Career resources

The finance resume a hiring manager will actually read

A CFO or controller spends under a minute on a first pass. Make that minute count.

• Lead with scope, not duties. "Owned month-end close for 12 entities in 3 currencies; close reduced from 15 to 8 business days" beats "Responsible for month-end close."
• Quantify what you can, honestly. Entity count, revenue size, team size, close days, audit findings cleared. Do not invent precision you do not have.
• Name the systems, then move on. One line. NetSuite, Sage Intacct, QuickBooks, SAP, Adaptive, Power BI. Nobody hires on a systems list, but the absence of one raises a question.
• Show the hard thing you fixed. A clean-up, a restatement avoided, a failed audit turned into a clean one, a forecast that finally held. One per role is enough.
• Keep it to two pages. Three if you are a CFO with a long track record. Never four.
• Drop the objective statement. Replace it with a three-line summary of what you do and at what scale.

Interviewing for finance roles

Finance interviews are technical, whether or not they are labeled that way. Expect to be asked how you did the work, not just whether you did it.

• Be ready to walk through your close. Day by day, who did what, where it broke, what you changed.
• Bring a variance story. A month where actuals missed budget, how you found the cause, and how you explained it to leadership.
• Know your numbers cold. Revenue, entity count, team size, and the size of the thing you are proudest of. Hesitation reads as inflation.
• Ask about the state of the books. When was the last audit, and how did it go? How many days is the close? What is the biggest reconciliation problem today? The answers tell you what the job really is.
• Ask who you report to and what they need most. A controller reporting to a founder has a different job than one reporting to a CFO.

Talking about compensation

Finance people are often better at negotiating for the company than for themselves. A few rules that hold up.

• Know your range before the first call. Base, bonus, and equity where relevant. Anchor to the role, the market, and the scale, not to your current salary.
• State a range, not a number, when asked early. Then ask what the role is budgeted at. A good recruiter will tell you.
• Evaluate the whole offer. Bonus reliability, equity terms, remote flexibility, growth path, and the quality of your future manager all have real value.
• Get it in writing. Title, base, bonus structure, start date, and any promises made during interviews.

Public accounting to industry

The most common move we help with. What changes: you own the numbers instead of testing them, deadlines are monthly instead of seasonal, and your value is measured in decisions supported rather than hours billed. What helps: senior or manager experience with industry clients, exposure to a close, and a clear answer to "why now."

Working across the U.S.–Canada border

Candidates with experience in both jurisdictions are in short supply and in demand. If you have worked with both U.S. GAAP and ASPE or IFRS, or with U.S. and Canadian tax regimes, say so prominently. Work authorization matters. Be clear about your status in each country up front so nobody's time is wasted.

Further reading

Our Insights articles cover what hiring managers are actually looking for, including what a controller needs to know in 2026.