Inside tips on
how to find the
right job.
by William J. Morin
Chairman,
Drake Beam Morin,
Inc. (DBM)
How to create a resume
that gets results.
#1 in a series of tips drawn from
Career Navigator;" DBM's revolu-
tionary computer-powered job
search system. Career Navigator
gives you techniques, insider's tips
and strategies for every part of
your job search. It is available
from DBM at a special introduc-
tory price of $95.
Your resume's goal is to get you an in-
terview. So keep the following impor-
tant points in mind:
Include a relevant job objective wher-
ever possible: the first thing employers
want to know is what you want to do.
* Emphasize your skills. Use your
strengths to create excitement and in-
terest-give the interviewer a reason to
want to meet you.
* Talk about accomplishments, not
duties. Duties are boring abstractions;
accomplishments tell the other person
about your ability to achieve concrete
results.
* Omit irrelevant details (i.e. odd jobs,
extensive personal data, etc.)
* If you're not long-winded, why should
your resume be? No resume should be
more than two pages long.
Unnecessary: photos, salary require-
ments or references at this early stage.
Good ideas: If you're willing to travel
or relocate, say so. Make sure the phone
number on your resume is always an-
swered. If you have to buy an answer-
ing machine, buy one.
Drake Beam Morin, Inc. is the
world's largest career counseling
firm. With 35 U.S. and 24 overseas
offices, DBM has helped more peo-
ple find jobs than any other com-
pany in America.
Career Navigator consists of four user-
friendly disks (IBM-PC or compatible),
an invaluable job search workbook, and
a word processor. It is endorsed by the
College Placement Council, Inc.
To order, call 1-800-345-JOBS, or for in-
formation, write to Drake Beam Morin,
Inc., Dept. NOC, 100 Park Avenue,
N.Y., N.Y.10017. (212) 692-7709.

Growing market: Recruiter Dana Ellis (left) with Georgia senior Jeff Anderson

computers to marketing to refining.
Getting an entry-level job in accounting,
a field that the Department of Labor ex-
pects to grow steadily in the next nine
years, is relatively easy. "Our accounting
students typically have at least two or
three job offers," says Peggy Dempsey, an
adviser at Berkeley's Career Planning and
Placement Center. Internships help. "An
accounting internship will practically
guarantee you multiple offers," says Bill
Bufe, partner and personnel director for
Plante & Moran, the largest public ac-
counting firm in Michigan.
Students sometimes waver between the
security and prestige at a Big Eight ac-
counting firm and the responsibility and
diversity at a smaller firm. "The Big Eight
by definition works with larger entities,"
says Marvin Strait, executive partner of
the Colorado Springs-based public account-
ing firm Strait, Kushinsky & Co. "People
joining us in a much faster time would be
able to get to the fun stuff." In Big Eight
firms, beginning staff accountants may get
frustrated working on highly specialized
jobs. "The question is to remain patient"
and try to get broader job responsibilities,
says Smith of Penn State. "Depending on
the firm, you can get into very interesting
things after your third year."
Few are starving: Even in the first year,
accountants are relatively well paid.
"There are few starving accountants in
this economy," says Philip Chenok, presi-
dent of the American Institute of Certified
Public Accountants. Beginning salaries
range from $18,000 to $24,000 for new col-
lege graduates to as much as $40,000 for top
M.B.A. graduates. This year industry ac-
countants are typically starting at $18,500
to $21,000, government accountants at just
under $21,000 and public accountants at
$20,000 to $23,000 plus 10 to 20 percent
more in overtime. (Recently Price Water-

house raised base salaries and eliminated
overtime; other firms may follow suit.) It
usually takes four to five years to become a
manager, then three to four to become a
principal and an additional four or five
years to become a partner. Partners, who
bring in new business, typically earn six-
figure incomes.
However lucrative, accounting jobs can
be demanding. According to one recent sur-
vey, nearly three-fourths of all accountants
regularly work more than 46 hours a week,
and at income-tax time, that load can dou-
ble. Still, many practitioners say the job is
never dull. Riva Dale Mirvis, 25, a senior
auditor at Coopers & Lybrand who received
the nation's top score on the 1984 CPA
exam, says she works with at least 10 differ-
ent clients a year and finds the work stimu-
lating. "You're given a lot of responsibility
at your first staff level," says Mirvis. Sara
Finneren, 22, who graduated from Michi-
gan State last year, enjoys her heavy travel
schedule. "I spend most of my time out of
the office," says Finneren.
More and more outstanding accountants
are now shooting all the way to the chair-
man's suite-Roger Smith of General Mo-
tors, Joseph Flavin of Singer Co., Hays T.
Watkins of CSX Corp. and former Nabisco
chairman Robert Schaeberle to name a
few. "You can become a top executive,"
says CPA John Meinert, chairman of the
billion-dollar clothing manufacturer Hart-
marx, who advises ambitious accountants
not to "get pigeonholed in one kind of job."
The odds are that they will have an even
greater array of jobs to choose from in the
future. If nothing else, these number
crunchers can always count on one con-
tinuing source of income. "Every time the
government 'simplifies' the tax code,"
beams public accountant Chenok, "it cre-
ates more work for us."
KAREN SPRINGEN

U


OCTOBER 1987