If you’re a recent graduate or still at college and are aiming for a career in accounting, there are a few ways you can go about it. The standard education requirement for accountants is a Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance. But you can also become an accountant with a related major, like business.

During your undergraduate accounting education, you’ll get a grounding in the fundamentals through courses in areas such as tax law, economics, auditing, business ethic, and more.

Education is one piece of the puzzle to secure a great job post-graduation, but what else can you do to boost your chances of career success?

1.  Do an internship or apply for a graduate program
During your studies, completing a bookkeeping, accounting or finance internship can strengthen your resume, and it will also build skills and capabilities for your first accounting job after graduation. Graduate programs are also really useful and worth exploring for graduates who are in their first year post-graduation.

As part of a good internship or graduate program, you’ll shadow experienced accountants to learn about their daily responsibilities. You’ll also assist with basic bookkeeping and accounting tasks such as data entry, preparing financial reports and reviewing account details.

2.  Network and make connections
A knock-on benefit of an internship or apprenticeship is that you’ll meet people in the industry, make connections, and ideally gain some exposure to senior management or leadership.

All of this is valuable for your career to come: ask to connect on LinkedIn, and stay in touch with managers you particularly gelled with––that way, when junior roles become available, your name will be front of mind.

You can extend your networking efforts further: Attend industry events, join professional associations and connect with relevant professionals in the field. This will help you to learn about job openings, gain advice, and establish connections that can help you with your job search.