Career coach | What employers want
‘Curiosity and communication are just the job’
Finance director Becky Glover FMAAT breaks down what she looks for during the hiring process
Words Jessica Bown
What’s the best way to find a great job in accounting? Whatever stage you are at in your career, you need to show the recruiting employer you have the skills and attributes they are seeking to drive efficiency and create a productive working environment.
To do that, you need to understand what skills and attributes are on that list.
That’s why, each month, we ask employers to give us the lowdown on what they want to see when considering applications from potential employees.
This month, Becky Glover FMAAT, director of finance and technology at Yutree Insurance, gives her take on the accounting job market and how best to navigate your way to the dream job you deserve.
Path to the top
Glover left school at the age of 17 in search of a fulfilling career. She chose to do an AAT apprenticeship, during which she completed her AAT studies, before moving to a bigger firm and taking the ACCA qualifications.
With AAT and ACCA certificates under her belt, she then branched out into running the financial affairs of technology companies.
“It was always my plan to go into industry as soon as I had qualified,” Glover says. “I quickly moved to a listed biotech company and then on to a start-up software technology company that was looking for someone to head up and build out their finance function.”
After five satisfying years in that role, Glover was ready for a new challenge, which she found by making the leap into financial services.
She is now a board member at Yutree Insurance and has won several industry awards, including finance director of the year and a place in the Top 50 Women in Accounting list in 2023.
Q
What skills gaps should people be seeking to fill to increase their chances of being chosen in the current job market?
While technical skills are a must-have for many finance roles, employers are increasingly looking for candidates who also bring a solid mix of so-called soft skills to the table.
“I would advise focusing on ‘soft skills’ or, as I prefer to call them, ‘core skills’,” Glover says. “These are things like communication, which means knowing how to actively listen as well as just being great at talking or writing emails; curiosity, which to me means going out of your way to learn a new skill or technology; and the ability to network effectively.”
She also emphasises the growing importance of technology in the day-to-day lives of accountants and finance professionals in 2025.
“Coming from the technology sector and being passionate about tech, I have noticed that many companies are still not utilising it to its full potential,” she says. “But it’s important to the sector and can help you go further in your career.”
Q
What are the three main traits you seek when recruiting people for your team?
Storytelling, communication and curiosity are the top three attributes on Glover’s wish list when she interviews people to join her team.
She also looks for people who can see the bigger picture, or how the finance team can offer direction for better practices throughout the business.
“I think the finance function should be a driving force for change and improvement,” she says. “Personally, I get involved in lots of things that aren’t strictly finance.”
Q
How can candidates make their CVs and covering letters stand out from the crowd?
A clear and concise CV is crucial for successful job hunting, while a tailored covering letter showing you have researched the employer in question can help you make the all-important cut of people called for interview.
However, Glover has a different outlook on the best way to ensure your face is the one prospective employers think of when an opening comes up.
“A lot of jobs are filled through networks now, so I would recommend building your network to find that next role,” she adds. “It’s much easier than trying to make your CV jump out from a pile of similar documents.”
“Diversity in a team is key, so you don’t need to be the same as your colleagues to make a great team.”
Q
How important is it that a new recruit is a good fit with the rest of the team and the organisation as a whole?
“It’s extremely important,” Becky says. “We spend so much time with our colleagues that it’s nice to have similar interests and hobbies.
“But remember, diversity in a team is key, so you don’t need to be the same as your colleagues to make a great team.
“Ideally, we should all have a nice, wide-ranging team at work, but it’s human nature to recruit the people we feel most comfortable with – and, more often than not, that is the people who are most like ourselves.”
From an employer point of view, she therefore thinks it’s a good idea to ignore the urge to choose similar candidates every time.
“By going out of your way to find people with different backgrounds, different experiences, people that have just had different lives than you, you can get this rich diversity of thought, which can be put into your business and help grow it,” she adds.
Q
What is your top tip for trainee accountants looking to build a successful career in finance?
The finance sector is fast-paced and, as exciting new technologies come online, the pace of change is only increasing.
Glover’s primary piece of advice for trainee accountants keen to boost their career prospects is to keep learning and adapting, whatever level they reach.
“Remember that learning never ends,” she says. “Even when you finish your professional exams, you’ll need to stay curious to keep up with new ways of working and changes in the profession.”
She also advocates taking a proactive attitude to continuing professional development (CPD) to supercharge your career trajectory.
“You can get ahead by showing initiative and seeking new learning opportunities,” Glover adds. “So don’t just wait for your manager to hand them to you – go out and find them yourself!”
TOP TIPS
The opportunity of MTD
A quick recruitment search indicates that some UK employers are already looking to take on accountants and finance professionals who can help to ready their businesses for MTD.
Positions recently advertised online included:
“For that reason, there are several stages to our interview process. We start by looking at how good they are analytically. For example, what do they notice after looking at a set of numbers?
“Then we also ask them to present their ideas back to us the way they would present them to a client.”
- A senior accountant in Belfast whose main duties include “preparation of VAT returns for clients using accounting software to comply with MTD requirements”.
- A tax manager in Hatfield who can “drive innovation through tax technology, managing tools such as Meridian, Alpha CT and MTD platforms, and leading upgrade projects”.
- A hybrid-working accounts assistant/bookkeeper based in Manchester whose key responsibilities include “supporting clients with MTD for Income Tax (from April 2026)”.
- A part-time management accountant based in Cambridge whose role involves “ensuring compliance with FRS 102, UK GAAP, MTD and other financial regulations”
- An assistant accountant in Bournemouth whose duties will include “bookkeeping, VAT returns and MTD”.
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