Resume should include the following elements in this order:
Education section (each school, degree, year of degree completion, honors, GPA and/or class ranking)
Certifications - CPA, bar memberships, etc.
Work history - List of all positions in chronological order with the most recent at the top. Each position should include:
Name of Employer Under the Employer name, list 2-3 sentences describing the company - revenue size, industry type, short description of international structure (example: $5 billion pharmaceutical company with operations in Europe, Asia & Latin America including 10 manufacturing sites and 20 distribution centers outside the U.S.).
(It is not necessary to include a company description for a Big 4 public accounting firm or major law firm.)
Title
Dates of employment - list all positions and dates of employment. If you have had multiple positions at one employer first list the overall dates and then list the specific dates for each position.
Job description section (for each position - keep to one paragraph) Describe your overall role and major areas of responsibility. Include the reporting structure - who you report to and who reports to you. Please keep "1st person references" to a minimum. You want to bring across your abilities as a team player.
Additional sections at the end of your resume can include publications, professional organizations (ex: Tax Executives Institute, American Bar Association), computer skills and personal accomplishments - if kept short.
It is not necessary to include sections listing references (you can provide those when you are actively in the process of interviewing for the position) or a career objectives/career summary description.
Naming your resume - When saving your resume to a Word (or other word processing software) document - USE YOUR NAME. H/R and tax hiring authorities receive many resumes a day called resume.doc or something similar. The best way to have your resume properly noticed & categorized is something like JohnSmithTaxResume.doc, or JaneDoeTaxAttorney.doc.
Addendum should be a 1 to 3-page document listing accomplishments in bullet point form. This can include technical projects and/or examples of leadership/management accomplishments. If possible, quantify tax technical accomplishments by some metric (approx. dollars saved; approx. liability exposure avoided in dollars; percentage reduction in ETR; increased cash flow by dollars, etc.)
Addendum can be broken down to include a section listing projects from your current employer and additional section(s) listing projects from past employers. Include projects that will directly relate to the position under consideration.
Resume Template:
Full Name
Home Address
City, State Zip
Home Phone Number
EDUCATION
School last attended
Location
Degree, Date
Honors
Undergrad - follow same format as above
CERTIFICATIONS
Any other education/certification (Example: Certified Public Accountant, year obtained, if passed 1st time, bar memberships, etc.)
EXPERIENCE
Date Started to Present
(Start with the most current position and list all in descending order)
Name of Firm
Location
Title
Company Description (Example: Acme, Inc. is a publicly held multi-billion dollar novelty toy manufacturer with operations in 50 states and 15 countries.)
Example #1 (Paragraph Description Format) Responsible for international, corporate and partnership tax planning and compliance for domestic and international business clients including inbound and outbound investment planning, financial products and scrutinizations, mergers and acquisitions, and related business formation, organization and due diligence matters. Also involved in exempt organization, charitable, and individual tax planning and compliance.
OR
Example #2 (Bulleted Points Format)
Provided legal research and writing memoranda, briefs, client letters, tax opinions, and state and federal tax litigation documents for sophisticated corporate clients;
Assisted with structuring and analysis of taxability of mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and reorganizations utilizing a wide variety of legal entity structures, including partnerships, corporations, REIT's, trusts and publicly traded partnerships.
LANGUAGES (If Applicable)
Example: Proficient in Spanish
COMPUTER SKILLS
Example: Excel, Word, Lotus 1-2-3, etc.
NOTE: Nothing personal is necessary e.g. marital status or hobbies
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