With 2018 finally upon us, many professionals may use this time as an opportunity to think about the skills they’d like to improve upon. On the other hand, some might prefer to focus their efforts on outlining a plan for finding a new job. Throughout the accounting industry, this is a decision that many professionals will have to consider as they begin the new year. This is especially true if you want to take advantage of a hot job market for internal auditors.

Laura Gutierrez, a Senior Director of The Execu|Search Group’s Accounting & Finance division, has seen firsthand a general uptick in the number of employers looking to hire additional internal auditors. “The employment market is expected to continue thriving through Q1, and as a result, employers will continue to aggressively hire,” notes Laura. “Competition will be very steep for even the most qualified of candidates, so it’s important that internal auditors or public accountants looking to make the transition do their due diligence in early 2018 to position themselves as top candidates.”

Hiring outlook

There is increased demand to hire internal auditors at all experience levels:

• Analysts
• Directors
• AVPs
• VPs

In addition, employers are looking to hire internal auditors from a number of specialty areas including:

• AML
• CCAR
• Compliance
• Global Markets
• Liquidity Risk
• Regulatory Reporting

What you need to do

“In order to position yourself for success, emphasize the technical skills that you have attained within your area of specialization,” recommends Laura. “In order to demonstrate your ability to make a strong contribution, it’s important to proactively pursue projects that will provide you with the hands-on experience you need to build marketable skillsets to position yourself for one of these new roles.” For public accountants that are hesitant to go through another busy season, making a move into internal audit can be what you need to take your career to the next level in 2018.

“Prospective employers aren’t only looking for strong technical skills, but they are also looking for candidates that possess the right soft skills to positively contribute to the organization’s goals,” says Laura. For example, your communications skills, ability to multi-task, and organizational skills are a number of soft skills you want to emphasize throughout the interview process. “The technical skills and experience that you list on your resume will get you an interview, but the soft skills that make you a good personality fit for the role and the organization will get you the job,” notes Laura. “This is especially true if you’re looking to make the leap from public accounting to internal audit.”

If you’re looking to make a career change in 2018 as an internal auditor or public accountant, now is the time to position yourself for success. From preparing cover letters, updating your resume, to networking with past connections, there are a lot of steps you must take before starting your job search. As a result, there is no time to like the first quarter to start preparing for this hiring surge.