Linden Blog

weekly blog posts

Curriculum Vitae: Perfecting your CV
May 1, 2019
Career & Business, Career Tips, Linden Blog, News

There are many variants to a curriculum vitae and many different way to both write and present one. Here’s a look at some top tips to make your CV shine! We’ve included a simple example down below, although you may choose to have qualifications where highlights are to make navigating your CV efficient.

Main points:

  • You must include contact detail like a phone and email address, and your name at the top. Preferably on the cover letter as well, which should be set out like an official letter. This makes it simple to find where to contact you and the important information is together.
  • Add a career summary – a brief overview of your work history and a bit about you. This should only be a few sentences in your cover letter, but you want this to stand out! If you have experience in the hospitality industry and you want a job in that field, tell them about your industry experience and something that makes you stand out as an employee.
  • Triple check your spelling. It’s incredibly important that you make a good first impression – so have your resume on point.
  • Make sure your email address is appropriate – i.e. johnsmith@email.com – (this should be professional)
  • No photos are necessary unless you are applying for a visual field (television, acting, etc)
  • Choose a clear font. There is nothing worse than reading over a resume that appears dense and hard to read.
  • Try an interesting colour theme or design. Nothing too fancy, but it could be as simple as the headings are a different colour to the text, or there’s a design down one side. You want it to compliment the page, not take over.
  • Cater to the audience – which industry are you aiming for? Adjust your career summary and cover letter to show you’ve put in thought. There’s no need to include jobs from when you were in high school or university unless it’s relevant to the position you’re applying for (or have a low volume of work history). Leave out jobs you held for less than a month.
  • Keep it short. A few dot points about your duties under each position is enough. Too much text is overwhelming and off-putting. The rest can be said in an interview.
  • Use past-tense unless it’s your current position.
  • If you’ve earned a higher qualification, don’t put the stepping stones to that in. I.e. If you have a Diploma of Business, there is no need to say you have a Certificate II in Business as the Diploma overrules it.
  • Lastly, have your name in bold at the beginning. Be proud of your achievements and show some character.

Check out our other career tips here.

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Career Change and FAQ
April 17, 2019
Career & Business, Career Tips, Linden Blog

Changing careers is actually fairly common, most people will have 2 or 3 different careers during their lifetime. If you’re thinking about maybe changing career because your values or lifestyle has changed, we’ve put together some tips to help you work through your questions. It can be a daunting prospect to throw in the towel and embark on a different career with different people and a skill set you may not yet have.

Figure out the whys

Do you know why you want to leave your job? Are you unhappy with your colleagues, the culture, or the industry in general? It helps to keep a work diary for a week or two and record your emotions and productivity to see what it is about the experience that is causing dissatisfaction. This will help you narrow down the attributes you’re looking for in a new career and remind you of the skills you already have.

Where to next?

What do you want your new career to look like? Do you want to change roles but stay in the same industry, or change it up altogether? Write a list of the skill you currently have and a separate list of dream jobs or skills. Keep in mind your current lifestyle, as this will potentially change with a new career. As an example – frequent travel may not be ideal if you are raising a young family or have other regular commitments.
We’ve written a post on Choosing the Right Career.

Assess what you’ve got

Your years of experience may be all you need to make a lateral move into a different job with similar skill sets. All employers value effective communication, problem solving, creative thinking skills and initiative. List these in your cover letter, and have examples of where you’ve shown them ready for interviews.
See our management skill blog for some ideas!

Friendly advice

Do you know anyone who is already working in your dream job or industry? Offer them a coffee in return for some details of what their job entails and what skills they deem most necessary. Keep your expectations realistic and grounded. As a result, you might even make some new contacts that will be valuable in your new industry.

Back to school

If you need extra qualifications, RPL, or just to upgrade a few skills, Linden is right here to give you the support and knowledge you need. Trawling through job ads will give you a good indication of what level of qualification is industry standard.
If you need some help getting back into the study groove : Understanding Successful Study.

Networking!

Now’s the time to flex that LinkedIn muscle. Make connections and follow influencers in your chosen profession. Someone who’s passionate and engaged both online and in real life will appeal more to employers. For that reason, attending workshops and conferences can be a great method to meet a range of people in the industry and make new connections that may be useful for future work.

Track your happiness

Finally, the last tip is to assess how you’re feeling every step of the way. Does your career change fill you with dread or excitement? Are you excited to learn more or does it feel like homework? Let your research take you on tangents and find that fine line between using your head and trusting your gut.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Can I receive credit for my previous studies?

If you already have qualifications or experience in your chosen study area, you may be able to receive credit towards a Linden College course in a related study area. Our Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) process can save you valuable time and money and help you start your career sooner.

What is a certified copy?

A certified copy of a document is a photocopy of the original that has been certified as a true copy by an authorised person. When you provide us with a scanned copy or photocopy of a document, it must be certified. All pages of submitted supporting documents must be certified. Make sure your current name is added to any documents you supply with your former names (if applicable).

Where can I get my documents certified?

In Australia a Justice of the Peace can certify your documents. You can also have them certified by a police officer, Commissioner of Declarations, bank manager, pharmacist, education agent, solicitor, barrister or patent attorney. If you are certifying your documents in your home country, the official records department of the institution that originally issued the documents can certify them for you. You can also have your documents certified by a notary public or an education agent.

What are your academic entry requirements?

The entry requirements for our certificate III, IV, diploma and advanced diploma courses require a Year 12 qualification level or equivalent. See the equivalent qualifications in your country.

What are your English language entry requirements?

Applicants to Linden College are required to meet a minimum standard of English language proficiency as assessed by the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Entry requirements vary between courses. Visit the English entry requirements page for IELTS score equivalencies and more information.

What is VET?

VET stands for Vocational Education and Training. This is the type of accredited training that Linden College delivers. It is a tertiary level of education that delivers job-related training, industry-based outcomes, and technical skill sets.

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Management Skills, What Are They?
September 19, 2018
Business, Career & Business, Linden Blog, School of Business

Management skills:

First of all, let’s review what we mean by management skills. These are skills are universal, and apply not just to physical and mental management, but also to managing yourself as an individual. Number one on this list is communication; being clear and concise with those around you and your workmates is a premier skill. Let’s make a list to show the skills them clearly.

Communication

  • Clear, concise – both written and spoken forms
  • Using the right language with customers, being encouraging, being time efficient with meetings, negotiation, and keeping the lines of communication open between employees are just some of the ways where communication is really important. Sometimes it takes practice, but being conscious and observing others can help you pick up those small tips and tricks to nail communication.

Technical skills

  • Know the company, know the job, know the product. This may also include IT skills, social media, reports and presentations, data security, etc. These really are individualised to the position at hand. Mental investment in the company pays off if you’re looking for a higher-level job.

Motivation

  • In terms of your motivation in addition to the motivation of employees. You can do this through providing appreciation, incentives for performance, supporting workmates who are under stress, and empowering employees to be proud of their work.
  • Motivation makes the environment not only more positive, but also more energetic, and productive.

Problem solving

  • Problem solving skills are useful in every situation, we all have to identify and work through issues. Working this problem back to its origins and understanding the cause helps you to see and predict future problems too.
  • This would also include planning as a form of problem prevention

Innovation

  • Innovation is shown through solutions to customer needs, creative marketing campaigns, redesigning or altering processes to create a more productive, functional, and smooth flow.

Professionalism

  • This is what makes you stand out as a leader. Diplomacy, strong moral values, initiative, as well as curating an excellent customer service attitude shows your employees the standard to strive for.

Other skills that are super important to demonstrate as a manager of anything (these are combinations of/ or subcategories that needed special mention):

  • Planning – effective, anticipatory, and course of actions plans
  • Organising – hand-in-hand with planning, organising is fairly essential in managing yourself, projects, and teams.
  • Directing – similar to communication, directing is more about being able to distribute tasks in an effective way to streamline projects.

So now you know the skills, how do you work on improving yours? Honestly, you need to be conscious and observe others. That’s the simplest way to see how it’s done; then you can start implementing version of what you see (so long as it’s appropriate). You may do this through practicing communication with friends and family, showing innovation and problem solving with your daily tasks or assignments, and, motivating yourself and those around you. This way you can see what works and what doesn’t, and when you show these skills in the workplace you will demonstrate your potential as a manager.

Check out our BSB51915 Diploma of Leadership and Management if you feel like you want to upgrade your management skills.

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Choosing the Right Career
April 23, 2018
Career & Business, Career Tips, Study Tips

Exciting

Wouldn’t it be great to be in a career that you love, doing exciting things and feeling like you made the right choice every day? It can be stressful to make that decision, or even start thinking about it. Most young school leavers feel pushed to make a choice so early, and feel they will be trapped in what they choose forever. But that is not the case, most people change careers two or three times in their lifetime. So making a change when you’ve realised you don’t like a career, or like something else better, doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

Purposeful

For many millennials, the predominant factor is finding work that is purposeful. You know, that thing that makes you get up in the morning, the passion for accomplishment. There are a few steps you can take to narrow down the surprising amount of choice in front of you.

  1. Find what you’re passionate about? What do you find yourself thinking about or doing in your spare time? Maybe you actually really like maths class, or you enjoy writing songs or poems.
  2. What are you actually good at? Be realistic about it, but also realise that most things get better with practice. Keep at it!
  3. Do one of those career quizzes, it could tell you something you don’t know; such as this: http://joboutlook.gov.au/CareerQuiz.aspx
  4. Try an internship or ask for advice from someone in the field. Internships can be excellent ways of finding out the reality of the job and if you do really enjoy it.
  5. If all else fails, take some time to figure it out. Taking a gap year and working a temporary retail position can give you the time to see what you are passionate and interested in. Maybe you’ll even enjoy the retail work and aim for a managerial job?

Career

If you find an interest in a not-so-mainstream career path, make sure to plan how to get there. Being an artist or musician or poet (stereotypical alternative pathways) can still work out better for you than a corporate/retail position. You may even make it into a business.

If you want to start a career but aren’t ready for university, we offer short courses in business, accounting and management.

For those of you who want to be leaders; are good at maths; or want to make their passion into a business.

Here’s our course catalogue: https://lindencollege.edu.au/faculty-schools/course-catalogue/

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Millennial’s in the Workplace
April 21, 2018
Linden Blog

Millennial’s in the Workplace

As the population of millennial’s have entered the workforce, many industries are noting a change in the aspirations of their younger employees. It seems that younger people are moving from job to job more often than their older counterparts. However, they still have solid and evolving career goals. Their goals and lifestyles may be different, but, all the same, millennial’s need to think about their goals and aspirations for each position they apply for.  These are some things to note, that potential employers might ask you about when applying for a job.

1. What are your short-term career goals?

When a recruiter asks “What are your short-term career goals?” they are really trying to ascertain whether you are going to leave as soon as you get a better offer, says Amy Adler, a career coach and the founder of Five Strengths.

Kim Ann Curtin, executive coach and the author of Transforming Wall Street, agrees that priority number-one for most interviewers is to get a sense of the likelihood that you’ll stick around.

“The biggest fear employers have with millennial’s right now is that they won’t stay and have a tendency to leave after a year or two,” Curtin said.

2. What are your long-term career goals?

This question is aimed at figuring out whether you are realistic about the career path in this industry, your intentions for the future and the reason you’re interested in the job, Curtin says.

“Headhunters are looking for what millennial’s say that indicates how likely they are to stick around,” she said. “That’s at the heart of what headhunters are asking millennial’s about.”

Sometimes the question is rephrased as “What do you see as your next step after this job?”, but it’s basically trying to find out the same thing.

“Do they want to be out in a year, or promoted within a year?” said Alyssa Gelbard, the founder and president of Resume Strategists. “Baby Boomers don’t have that expectation of ‘I gotta be in, then I gotta get out and move on to the next thing.’”

This is the classic “where do you see yourself in five years?” The company wants to know if you will be a committed employee, willing to invest yourself into your career – with them.

3. How do you handle feedback?

A common way of wording this question is “What kind of feedback do you want to receive and how often?”

Questions related to handling feedback or constructive criticism are geared toward evaluating how well you respond to being given direction and redirection, Adler said.

“There’s a big difference between the way feedback is delivered in school and on the job,” said Gelbard. “Millennial’s should talk about times when they’ve had to handle something difficult, dealing with a client in person or over the phone, not just via text or email.”

This can also be a tangential way of gauging how sensitive you are and how you respond when things don’t go your way. Talk about a time when you were passed over for a promotion or an award that you felt you deserved and how you handled that disappointing situation. Be diplomatic.

“They should demonstrate that they’re OK dealing with failure, lack of success,” Gelbard said. “Working at a bank or hedge fund in the financial sector, not everyone gets a trophy, so hiring managers want to know, ‘How did you handle a time when you weren’t successful?’ – they value resiliency.”

4. What’s your ideal workday schedule?

Adler suggested hiring managers ask this one to make sure you are going to show up on time and work the proper number of hours within the firm’s standard work day.

It’s important to be in tune to how your job responsibilities can bleed into your life outside the office.

“Millennial’s in the industry should keep in mind that the person you’re interviewing with has probably gotten accustomed to the fact that you’re always on, seven days a week,” Curtin said. “Even after working long hours in the office, now everyone’s on their phone checking work emails 24/7.”

Talk about a project, assignment, presentation or deal that ran longer than expected or another example of how you faced unexpected challenges, Gelbard said.

5. How do you define “rewarding” work?

This one can be translated as: “What do you need to feel appreciated?” Adler said. Candidates considering a career in financial services should go in with eyes wide open that their job is all about the money.

“Millennial’s should realize that they are likely speaking to an organization that is not quite as evolved as they will eventually become,” Curtin said. “Millennial’s coming from a place of wanting to make a positive contribution and work a job that has value in the world need to dial it down”.

“That doesn’t mean you don’t want to be authentic, but maybe it’s not as important a conversation to have with [hiring managers] on Wall Street as it would be with those at more future-focused, younger companies,” she said.

Hiring managers are looking for an alignment of what the millennial candidate thinks the job requires and the actual responsibilities that the role entails, Gelbard said.

“Interviewers want to know what they’re expecting to do – ‘What do you think this job requires?’” she said. “Candidates may have a great work ethic and skills, but if they have no clue what they’d be expected to do if they were hired, that could be a problem.

6. What is your ideal work environment or company culture?

During any interview, the interviewer takes a look at the candidate’s lifestyle, searching for indicators of a cultural fit, or lack thereof.

“Do some work around talking to people who are already in the organization,” Curtin said. “This is about getting you in the door, who you are, your authenticity, ultimately you need that person interviewing you to feel that you’re one of them and you understand how their firm works, be informed about the culture, speak in ways that communicates that you’re comfortable with that culture and it’ll be a fit.

7. What are some of your hobbies?

While not every interview will ask this one, those who do are really trying to figure out whether or not they’d like to work with you on a daily basis. Is this person fun?

“If you’re in someone’s office, look for something that you have in common and you can get them to talk about that’s not work-related – human interaction between you can only help,” Curtin said. “You don’t just want to be locked into formal interview mode – you want to form a personal connection. It helps to build rapport for future conversations/interviews.

“They’re a human being, so say something that makes them feel like you see them that way,” she said. “‘You like the Yankees? I love the Yankees!’”

 

Millennial’s have their own benefits to offer older companies too. New ideas, a younger outlook, something to help to company grow into the future and evolve. They are adaptable and creative.

Older counterparts have had time to build their career and gain experience. Millennial’s are looking for companies to invest in them, in the same way that they are looking to invest in their career.

 

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Starting your own accounting firm?
April 21, 2018
Accounting, Linden Blog, School of Finance

We’ve got some important steps for you to keep in mind, and facts that we hope can help you too!

Current state of the accounting industry

Before you begin starting an accounting firm – or rather, any type of venture – it is important to do your research and understand the industry that you’re aiming to get into and the factors that impact it.

According to Bankwest’s Industry Review report on the accounting sector, more than 133,000 Australians are employed in accounting services. Between 2014 and 2015, the accounting services sector was responsible for generating $17 billion in revenue. These numbers reflect just how significant the accounting services plays in the professional services industry.

Many accounting businesses are located in major Australian cities. Bankwest has found the majority of these businesses to be based in New South Wales. While it’s easy to imagine that the majority of the firms in the accounting industry are large, smaller firms are the dominant. The ‘Big Four’ of the accounting industry only account for roughly 30% of the available market share (AFP Business Brokers). The profession can be separated into the ‘Big Four’, 2nd tier, mid-tier, medium sized and small accounting firms. There are many different markets that these firms cater to – meaning that there is plenty space in the market for the smaller firms to enter and compete in (AFP Business Brokers).

The important questions

Before you start an accounting company, ask yourself:

  • Do I have enough experience to help the needs of other businesses and individuals?
  • Do I have one year’s worth of capital to begin and operate for one year?
  • How will I differentiate what my accounting company has to offer from others in the market?

 Entering the market

Develop your Business Plan

Like every business venture, your accounting firm will need a business plan. Your business plan should cover the following areas:

  • Your goals for the business
  • Target market research
  • What services you offer
  • Your chosen business structure
  • Breakdown of costs and capital requirements
  • Marketing your business
  • Pricing strategy
  • Office location and requirements
  • Projected costs to start up, budget and revenue model
  • Insurance

Try it out part-time

If you’re still feeling some hesitancy before taking the plunge to break out on your own, consider picking up some clients part-time and see whether you enjoy working on a full-time basis and starting out on your own.

How about it, partner?

Two heads can be better than one. By finding the right partner or joining the right franchise, you can potentially have more service offerings, share costs and may appeal to a larger customer base.

Old issues, fresh start

One of the perks about starting out is that you aren’t beholden to any business legacy issues that may push down profits such as an old fee structure, old equipment and software or client service issues from the past. Make sure that you can market your services and price yourself accordingly. Brush up on the management of your marketing, pricing, selling and practice!

Know your software

Familiarise yourself with online accounting and bookkeeping software that is often used for small businesses, such as MYOB, Xero or QuickBooks. Cloud computing now offers accounting firms Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, allowing firms to be able to use flexible and extensive software applications that operate with strong data security at fixed rates.

Join industry and professional groups

If you are a member of any industry or professional groups, utilise them for information and support! If you aren’t a member of any of these groups, then sign up. Chartered Accountants in Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and CPA Australia are two of the world’s largest accounting bodies with a global membership and offers many core services to its members including education, training, technical support and advocacy.

Know the guidelines and legalities

Starting your business can be stressful but it can be even more stressful when you don’t know the guidelines and legalities around your business operations. There are many resources out there for new businesses to understand the requirements of practicing in Australia. CPA Australia has compiled a list of resources and information for public practices, including links to resources and support that the Australian Government offers as well.

Check out our Certificate IV of Accounting.

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Unknown Famous Accountants
October 27, 2017
Accounting, Linden Blog

Unknown Famous Accountants

Accounting first began in Ancient Mesopotamia. Then accountants worked for temples, tracking taxes paid on sheep and agricultural produce. They used cuniform, a writing practice, to keep receipts. But, there have been many developments and accomplishments since then. Let’s take a look at some notable accountants that changed the game.

1. Mary Addison Hamilton

An Australian feminist, she was underestimated by her peers and surpassed expectations by received the highest mark on her exams and becoming the first female Chartered Public Accountant. She was offered a permanent position in the public sector, which is especially significant because in that time, women were not usually offered jobs in government. She worked as a clerk in the public service, using her skills to train new accountants and assist a number of charitable and not-for-profit organisations.

2. Josiah Wedgwood

If you recognise the name, that’s because he is in fact the founder of Josiah Wedgwood and Sons – the famous Wedgwood china. He created the first reliable system in the 1700’s to track bottom-line costs and profits, and tested it on his own company during economic downturn. His system proved so successful, it even brought to light an embezzlement scam run by his head clerk. Obviously good accounting is undeniably beneficial. Wedgwood is still around today, more successful than ever.

3. John Pierpont Morgan

He was an American financier and banker in the late 1800’s. He dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation, directing the banking coalition that stopped the panic of 1907 and aiding the banking industry through the 1890’s. John’s global market leading financial services firm still carry’s his name, so successful, that is annually donates $200 million to non-profit organisations. His impact was so significant, that upon his death, the NY Stock Exchange stopped trading until midday.

4. Frank Mason Robinson

Frank started a business with associates called the Pemberton Chemical Company. They were playing with a medicinal formula using coca leaves and kola nuts… do you see where I’m going? Frank eventually coined the name Coca Cola, and even designed the logo written in Spencerian (the Accountants script of the time). So successful was their marketing that they were able to keep the same price of 5c from 1886 to 1959, which was approximately worth $1.20 including inflation.

5. William Welch Deloitte

Deloitte, also a founder of one of the Big 4 accounting firms, was an accountant from London. He began his own business sorting out bankruptcy at a young age. He also became the first independent auditor ever appointed at the Great Western Railway, and invented a system for railway accounts to protect investors from mismanagement of funds. In his time, he was also president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He retired a year before his death, as the oldest practicing accountant at the time.

Clearly, accountants have a lot to offer the world, including Bubble Gum (look up Walter Diemer) and Phil Knight – the co-founder of Nike. You never know where an accounting career will lead. Linden offers a Certificate IV in Accounting (FNS40615)… just saying.

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Your Key to Understanding Successful Study
March 24, 2018
Student Life, Study Tips, Uncategorised

Successful Study

There are three essential steps to developing good skills:

  1. Self-awareness – insight into yourself (and other’s opinions about your abilities can impact your capacity to achieve them)
  2. Strategy – developing good habits and applying the best approach
  3. Personalised approach: adapt your strategies to suit your strengths, interests and circumstances

Take some time to think about and reflect on these, maybe write down some points to remember about how you study effectively.

Intelligence

Have confidence in your own intelligence. Without this confidence, you will doubt yourself and that’s not productive for study. What does intelligence mean to you? What is intelligence? Here are some examples of common thoughts about intelligence:

  • Intelligence is an underlying, general cleverness which is fixed by genetics;
  • Intelligence has many kinds (linguistic, musical, kinaesthetic, logical, etc.);
  • Intelligence can be developed;
  • Intelligence depends on your life opportunities;
  • Intelligence may be interpreted differently in different people;
  • Intelligence if about applying what you know easily to new contexts;
  • Intelligence is a question of how much you know;
  • Intelligence is easy to measure;
  • Intelligence is about applying effective strategies that can be learnt; and
  • Intelligence is a question of habit and practice.

Do you feel a truth in one or more of these responses? Now you are more self-aware about your predispositions about intelligence, that’s step 1. We can move on to learning.

Successful Learning

Successful learning is a process. It can be unconscious or conscious, use varying senses, different levels of attention, be fast or slow. Conditions for successful learning include: new experiences, foundations, rehearsal/practice, processing new information and understanding on a new level.

Optimal learning happens in many different environments and conditions, including: working out which time, place, space, or routine works for you is really beneficial. A place that you learn best might be a classroom with bright lights and others, or at home where it’s quiet and you can focus. Knowing your optimal learning conditions allows you to replicate the conditions in different places. If you truly enjoy what you are learning, the environment might not even matter. Build your habit and routine of learning; keeping notes and due dates organised is a general help to most students.

There are many different ways to describe the different learning styles. Knowing your learning style may help you understand your optimal learning conditions. If you have a visual or kinetic learning style, you may need to adapt the way you receive the knowledge.

Personalisation

Personalising your learning by combining all of the above will improve your self-awareness of your learning process or style. Personalising your learning environment and conditions will take some experimenting. If you prefer to study with a group, you will need to set up or find a study buddy or group. If you are an auditory learner and lectures and recordings really work for you, you will need to plan your learning and revision around these. Keep in mind not to narrow the range of conditions too much. You may want to try and use various skills to learn.

Happy studying!

Inspiration taken from ‘The Study Skills Handbook’ by Stella Cottrell, 4th Edition.

The Accounting Industry: What it’s like.
October 21, 2017
Accounting, Career & Business, Linden Blog, School of Finance

The Accounting Industry

There’s been talk that the accounting industry might be declining thanks to technological advancements. But this is simply not true. Accounting has too many complexities and intricacies for a machine. Most individuals and every company in every industry needs an accountant.

There are many different types of accountants, and many different area to work in. Some examples include – accounts administrators, reconciliation clerks, accounts payable, accounts receivable, bookkeepers and SMSF administrators.

Then there are accountants who work in accounting practices. These accountants have roles  such as – auditing (who examine company’s financial statements), management accounting, taxation advising or business services. Business services accountants work across all areas of accounting consulting to small business and individuals.

Some accountants are consultants, who help businesses with their decision making, or in specialist tax areas, like film production. Other accounting roles include forensic accounting – which involves fraud prevention and detection; cost accountants, project accountants, as well as analysts.

There are unique areas like environmental accounting, which involves analysing the environmental impacts of business such as the financial damage from ecological disasters.

Do you have a particular interest in an area outside of accounting?  You could combine your passion with work as an accountant within areas – such as a sports or music company. There are also industry specialisations, such as SMSF accountants and Real Estate Trust Accountants.

What Do Accountants Do?

The accounting industry is diverse. Accountants prepare reports, analyse, and assess on many various financial or tax items, which yes, does include tax returns. They also interpret and apply regulation, as well as keep up with ever-changing legislation. A good accountant is adaptable, diligent, committed and detail-orientated. Some accounting positions can be stressful, with tight deadlines. Mostly, accountants also need to be affable, as they work with people.

From our CEO – What do you like most about the accounting industry?

The most interesting thing about the accounting industry is the people you meet. Definitely, its the people, you meet new clients and catch up with old clients. You learn about their life, their family, their business, their investments, their goals and objectives.

Then it’s the problem solving. How can I help this person meet their goals and objectives, how can I help them save on their taxes, is their business tracking well?

Knowing that you can’t please everyone all of the time is important. Knowing that you are helping your clients and getting positive feedback is the ultimate goal for any accountant.

To move up in the accounting ranks;

You can begin an accounting career with a Certificate IV in Accounting and develop the skills and knowledge to move ahead. With a Certificate IV in Accounting your career will commence with jobs such as an accounts clerk, payroll clerk, accounts clerk, bookkeeper or assistant accountant.

Starting with a Certificate IV in Accounting is also a great way to springboard into university with a little prior knowledge. There are many professional associations in Australia including the Australian Bookkeepers Network, Association of Accounting Technicians, and the National Tax and Accountants’ Association.

If you would like to find out more about our Certificate IV in Accounting phone us on 1300 228 338 or complete the contact form and one of our staff will respond to you as soon as possible.

 

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Developing Your Study Skills for Success
August 24, 2017
Linden Blog, School of Business, School of Finance, Student Life, Study Tips, Uncategorised

Managing yourself for study – Developing your student skills

Following on from the first post, ‘Success as a Student’, this post is about the study skills you will use and how to develop them. Since it’s been a while, here’s a reminder of the last topic, I’ve copied the skills needed to be a successful student. Skills valuable to the student:

  • self-motivated
  • self-discipline
  • organised
  • goal-orientated
  • perseverance
  • routine
  • perspective
  • problem solving
  • and stress management

Basic Research Skills

This is the ability to find information, speed reading, using multiple sources, making notes of important information, organisation skills, as well as using numerical data. Basically, these are all skills required when completing homework or assignments. This will come naturally to some, but others need time and practice to build these skills. One helpful tip I can give, is to use keywords when looking for information, and speed reading.

Thinking Skills

Now, this one really does rely on you. It’s about decision makings, such as which piece of information to use; memory skills; critical thinking; creative problem-solving, and understanding. Memory skills are quite obviously important, and there are many strategies available to aid your memory recall. Critical thinking skills will be essential in all studies. It requires you to evaluate the quality of sources, interpretation of information and building a strong line of reasoning. Your understanding of the content and the task at hand is instrumental in using these skills, so you will need to be engaged in the material and discussions to practice these skills.

Written and Other Communication Skills

This is about how you write, getting your ideas across in a clear and precise manner. This brings in organisation and planning, the style and format, the audience, referencing, specialist terminology, academic integrity and using subject appropriate conventions. This is also where having organised notes from research will be beneficial.

People Skills

Studying with others requires you to take an active part, make a constructive contribution in classes, give feedback, work collaboratively, and support your fellow students. This doesn’t have to be a big thing, and if you don’t know what to do to help in a group setting – ask another group member.

Task Management Skills

Task management is like a combination of self-discipline, time management and the above skills, in one. As a student you will have to produce set items, like essays, reports, and presentations, etc. You will find that there is criteria to meet, formats that you need to follow, and potentially – specific resources that you are require to use. Therefore, having good task management skills means you have to be organised, goal orientated, motivated, develop self-management and stress management skills.

It takes time to build these skills, if you haven’t already, however, in the studying environment you will find these come quickly from observation of fellow students.

 

Inspiration taken from ‘The Study Skills Handbook’ by Stella Cottrell, 4th Edition.