How to stand out from the crowd?

Let’s kick off with a pop quiz.

How long does it take a Recruiter on average to read your resume?

The choices are:

• A) 20 seconds
• B) 3 minutes and
• C) 6 seconds

The somewhat shocking answer is C, according to a recent study.

Recruiters are busy people and they get thousands of resumes. In six seconds a Recruiter scans for a few things and one is Education. And if you are a fresh grad or don’t have much to talk about re: experience then education becomes very important indeed. Education also becomes key if a certain qualification is “desirable” or “essential” for that role. And if you don’t have that on your resume it ends up in the trash bin.

So how does one get that dream job?

In Finance and Accounting there are a few well known qualifications that recruiters and employers worldwide know and respect. It tells them a lot, including that you are smart, focused and hard-working enough to crack these tough exams. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification is the gold standard in the world of investment management and research and the typical career starts as Analyst all the way to Chief Investment Officer or even CEO. Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is what you want after your name if you want to grow in Financial Management where the roles include Manager-Financial Planning, Financial Controller and CFO. The ACCA, CPA and CA qualifications all prepare you for a career in accounting, tax and audit. And I have noticed that qualifications are becoming increasingly important in the UAE.

Of course landing a job is not the only reason. There are other grounds such as:

• You learn a lot while prepping for these exams such that you become a technically adept Practitioner
• You plug into a network of fellow professionals. That means job referrals etc.
• Even at entry level, a fresher with a qualification is likely to be taken at a higher level and,
• The money you make as a qualified professional is markedly higher than if you are not

So get qualified. And stand out from the crowd.

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