5 Steps for Writing a General Ledger Accountant Resume

Updated 27 November 2022

A general ledger accountant operates in the financial industry, managing an organisation's financial records and taxation matters. Competitive candidates for general ledger accountancy jobs are often those with well-written resumes that highlight how their education, experience and skills make them highly suitable for the role. Understanding what to include on a general ledger accountant resume can increase your chances of success when seeking employment in this field. In this article, we discuss what a general ledger accountant is, explain the steps for writing a resume for a job in this area of accounting and provide a resume template and example to guide you.

What's a general ledger accountant?

A general ledger accountant is an accountant who creates and maintains an organisation's financial documents, ensuring they're correct, up-to-date and compliant. This can involve managing financial records, ensuring precise entry of financial transactions and statements and preparing and lodging tax documents. These accountants also reconcile accounts, analyse financial data to offer financial guidance, collaborate with other organisational teams for accounting purposes and support other financial roles within the organisation.

How to write a general ledger accountant resume

When writing a general ledger accountant resume, tailor it to the specific role for which you're applying. Below, you can explore some general steps for writing a resume that recruiters in this field may notice:

1. Make a list of keywords mentioned in the job description

Before you start writing your resume, construct a plan of what content to include. This can involve thinking beyond your education, experience and skills. Consider the actual words and phrases you intend to include to ensure your resume caters to the job you're applying for and intrigues hiring managers.

Many recruiters use an applicant tracking system (ATS) which they program to identify resumes with words that strongly relate to the open position. To find these words, you can review the job description and look for specific criteria they mention. In a general ledger accountant job advertisement, you might identify keywords such as attention to detail, financial reporting and Bachelor of Accounting.

2. Start with your contact information and professional summary

It can be beneficial if the first two sections on your resume are your contact details and your professional summary. Your contact details are how recruiters can identify your resume and contact you if they want to collect further information from you or invite you to attend a job interview. Include your full name, your mobile number and your professional email address. You can also include your city and state, along with a link to your website or professional networking profile if you have one.

Under your contact details, you can add your professional summary. This summary can be two to three sentences introducing to yourself and what you can offer the hiring organisation. This information is likely to be one of the first things a recruiter reads on your resume, so it's important to get it right. Your professional summary can be a great place to include keywords you identified in step one. Hiring organisations usually seek general ledger accountants that are highly accurate and have excellent organisational abilities, so it's beneficial to highlight attributes like these in this section.

3. Provide details about your related education

An accredited degree is normally a requirement for gaining employment as an accountant. Hiring managers recruiting for this position typically require candidates to meet the educational criteria to have their resumes shortlisted. Because of this, it's important that your resume clearly highlights that you have the education necessary to perform successfully in the role.

An effective way to add your education to your resume can be to mention the name of your degree, the awarding educational institution and your date of graduation if you graduated in the last four years. You can also add any related certificates you've completed. Examples of education you might include in this section of your general ledger accountancy resume might be a Bachelor of Finance (Business), a Master of Professional Accounting or a Certificate of Australian Taxation.

4. Highlight your accountancy experience

While experience isn't a formal requirement for gaining a position as a general ledger accountant, recruiters often look favourably upon experienced candidates. Because of this, it can be important to include your related work experience on your resume to highlight to recruiters your ability to transition seamlessly into the role with minimal training. If you don't have related experience, consider work experience you've completed that has equipped you with transferable skills.

When mentioning your work experience on your resume, consider detailing your previous job titles, the names of your employers and your dates of employment. It's also beneficial to list the typical duties you conducted, as part of each role. Doing this can showcase your on-the-job proficiency to hiring managers and increase the competitiveness of your candidacy. Work experience you list on your resume for a role like this might include previous positions as a general ledger accountant, junior accountant and accounts payable officer.

5. Include your skills and employment attributes

When hiring a general ledger accountant, recruiters may seek a collection of technical skills and soft skills in the ideal candidate. The skills and attributes they seek can be specific to the employer, so it's important to refer to the keywords you identified in step one when writing this section of your resume. There are a few ways you can list your skills on your resume. Displaying them one after the other with a pipe character between each one under a dedicated skills section can make them easy for recruiters to read and absorb.

Besides the specific skills the hiring organisation is looking for, there can be some general accountancy skills that can be beneficial to include on your resume. For example, the work you're likely to do in this role involves lots of numbers and highly sensitive data, which typically requires mathematical knowledge, acute attention to detail and accuracy to handle effectively. Because of this, maths skills, attention to detail and a high level of accuracy might be things you add to the skills section of your resume for a job in this field.

General ledger accountancy resume template

Reviewing a resume template can guide you on what sections to include and where in your resume to include them. You can explore a resume template below:

[First name] [Last name], [Degree or certification, if applicable]
[Phone number] | [Email address] | [City], [State]

Professional Summary
[Two to three sentences highlighting years of experience, relevant skills, education or certifications and achievements as a professional.]

Education
[Degree], [Major] | [Date of graduation]
[Name of University]

Certificates
[Certification name], [Host organisation], [Year completed or expiration date]

Experience
[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.
[job duty]
[job duty]
[job duty]
[job duty]

[Job Title] | [Employment dates]
[Company Name] | [City], [State]

(Strong verb) + what you did (more detail) + reason, outcome or quantified results.
[job duty]
[job duty]

General ledger accountancy resume example

Here, you can find a resume example for a general ledger accountant job, which can help guide you when you begin writing yours:

Angelique Cotcos 041 2221 2236 | angiecotco@email.com.au | Perth, WA

Professional Summary
Organised, highly professional general ledger accountant with a Bachelor of Accounting and two years of corporate accounting experience. Looking for a full-time position with Reactivate Ecological, where I can put my financial accounting knowledge and skills to use to contribute to the company's overall objectives.

Education
Bachelor of Accounting | Dec 2018
Brightwater University

Experience
General Ledger Accountant | Nov 2021–Oct 2022
Element Creations | Perth, WA

Reviewed and updated financial documents
Checked financial data for accuracy and input into the ledger
Ensured compliance with regulatory standards and taxation requirements
Generated and presented financial reports along with forecasts and recommendations
Supported the Senior Financial Controller

Junior accountant | Feb 2019–Oct 2021
Element Creations | Perth, WA

Assisted the Senior Accountant
Reconciled accounts
Prepared profit-and-loss statements

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