Candidate snapshot: Who are you?

by Corinne Wakeford on July 12, 2012

PART ONE

According to a new study, accounting support candidates are a diverse, tech-savvy bunch, firmly focused on building sustainable careers in fields such as payroll, credit, collections and management. AccountAbility’s recent research into candidate demographics paints a compelling picture of today’s accounting support job seeker.

The research shows that accounting support candidates are a relatively youthful group, with 34 per cent aged between 16-29, 27 per cent 30-39, 20 per cent over 40 and 19 per cent older than 50. Although at first glance this suggests that the demographic is mostly made up of younger professionals, it’s also indicative of slightly older professionals being less likely to job hunt aggressively in contrast to their counterparts.

The study also highlighted some interesting trends around employee status, industry, job seeking methods and networking habits:

• 51 per cent of candidates are permanently employed when seeking a new role, while 21 per cent are on a contract assignment, suggesting that most candidates are wary of leaving their current position without the security of a new role.
• The commercial and industrial sectors are the biggest employers of accounting support candidates, claiming 51 per cent of the demographic. However, 11 per cent are employed by government institutions, 6 per cent are in not-for-profit and a relatively minute 7 per cent work for banks.
• Although organisations such as CPA Australia provide powerful networking opportunities for accounting support professionals, candidates are slow to capitalise on this – the overwhelming majority are not members of any professional association.
• Recruitment agencies are still the first port of call for job seekers, although males are more likely to take advantage of recruiters than females.

• Most candidates are well-versed when it comes to job hunting online, with 71 per cent regularly using job search websites to find their next role. Newspapers only play a minor part in the job hunt, with 50 per cent of all surveyed occasionally seeking out print listings. Despite the buzz surrounding social media, most candidates have never used channels such as LinkedIn or Facebook to find jobs. However, the fact that 36 per cent would consider it suggests that social media it set to become a more popular job hunting resource.

Technology has created increased opportunities for job hunters seeking a change. By taking advantage of recruiters and online resources, you will be able to find the accounting support role of your dreams.