
Author: Dianedelgadolemaire
Senior Staff Tax Analyst – Downtown – dlemaire@cfstaffing.com
One of the leaders in its industry, my client is seeking an experienced tax accountant to join its team. This position is open due to massive growth within the company. With a major recent acquisition, this group is expecting to expand rapidly in 2017 and immense opportunity for promotion is available. This company is in the Oil & Gas industry and they donate over 15 million annually to non-profit organizations across America.
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Position will help mentor and review entry-level colleagues and their work
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4 weeks PTO (plus holidays)
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10% discretionary bonus
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Stable company (‘A’ Grade credit rating)
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Publicly traded company
Preferences:
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03/01/17 start date
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CPA required for promotion
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Federal & state tax experience (Public or Industry)
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Domestic Tax experience
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SAP or other major ERP
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Partnership preparation exposure
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: $75,000.00 /year
6 Questions to Ask in Every Job Interview – www.theeverygirl.com
Originally published by http://www.theeverygirl.com
http://theeverygirl.com/6-questions-to-ask-in-every-job-interview?linkId=33927498
You’ve done tons of research to ensure you’re more than adequately informed about the company. You’ve selected the perfectly polished interview outfit. You’ve even rehearsed answers for all sorts of commonly asked interview questions.
Yet, when the hiring manager concludes the interview by asking, “So, what questions do you have for me?” your mouth hangs open and your mind goes completely blank. You totally neglected to prepare for this part of the interview—and now you’re left seeming either totally incompetent or completely disengaged and uninterested.
Don’t worry; most people have been there before. It’s easy to focus so much of your energy into preparing for the questions you’ll be asked, that you completely forget to come up with some intelligent questions that you can pose to the interviewer at the conclusion of your meeting.
Well, we’ve got you covered! Here are six questions you should be asking at every job interview. Not only will they make you appear informed, prepared, and completely put together, but they’ll also save you from that terrifying, wide-eyed moment of panic.
1. What does a typical day look like in this position?
You already have a basic gist of what this position entails after reading the job description (at least you should). But, it’s important to remember that the formal description really only tells you so much. Often, those paragraphs are recycled year after year, without ever being updated to reflect staff changes, shifting responsibilities, technology updates, and other factors.
So, asking your interviewer what sorts of tasks you can expect to complete on a daily basis is definitely recommended in order to get the insider scoop. It’ll give you some greater insight into the actual responsibilities of the position, as well as an idea of how the company, the department, and its team members’ general functions.
2. Who would I be directly working with?
Chances are you already know whom you’d be directly reporting to—he or she is more than likely in the interview room with you. But, since your relationships with your co-workers can have a pretty big impact on your life, you might want to know more than just the person you’d be working for. You want to know about the team members you’d be working with.
This is your opportunity to find out more about where this role fits into the big picture. Does the position require you to communicate and liaise between numerous departments? Or, would you just be operating with your specific team in order to get things done?
You can also use this prompt as your launch pad for several follow up questions: How big is the team currently? Is it growing rapidly? What are some of the other employees’ backgrounds?
Use this opportunity to find out more about the organization’s existing staff. It’ll show you how all of the company’s puzzle pieces fit together—and help you determine if you’d be a good fit.
3. What is the most important skill the person in this position needs to be successful?
Let’s face it—most job descriptions describe unicorns. Sure, the employer may be looking for a candidate who is a Photoshop whiz and a creative writer who can also juggle while doing a handstand.
ZERO IN ON THE MOST CRUCIAL THING YOU’LL NEED IN ORDER TO DO WELL IN THAT POSITION.
But, their chances of actually finding that? They’re slim to none—and they already know that.
So, instead of obsessing over what traits and skills you don’t have, zero in on what the interviewer thinks is the most crucial thing you’ll need in order to do well in that position.
Asking this helps you cut through all of the clutter of the job description, and also determine how well you could actually fulfill the duties of this role. After all, if they’re ultimately seeking someone bilingual and you can hardly remember the alphabet from your high school Spanish class, this might not be the job for you.
4. What’s your favorite part about working here?
Work is a huge part of your life—so, ideally, you want to love what you do. And, while other peoples’ experiences aren’t always a completely accurate prediction of what your own will be, it’s definitely still helpful to ask this question.
Ask your interviewer what he or she likes most about working for the company. If she can’t stop ranting and raving about the dozens of different things she loves about her employer? Well, that’s probably a good sign.
But, if she pauses for a minute only to say, “Well, our dental coverage is pretty decent,” it might be a red flag for you.
Employee attitudes can be contagious. So, if you’re required to work with a bunch of people who’d always rather be somewhere else, it can have a huge impact on how you view your own work. Asking this question gauges the level of satisfaction and happiness with the employer—something that will be important if you end up landing and accepting the job!
5. How would you describe the culture of this company?
We all know that interviews exist largely so that the employer can determine whether or not you’re a good fit for their organization. But, you should also treat it as your opportunity to ascertain whether or not the company and position are a good fit for you.
YOU SHOULD ALSO TREAT INTERVIEWS AS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER OR NOT THE COMPANY AND POSITION ARE A GOOD FIT FOR YOU.
Culture has become a bit of a buzzword, but it’s still an incredibly important part of your employment experience. And you don’t need me to tell you that culture can vary greatly between employers.
Have your interviewer give a brief description of the company culture. Would she describe it as warm, encouraging, and family-like? Is it high energy, innovative, and constantly pushing to be on the cutting edge?
Pay close attention to what words your interviewer uses in order to get a good feel for what qualities the organization values. If she says words like “fast paced” and “deadline driven” and you’re someone who needs to breathe into a paper bag at the thought of having a tight turnaround time, you might need to revaluate things.
6. What are the next steps in the interview process?
Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar: You stroll out of the interview and get into your car, feeling like you just totally aced that meeting. Suddenly, it hits you. You have no idea what happens now. You never asked. Will there be another round of interviews or was this it? Will the interviewer call you? Will she email you? Will she send a carrier pigeon?
Interviews encourage enough anxiety without feeling like you’re totally out of the loop. So, before shaking hands and leaving the office, make sure you’ve inquired about what you can expect for next steps.
Not only will it help to ease your nerves (and probably inspire compulsive email refreshing for the next week), but it also demonstrates your level of interest in the position and entire process.
Job interviews can be stressful, but they’re much more manageable if you’re adequately prepared. However, most people assume being adequately prepared means having their responses memorized and ready to go—they never even think about their questions.
The things you ask at the end of the interview can be just as important as the answers you provide throughout. So make sure you take some time to get yourself geared up for that portion, too.
Keep these six questions in mind and you’re sure to impress the interviewer—and maybe even land the job!
Did we miss anything? What questions do you always ask at the end of an interview?
Originally published by http://www.theeverygirl.com
Nonprofit Controller – Houston – dlemaire@cfstaffing.com
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The Truth About Your Resume via www.yourcareerfind.com
The Truth About Your Resume | Career Find – Leading You To New Heights yourcareerfind.com
The Truth About Your Resume
Here in the United States, there has been quite a lot of talk about lies, “alternative facts”, and truth in the past few weeks. It is difficult to decipher what is honest and real when being fed a mixture of all three of these. In contrast, in the context of a resume, it is quite clear.
No Room for Falsification
In the world of resumes, there is absolutely NO room for falsification of facts, employment history, skills, education, certifications, licenses, etc. A resume is a 2-dimensional version of who you are. How you choose to represent yourself on paper directly effects how you want others to perceive you.
When on the job search, it is the ULTIMATE first impression that people gather about you. When individuals lie on their resume, and people find out, it can be solid grounds for immediate dismissal. Even if you have worked for an extended period of time, you will be released because you lied on the resume from the very beginning.
It then raises questions about your character, trustworthiness, and reliability in work performance, follow-through, etc.
Legal Issues
In certain environments, there could be grounds for a lawsuit. It could be said that the employee lied to get the job and misrepresented themselves, ultimately causing the company to invest time and money in that individual that should not have been spent.
In addition, going into an interview with a resume that is padded or full of lies only increases your internal anxiety level. Thi will ultimately affect your performance in the interview. Subconsciously, you will exhibit telltale signs of lying. Those signs will tip the interviewer off if they are reading your body language. Lying on your resume will undermine your success over time. It will definitely catch up to you in the interview process (by stopping it dead in its tracks). Or you won’t receive the offer or you will be fired for misrepresentation and lying.
Avoid Problems
You can avoid all of this by working with me to create a competitive resume that is 100% real and differentiates you from your competition.
The long and the short of it is; There is “NO Place” for lying on a resume. If you are struggling with how to accurately represent yourself on paper while showcasing your abilities and are considering stretching the truth, please call and talk with me.
Contact Me
If you or someone you know has a resume that is padded and wants to create a solid, reliable resume that differentiates you from the competition and helps you rise to the top of the stack, please contact Career Coach Rachel Schneider for a consultation. Working with her will help you yield job opportunities and get to where you strive to professionally be.
Senior Accounting Analyst – Northwest Houston – dlemaire@cfstaffing.com
Are you sick of public accounting less than 3 years in? This might be the perfect opportunity for you.
Our client is hiring a Senior Accountant due to a recent promotion….so yes this company believes in promoting from within. They also believe in work life balance!
Oh, and they are located on the northwest side of Houston!
Here are some of the things you will be responsible for:
- Assist with P&L and balance sheet flux analysis on a monthly or quarterly basis.
- Prepare and review key account reconciliations on a monthly or quarterly basis.
- Assist with the month end review and close process, ensuring compliance with accounting policies and U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
- Review the accounting processes for U.S. acquisitions to ensure compliance
- Communicate with different managers or VP’s within the organization to get an understanding of unique transactions that have a direct impact on the financial statements.
- Assist with internal and external audit requests.
- Collaborate on various projects with the VP of finance regarding management estimates, process improvements, or detailed analysis on specific accounts.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of two to three years of accounting experience.
- Must be a CPA or CPA eligible.
- Strong technical knowledge of US GAAP.
- Superior verbal and written communication skills.
- Advanced excel skill
#Accountant
#PublicAccounting
#Houston
#jobsearch
#recruiter
#CFS
Friday Accounting Fun!

Check out the price of oil today!
Crude Oil and Commodity Prices
January, Friday 27 2017 – 09:27:29
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40 Interview Questions That Will Sort the Great from the Good
Interviewing people for jobs can very difficult, especially for leadership or management positions. You often have only a limited time available to ask questions, and many candidates are so well prepared it can be difficult to get beneath the polished veneer that they are looking to present, and find out who they really are. Technical ability is fairly easy to assess but it’s their soft skills, their emotional intelligence that is going to have a much bigger impact on whether they will be successful or not.
You need to get them talking about themselves freely, throw them out of their rhythm, and try to find out who is the person behind the mask, The better you can do that, the more successful you will be in your hiring.
Here are 40 interview questions that I have used when interviewing for leadership positions, which have helped me identify the best candidate.
As many of these are open-ended questions give your candidate as much time as they need to answer them, the more they speak the more they will reveal about themselves.
- What value do you bring to this organization?
- If you could start your career over again, what would you do differently?
- Describe the best boss you ever reported to, and why?
- Describe the worst boss that you ever reported to, and why?
- Tell me about the biggest failure you were involved in and what you learned from it.
- Describe what you think this role is about and why it is important to our company?
- Tell me about a project where you did more with less, and how you achieved it?
- What does accountability mean to you?
- Tell me about a time you had to let an employee go? How did you handle that process, and did it go smoothly?
- How do you give people feedback when their performance is not up to standard?
- If you could know three things about your boss what would they be?
- What’s the best feedback you have ever been given, and why?
- What’s the worst feedback you have even been given, why, and how did you handle it?
- If you were asked to do something that was impossible, how would you handle that?
- We asked your previous bosses what they liked and disliked the most about you, what do you think he said?
- What kind of challenges would you not want to be involved in?
- What’s your biggest fear in life?
- What would you do if you won the lottery?
- If you could go back an redo your college years, what subject would you study, and why?
- If we asked you partner about you what would they say?
- Is the customer always right and please explain your thinking?
- What have you done professionally that you succeeded at, but isn’t an experience you’d want to repeat?
- Is it better to be perfect and a little bit late, or ok and on time?
- In less than 5 minutes, please explain something to me that is complex, but you know and understand very well?
- What is something you’d be happy doing every single day for the rest of your career?
- If you had $1,000,000 to start your own business, what kind of business would you start?
- What’s the biggest decision you have ever had to make, and how did you go about making it?
- What’s the toughest interview question you have been asked and what was so tough about it?
- If you had to promote one of your staff what skills would you look for in the ideal candidate?
- What’s the one question you dread most in an interview?
- Tell me about a time where you coached someone through a difficult challenge.
- What qualities in your co-workers bother you most?
- What qualities in your co-workers do you appreciate most?
- Tell me about a work incident in which you were totally honest, despite a potential risk or downside for yourself.
- What your favorite Leadership/Management book and why?
- How do you handle it when co-workers or your team challenge your decisions?
- Describe a time when you were asked to do something you weren’t trained or experienced to do. How did you handle it?
- Describe a time when an employee was underperforming, how did you handle that situation.
- In 2 years time, what achievements of yours are we celebrating?
- What questions about the job or company would you like answered?
CFS Houston is hiring!

How to maximize LinkedIn for your job search
http://content.wisestep.com/how-to-maximize-linkedin-for-your-job-search-top-tips/
Tips for Using the LinkedIn platform:
If you haven’t yet updated your LinkedIn account with all the recent achievements and qualifications, then it is high time you do that. Moreover, to increase your visibility, you must take into consideration several pointers that are mentioned below –
1. Complete your profile: If you are keeping certain spaces in the LinkedIn account blank, then you are actually reducing your chances of visibility. You never know, which recruiter is looking for what skills. Therefore, it is very crucial that you complete your profile. Yes, it is a time consuming affair, but at the end it will reap you ripe fruits only. Hobbies are as important as other pieces of information. Use industry jargon and buzz words because the recruiters will look for candidates with the help of keywords. Therefore, the more complete your account is, the more your chances of getting noticed increases.
2. Enhance connections: You never know who will come up with a great offer for you, therefore keep on connecting and make more and more people aware of the fact that you are looking for a job.
3. Give a face to your name: It is very important to have a photo uploaded to your account. It is easier to connect to the accounts with an image. If there is no photo uploaded there, then it gets quite awkward to connect. Personalize your account with a photo.
4. Be a part of the group: There are several groups out there in LinkedIn. Join one, which you feel is related to your domain or your likings. This helps you in getting noticed by the people who matters and also enhance your connection. Make a good impact by answering some questions and also ask some thought provoking questions that will highlight you in the group. Don’t ask irrelevant questions just for the sake of asking.
5. Change the settings: When you visit someone else’s profile, they will be able to see that. Therefore, while you are paying a visit to a recruiter’s profile change the settings to invisible, so that they don’t get to see that you have visited them 10 times a day.
Maximizing your Job search utilizing LinkedIn:
In the age of digital networking, if you do not have an account on LinkedIn, then you are surely missing out a lot. Every professional should have their profile updated on LinkedIn. Drop in the relevant keywords in your account, so that when the recruiters are fishing for the right candidate they are able to catch you. If you are trying to maximize LinkedIn for the job search, then here are some tips that will help you –
1. Connect more and more: The key to maximize LinkedIn lies in enhancing your connections. The more your network grows, the better it is for you. Making connections don’t mean collecting names or contacts, but it is far more than that. You need to keep following them up and ask questions. You need to keep in touch with them on a regular basis. You have to ensure that all your contacts know you at the top of their head and not keep wondering who you are when they hear your name.
2. Conveying the message: Making your job search obvious can be quite tricky. If you do not have your current boss connected to your profile, then you can say that on your profile that you are looking for exciting offers. But, if you have your boss on-board, then you can just keep your profile complete, so that you are visible to the potential recruiters.
3. Perception of the number of contacts:When you have a huge line up of contacts, then it might seem that you are getting connected to almost anybody and everybody. But, if the names in your contact list boast of some big names and it is seen that you are in touch with them, then it will work in your favor. If you have a small number of connections, then also it will have a negative impact on you. It will show that you are not that interested in networking beyond your friends and people you know.
4. Active respondent: It is of no use of having an account that is sitting idle. Be an active member of groups and also take part in polls. When you are adding value to the discussion or poll answers, then you will surely be noticed by someone who has the potential to offer you something better.
5. Etiquette for requesting recommendations: Though there is no such pre- determined etiquettes that you can follow while asking for recommendations, but you can always ask them politely whether they can take out some time for you and write about your positive traits. You must always return the favor by writing the same about them as well.
6. Professional summary: This section is an important part of your account because this is the place where you can highlight yourself. Start with the heading and also don’t forget the industry. Recruiters mostly use this field for searching the right candidates. Make an impression right at the top with all the keywords and everything crafted properly.
7. Customizing URL: Instead of using the URL that is generated, you can customize the URL with your name. It will be much more appealing and easy to share. So, instead of using http://www.linkedin.com/45z84jr23wef08, you can use something that has your name like http://www.linkedin.com/in/your name. This will make you accessible even outside LinkedIn as well.
8. Options available: The contact settings have different options and it is one place through which you will be able to reach out to the recruiters. There are different options available to make the recruiters aware of the status. Therefore, you can either select consulting offers, career opportunities, new ventures or job reference requests.
If you follow the suggestions closely, then hopefully you will soon be rewarded with a handsome offer.
The 3 Stages to a Successful Job Interview via http://theundercoverrecruiter.com
IT/ITGC Consultant – Houston

Senior (SEC) Financial Reporting Specialist – dlemaire@cfstaffing.com
Apply online at http://www.cfstaffing.com
The Senior Financial Reporting Analyst will be filling out an SEC reporting team for a publicly traded company in the Oil & Gas industry. This position will report directly up to the SEC reporting manager and is bonus eligible. Located on the South-West side of Houston, my client is rapidly growing due to an acquisition mentality.
Preferences:
- SEC reporting experience (Public or Industry)
- CPA
- 10K & 10Q preparation experience
- Footnote Creation
- Heavy Excel experience, GreatPlains, Workiva
- General Ledger & Journal Entry experience
- Consolidation experience
- Experience working with audit teams
Position Details:
- Salary range varies with experience
- Bonus typically 10% of annual salary
- 5% 401K match
- Interviewing immediately
The best (and worst) words to have on your resume
Article originally published by CareerBuilder: http://advice.careerbuilder.com/posts/the-best-and-worst-words-to-have-on-your-resume?linkId=33680180
Do you consider yourself a hard worker? A real go-getter? Someone who likes to think outside of the box? Then you’re just the type of person who needs to review their resume ASAP.
A recent CareerBuilder survey found there are some words hiring managers and human resources pros just don’t want to see on your resume. And if you’ve called yourself a go-to person, a team player or a strategic thinker, you’ll need to make a few changes before you send your resume to anyone else.
The deal-breakers
Unless you want to end up on an employer’s “Do not call” list, think twice before you put any of these empty words on your resume — they won’t accomplish as much as you might hope:
- Best of breed: 38 percent
- Go-getter: 27 percent
- Think outside of the box: 26 percent
- Synergy: 22 percent
- Go-to person: 22 percent
- Thought leadership: 16 percent
- Value add: 16 percent
- Results-driven: 16 percent
- Team player: 15 percent
- Bottom-line: 14 percent
- Hard worker: 13 percent
- Strategic thinker: 12 percent
- Dynamic: 12 percent
- Self-motivated: 12 percent
- Detail-oriented: 11 percent
- Proactively: 11 percent
- Track record: 10 percent
You don’t have much time
Given the amount of time your resume has to make an impression, it should come as no surprise that your choice of words can be exactly the reason you aren’t brought in for an interview. In fact, if you get more than a couple minutes of attention, you should consider yourself lucky.
Sixty-eight percent of hiring managers and human resources pros will spend two minutes or less reviewing each resume they receive; 17 percent will actually spend 30 seconds or less.
“Hiring managers prefer strong action words that can be used to define specific experience, skills and accomplishments,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “Subjective terms and clichés are seen as negative, because they don’t convey real information. For instance, don’t say you are ‘results-driven;’ show the employer your actual results.”
The words they actually want to see
If you felt like you really had something when you called yourself “hard-working,” there’s a lot of room for improvement. (Besides, that’s something almost everyone would say.) Employers don’t simply want to know what you think about yourself; they want to see results. If you really are a hard worker, prove it by backing up that claim with some data.
Rather than focusing on your previous duties to capture your relevant experience, focus on what you’ve been able to achieve using your relevant skills. The following terms — mostly verbs — should help you refocus your resume on what truly matters. As an added bonus, hiring managers would love to see these terms:
- Achieved: 52 percent
- Improved: 48 percent
- Trained/mentored: 47 percent
- Managed: 44 percent
- Created: 43 percent
- Resolved: 40 percent
- Volunteered: 35 percent
- Influenced: 29 percent
- Increased/decreased: 28 percent
- Ideas: 27 percent
- Negotiated: 25 percent
- Launched: 24 percent
- Revenue/profits: 23 percent
- Under budget: 16 percent
- Won: 13 percent
The bottom line: You can’t afford to make a bad first impression, and you don’t have a lot of time to make a good first impression. With some hiring managers, you’ll have 30 seconds to make your case, and the numbers say you probably won’t make it past two minutes.
Highlight your accomplishments and sell just how important your skills have been. If you’ve received honors or awards, make sure to find room for them. Focus on what you think will cause hiring managers to stop and take a second look at your name — you can likely find more unique things to say about yourself than “I’m a hard worker.”
How to answer: “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
CB Fact Of The Day!

Price of Oil January 23, 3017
Crude Oil and Commodity Prices
January, Monday 23 2017 – 08:58:08
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Non Degreed Senior Accountant – Nonprofit – Houston – dlemaire@cfstaffing.com
Local nonprofit agency currently searching for their next Senior Accountant to join the team. We are searching for an experienced individual who is a team player, embraces change and loves getting into the details.
Highlights:
- Amazing corporate culture
- Laid back atmosphere
- Flexible schedule
- Give back to the community!
- Medical, Dental, Vision, LTD, Life Insurance, PTO
- Reports to Accounting Manager
Role:
- Responsible for general accounting and reporting
- Monthly bank reconciliations and credit card account transaction analysis
- Record Cash Receipts
- Prepare and enter journal entries
- Analyze and reconcile GL accounts
- Reconcile employee benefits deductions
- Maintain fixed asset schedules
- Maintain schedule of prepaid expenses, calculate amortization expense
- Assist with Month End Close
- Maintain monthly audit schedules
Needed:
- Team player who shows initiative
- College degree not required
- Analytical and detail oriented, problem solver
- 10 plus years of GL accounting experience
Sometimes we all could use a few extra hours in the day… These shortcuts will help you optimize the time you have! #WednesdayWisdom #careerbuilder
Originally posted by CareerBuilder. The first one is pretty cool for me!











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