Just about every company needs a good accountant, and tech companies and software houses often need to hire professional accountants fairly early in their lives. This is because those with a leaning towards innovation and software design tend to be less well informed about finance and budgetary management, and more excited about bringing their products into reality.
The Challenges of Interviewing for Non-Technical Roles as An IT Specialist
If you are used to interviewing developers, testers, analysts and engineers, it can feel a bit strange to hold interviews for a purely financial role where the candidates are unlikely to have much knowledge of the nuts and bolts of what your business does. However, you do still want to find an accountant who will fit with your company culture and your mission as an innovator.
Here are four good interview questions you can use – aside from those that establish how well qualified an accountant is – to find out how compatible your candidates are with your IT business. You can find out more about interviewing for different roles in IT at itinterviewguide.com :
What Do You Think Is the Most Important Innovation of The Last Ten Years?
Whether the candidate says smartphones, mobile broadband, Internet of Things or something more socially oriented, if they can talk passionately about how a new technology or way of working has changed the world, or their own lives, then chances are they are someone who really cares about the fruits of your industry.
What Was the Last App You Downloaded?
It doesn't really matter what they answer to this, whether it is a game or a productivity tool, however if they can easily remember and talk about their newest app and it isn't something they've probably had for years like Facebook or WhatsApp, then it demonstrates that they are interested in software and are always on the lookout for new things.
How Has IT Changed Accounting in Recent Years?
This question gives them a chance to relate your industry to theirs, and if they are enthusiastic about changes, for instance IT allowing accountants to work remotely or to work more digitally rather than from paper records, then they are likely to be someone who values what IT has done for all kinds of other areas of life too. What you are looking for here is, again, passion and enthusiasm for the innovations they have already seen, rather than a specific right answer.
If IT Could Be Used to Solve One Problem You Face in Your Work or Life, What Would It Be?
This is a harder question, but you may get some interesting answers. Some candidates may wish for greater efficiency in an area of their work, others may want better ways for banking or shopping online. In any case, if they can think about IT as a tool to make life easier, they may well be a keeper!
These are just four ideas for questions when you are recruiting an accountant as a technical IT person, which can help identify those who, while not being IT people, are likely to share the enthusiasm your company has for what you do.