how to format an accounting clerk resume template:
Include these resume parts:
Do you find the chronological resume format too ordinary? See our guide: How to Pick the Best Resume Format
Listing experience in an accounting clerk resume is tricky. Too many applicants botch it. They just say what they did. Well that’s nice, but it’s not what employers care about. They want to know how well you did it. You have to target your resume with key accomplishments to make employers notice.
See these accounting clerk resume samples:
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Experience
Accounting Clerk Spire Impulse Aug 2018–Jan 2020 Key Qualifications & Responsibilities
Key Achievement:
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Wrong |
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Accounting Clerk Spire Impulse
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Wow. Those are night and day. One will get phone calls and the other will get crickets. But they’re both the same person! Her problem in example #2 is that she didn’t use action words. She also blanked on the accomplishments, and failed to add numbers. Was she a decent clerk? We don’t know.
To show experience in an entry-level accounting clerk’s resume, use non-accounting clerk jobs. But—make them fit the job posting’s requirements and duties. So if they want collaboration, and you’ve worked with teams in waitressing or retail jobs, there’s your job-magnet accomplishment.
See these entry-level accounting clerk resume examples:
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Finance Lecturer Virtuoso College May 2015 to May 2017
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Wrong |
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Finance Lecturer Virtuoso College
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That first example is pure gold. The applicant wasn’t an accounting clerk, but she built the right skills. Employers will see that at a glance. They’ll hire her over other entry-level clerks. That won’t happen if she uses example #2. Employers will see that one and think, “But I don’t need a teacher.”
Pro Tip: Are accounting clerk jobs really shrinking? You bet they are. But what’s not shrinking is remote accounting work. Remote jobs are harder to get but oh so cushy.
When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.
When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.
Got experience questions? See our guide: How to Show Experience on a Resume
Education isn’t a placeholder in an accounting clerk resume. It’s a way to get employers interested. List your degree, school’s name, plus the date you graduated. But you should also show a couple Ernst & Young-worthy successes from your school years. That will generate more interviews.
See these accounting clerk resume examples:
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Education
BS in Financial Accounting, Boston University 2011-2015
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That resume education section is short and shows actual skills. It adds relevant areas of study. It also shows you were champing at the bit to do some real-world work. But what if your degree is in creative writing or basket weaving? You can still find key achievements in it that prove transferable skills.
Pro Tip: Have you been out of school since red ink was a thing? Then list your degree without extracurricular activities. Then add an extra work accomplishment or two.
Want the education section of your resume for accounting clerk jobs to sparkle? See our guide: How to Put Your Education on a Resume
There’s nothing clear-cut about listing accounting clerk skills in a resume. Not if you want the job. Too many clerks just copy-paste a list of skills they googled. To get hired, go through the job ad like it’s got a $5 million error in it. That’s where you’ll find the skills you should include.
So—
Start with this list of skills for accounting clerk resumes:
But those might not work for the hiring manager.
Here’s how to pick the best accounting clerk skills:
See this accounting clerk resume example:
Pretend the company wants financial record-keeping, year-end reporting, and billing.
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Accounting clerk skills on a resume like that will make the manager want to meet you. The key? You used the right skills, but you added resume action words to make it readable. Then you showed real-world accounting clerk accomplishments. Last, you used numbers like 50+ to make it pop.
Pro Tip: What if the controller didn’t list required skills in the job ad? You can use phone calls or LinkedIn to do a few fast informational interviews. Knowledge is power.
Want a bigger skills list to make your accounting clerk resume? See our guide: +30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume
What other sections do you need in an accounting clerk resume? Well—you want to prove you’re the kind of employee that bosses brag to their friends about. You can do that in a resume! Show you’re PwC-ready with a few accomplishments you racked up outside of work. Those show energy to spare.
Choose from:
Do you need certifications in an accounting clerk resume? Not at all. But if you’re writing an entry-level resume, those certs can pick your application up out of the bankrupt zone. Here are a few to think about:
Have you done free accounting work or volunteered to build homes for the homeless? Those things show you’re more than just a couch potato. They spark phone calls.
Do you speak a language like Spanish or Italian? You don’t need to show those on your resume, BUT—add them if the biz’s clients speak them too.
Associations like NBA and AIPB aren’t just a good idea. They open up new job opportunities for on-site and remote work. They also show you care on a resume for accounting clerk jobs.
Have you attended cons like Payments or the NABA convention? They show you’re not just marking time until the buzzer sounds.
Did you get employee of the month or a nice kudo from a past employer? Those are clues you’ll do a good job in your next role.
See these accounting clerk resume samples:
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President, Lynn Business Society
Co-Author, Finance Research Paper
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Wrong |
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That first example will have them hoping you don’t take another job.
Pro Tip: How long should a resume be for accounting clerk jobs? A one-page resume is your best bet. Can’t fit it all in one page? Cut out the boring parts until it sings.
Got a thin resume? You can put hobbies in it to stretch it out. See our guide: List of Hobbies & Interests for a Resume or CV
You need a resume profile up top. That’s because most employers won’t read your carefully prepared resume. They’ll glance at one job, at your skills section, and move on. You need a summary to show them in brief why they should keep reading past the heading.
Here’s how to write a career summary:
These two career summary examples show how:
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Professional accounting clerk with 3+ years of experience providing accounting support. Seeking to provide my accounting skills at scanx incorporation. At Spire Impulse, streamlined the AP process to reduce un-invoiced total from over 50% to 12%. |
Wrong |
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Business-minded, passionate accounting clerk, skilled in accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, month-end close, year-end close, and record-keeping. A great time manager with a keen eye for details and an efficient and goal-oriented attitude. |
See what’s going on here? The last of those accounting clerk resume samples is too basic. It’s got lots of skills and resume adjectives. If the hiring team believes them all, you’re in. But they won’t. But they’ll devour that first example. It’s got all the right details and numbers.
A career objective is similar to a career summary, but it’s for newbies. In an entry-level accounting clerk resume, you can’t cite real-world experience. But you can list successes from high school, college, an associate’s degree, volunteer work, or even a job waiting tables.
These two examples light the way:
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QuickBooks-certified accounting clerk, skilled in payroll and bookkeeping. Seeking to increase accuracy and efficiency at Spire Impulse. As finance lecturer at Virtuoso College, assisted with setup of college accounts department for 20% efficiency boost. |
Wrong |
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Entry-level accounting clerk skilled in accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, and QuickBooks. An efficient time-manager and a good problem-solver. No actual experience with accounting clerk jobs yet, but I did teach accounting. |
Let’s reconcile those. The first example shows you’re QuickBooks certified. It adds a specific way you want to help this employer. It also shows you can do it with an achievement from a non-accounting job. But that second example is flat broke. The hiring manager would have to risk a lot to hire you.
Pro Tip: You can add a few bullet points to your paragraph-style resume summary. That’s called a summary of qualifications. It shows off your best skills at a glance.
Is this your very first resume? See our guide: First Resume with No Work Experience
Do accounting clerk resumes need cover letters? Yes. If you apply to 20 jobs, 11 of them might not read your letter. But according to 2023 HR statistics, 9 will toss out your resume, if you don’t write one. And who doesn’t want to double their chance of getting interviewed? But you have to show your job-readiness with key details.
To write your cover letter:
See how to write a cover letter for accounting jobs: Accounting Cover Letter: Sample and Guide
Pro Tip: Do you know someone at the business? That’s a great way to start a cover letter for accounting clerk jobs. Referrals are magic when it comes to getting hired.
Want your accounting clerk resume and cover letter to earn their keep? See our guides: How To Write A Cover Letter in 8 Simple Steps and How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
Here’s a recap of how to write an accounting clerk resume:
That’s it! Now, we’d love to hear from you:
Let’s chat below in the comments, and thanks for reading!
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