When crafting your tax CV, selecting the right projects to showcase can make all the difference, especially for senior tax management roles. Highlighting the most relevant projects per specialism ensures that your CV aligns with the job you’re applying for. Here’s our advice on how you can structure it effectively:
1. Corporate and Personal Tax
For corporate tax professionals, focusing on your client base is essential.
Highlight the types of clients you’ve worked with, whether they are owner-managed businesses (OMBs), small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), or large international corporations.
Similarly, in personal tax, emphasise the makeup of your client portfolio, such as non-domiciled individuals, high-net-worth individuals, or trust work.
Additionally, outlining the sectors you’ve worked in, such as financial services (FS) or the creative industries, adds valuable context and demonstrates sector-specific expertise.
2. Transfer Pricing
If your expertise lies in transfer pricing, tailor your CV based on the role you are applying for. For instance, if you’re targeting a financial services (FS) role, highlight projects involving banks, insurance firms, or asset management companies. The key is to match your experience with the needs of the prospective employer.
3. Deals Tax
For deals tax, listing specific deals you’ve worked on is crucial. If you have experience with private equity (PE) or infrastructure (infra) deals, make sure these are clearly stated. Again, aligning your experience with the job description will make your CV stand out.
4. VAT
VAT specialists should focus on complex advisory cases they’ve handled. As with corporate and personal tax, detailing the sectors you have experience in, such as retail, technology, or financial services, adds significant value to your CV.
5. US Tax
For US tax professionals, the nature of your key clients should be emphasized. If you have worked with partnerships, hedge funds, trusts, or private clients, make this clear. Additionally, indicate the level of involvement you had with these clients to showcase your depth of experience.
Final considerations: Be prepared for interviews
One of the most important aspects of listing projects in your CV is ensuring that you can confidently discuss them in an interview. Hiring managers will likely ask you about the projects you highlight, so avoid listing projects that you don’t remember in detail or worked on years ago with minimal involvement.
Instead, focus on projects that you can discuss both technically and behaviourally. This will help you present yourself as a knowledgeable and capable candidate during interviews.
Tailoring your CV by selecting the right projects to highlight is key to making a strong impression. Focus on relevance, sector experience, and your level of involvement to craft a compelling CV that resonates with potential employers. Most importantly, be prepared to talk about any project you include - your interview success depends on it!
Chris Cheng is an ACA qualified accountant turned tax recruiter, hiring for corporate tax, M&A tax, and transfer pricing positions across professional services and boutique advisory firms.
Chris works with a variety of firms including big 4, top 100 accountancy firms, and boutique accountancy firms across London and the rest of the UK.
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