Career Change Resume Example: Moving Into Accounting
Accounting draws many career changers because it offers stable jobs and short training paths. This example of a former retail department manager connects ten years of budgets and inventory to a new role as an accounting assistant.
The person, contact details and employers are fictitious. Replace them with your own information.
Skills to highlight
- Bookkeeping
- Accounts payable
- Sales tax
- QuickBooks
- Advanced Excel
- Margin analysis
What makes it work
- Put the accounting certificate or degree at the top, with its length and completion date.
- Pull every number-related task from your old job: budgets, margins, inventory, cash.
- Describe the internship with volumes, as you would for any accountant.
- Aim first for accounting assistant or AP/AR roles, and say so clearly.
The full text of this example
Derek Hoffman — Accounting Assistant
After ten years in retail management running budgets, margins and inventory, I retrained in accounting. I am looking for an accounting assistant or AP role where my precision and comfort with numbers count.
Experience
- Accounting Intern · Small-Business CPA Firm, Kansas City, MO (Mar 2026 – Jun 2026)
- Kept the books for 12 small-business clients in QuickBooks
- Prepared 30 sales tax filings
- Department Manager · Big-Box Retailer, Overland Park, KS (Apr 2015 – Aug 2025)
- Managed a $4M annual department budget and tracked margins weekly
- Five years of inventory counts with no significant variance
Education
- Accounting Certificate (30 credit hours) · Community College (Aug 2025 – May 2026)
- B.S. in Business Administration · State University (2009 – 2013)
Skills
Bookkeeping · Accounts payable · Sales tax · QuickBooks · Advanced Excel
Why this example works
The resume reads like an accounting assistant’s, with the certificate and a quantified internship at the top. The recruiter sees a realistic target role and proof the training was put into practice.
Retail management is not a gap: a $4M budget, weekly margin tracking and clean inventory counts sit close to accounting. The single-column Classic template stays clear and well spaced.
Keywords to mirror
Applicant tracking systems and recruiters scan for these terms. Reuse the ones that appear in the job posting, word for word.
- Accounting assistant
- Career change
- Accounting certificate
- Bookkeeping
- Accounts payable
- Sales tax
- Reconciliation
- QuickBooks
- Excel
- Attention to detail
Mistakes to avoid for this role
- Targeting senior accountant roles with no accounting experience.
- Describing the old job only through management and sales, and forgetting the numbers.
- Leaving out the length of the certificate program.
Open this example with another template
The wording stays the same; only the layout changes.
The same job at another career stage
Entry level, mid-career, senior or career change: each resume highlights different strengths. Pick the example closest to where you are now.
More resume examples
Retail sales associateStore sales: numbers, customer service and visual merchandising.Use this example
ServerRestaurant service: speed, upselling and guest experience.Use this example
CNAPatient care, vital signs and teamwork with nurses.Use this example
Web developerTech stack, shipped projects and links to code.Use this example
Administrative assistantCalendars, invoices, travel and office coordination.Use this example
Sales representativeProspecting, territory growth and quota attainment.Use this example