Selling a Nontraditional Background to Accounting Employers

I recently received an interesting inquiry from a student who is pursuing her master's degree in accounting. She found her way to the field after spending more than a decade in the seemingly unrelated field of theater design and production. She wondered if she should even divulge her "creative" background on resumes when applying for accounting positions. Would employers be able to see past her unique experience and recognize her potential to be a successful accountant? Given the dynamic and copious opportunities available to accountants, it is not uncommon for people from many different professions to find a second or even third career in accountancy. The key to selling your potential to employers is all in the presentation. No matter what your experience, frame it in a way that emphasizes the skills needed in the accounting profession, specifically for the job to which you are applying. If you too had been a theatrical production designer, you likely had to work with teams, supervise team members, manage your time appropriately to meet production deadlines, and even manage budgets for productions. These are all experiences that can be framed to highlight your skills relevant to the business environment. You may not realize it, but your seemingly obscure experience may have given you a lot of client-service skills. Even as a theatrical production designer, one would have to consider the demands of differing production companies. On a job application or resume, present such experience in a way that illustrates your understanding of the needs of a client-service professional.

If you are currently pursuing an accounting degree before kicking off your second or third career in the field, don't wait until you are finished with your degree to apply for your first accounting position. I suggest considering an internship or volunteer accounting work first because often professionals try to make a major transition from a completely different field into accounting. They present their many years of experience in their previous fields, evidently having been successful. However accounting employers sometimes question if the person would be a good fit in their profession since they have no related accounting experience. They may think that perhaps such candidates might not find accounting as interesting as they had thought, and might quickly get bored or switch to yet another field. If you can demonstrate that you've already gotten your feet wet with some real accounting work, it will show them that you understand what it takes and are committed to succeeding in accounting.

For more ideas on how to gain internship experience, see my blog post dated April 8, 2010. Even if companies aren't hiring interns, you can still create your own internship experience and impress employers with your dedication to joining the profession.

Don't be afraid to present your background and experience to employers, no matter how much it may seem to diverge from accounting. Just be sure to frame it in a manner that will make them appreciate all you have to offer the profession as a great accountant.