
How to Explain Gaps in Employment (Resume & Cover Letter)
An employment gap is a period of time (months of years) when a job seeker didn't have a job. While out of work, employees use their time to have children, travel or go to school full time.
You make the cash flow and keep the C-suite from crashing the company into a mountain of expense and tax. Prove it to the team with this professional sample controller resume.
You’ve just learned about a great job opportunity that could put your career on the right track. But your old resume depreciated a long time ago, right? It’s time to show your assets and create a controller resume that will guarantee profits in the balance sheet of your career.
Not sure where to start? Worried about the costs? Come, on, it’s easy—the only thing you must invest is your time. No collateral needed!
This guide will show you:
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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.
Looking for other jobs in finance and accounting? See our other guides:
Ronald Rinaldi, Controller
ronald.q.rinaldi@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/ronaldqrinaldi
304-280-6834
Detail-oriented controller with 6+ years of experience, skilled in accounting and financial statements. Seeking to improve cash flow and financing at Farsway Group. At Prolanacom, worked with CIO to develop new proprietary payroll system that saved 20 hours a week for the accounting team. Secured $1.3M in additional financing, generating $3M in new revenue.
Controller
Farsway Group
April 2014–May 2019
Accounts Payable
William Hirdwoden Inc.
May 2013–June 2014
2005–2009 Regent University
BS in Accounting
Pro bono accountant, Nicholas County Montessori School
Avid whitewater kayaker
Here’s how to write a controller resume that gets jobs:
Controllers are like manager accountants. They handle upper-level accounting tasks for businesses, coordinating payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, asset management, and other financial functions. A controller resume must show strong accounting, math, and big-picture skills, plus the ability to generate reports and financial statements.
Look your best—
Prove you’re detail-oriented to the hiring team.
For example a chronological resume is the ideal resume format for controller jobs. Why? It makes it easy to find your relevant experience.
Pro Tip: Don’t cram too much info on the page. A little white space goes a long way toward making your financial controller resume inviting to the hiring team.
Take three deep breaths.
Took about six seconds, didn’t it?
That’s how long you’ve got to snag their attention.
That’s why your controller resume needs a solid professional summary.
That’s where you tell them the best things about you as a candidate—fast.
List:
If you’re writing a resume for your first job or with little relevant experience, tout your skills a little more and write a resume objective.
Pro Tip: When should you write a profile summary or resume objective in a resume for controller jobs? Last. You’ll need goodies from the rest of your professional resume before you start.
What’s the single most important thing a controller resume must do?
Fit the job.
There’s a special way to do that.
How to add work experience in a resume:
Pro Tip: Don’t say “responsible for” in a resume for controller jobs. Use action words for resumes instead. “Raised, implemented, slashed,” or “led.”
Hidden tip:
The education section of a resume needs more than school, degree, and dates.
It has to tell a story.
The right one is, “I was destined to be a controller, and you can see that from my school accomplishments.”
To tell it, include education bullets with projects, classes you aced, groups, or publications.
Extra credit for fitting them to skills the company needs.
Pro Tip: Should you add a GPA? If you graduated within a year or blew out all the curves, yes. If not, say something else impressive elsewhere in your assistant controller resume.
Use this controller resume skills list.
Hard Skills:
Soft Skills:
But—
On your resume, just list a few skills required by this controller job.
Pro Tip: Show a blend of hard skills and soft skills in your resume for controller jobs. Whichever ones you list, make sure to prove them in your education and experience sections.
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 our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.
So you’re experienced.
But do you love your career?
Prove you’ve got energy to burn with bonus parts of your resume.
Pick from:
Got a CPA license? Add a certifications and licenses section under “education.”
Pro Tip: Dig deep to find bonus resume sections that fit the job. Sometimes the thing you think is no big deal can be the one detail that makes employers want to talk to you.
If you’re asking, Do I need a cover letter for my resume for controller jobs, the answer’s “yes.”
You need to show employers you’re not just filling in the form.
That starts with proper cover letter formatting:
If it’s more than half a page, it’s probably too long.
Pro Tip: Not sure how to follow up on a job? Send a short email three days after the interview, in one week, and in two weeks. Reference something positive about the interview.
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.
That’s it!
That’s how to write a controller resume.
What do you love about your resume for controller jobs? What parts still need work? Give us a shout in the comments. We’d love to talk!
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An employment gap is a period of time (months of years) when a job seeker didn't have a job. While out of work, employees use their time to have children, travel or go to school full time.
Want to send a cover letter along with your resume? You've got two options: email your cover letter as an attachment, or write an email cover letter. We'll show you how to do both.
In this guide you’ll learn *when* and *how* to use a general, universal resume. Plus, you’ll see an easy-to-use template you can copy and tweak in no time.