Here at Paro, we know how important it is to get the right finance professional on your team and up to speed quickly. We make that easy by ensuring our marketplace is full of highly vetted experts that have the right qualifications for your specific needs. In fact, only the top 2% of finance professionals that apply are invited into our network. Here’s how we screen all our expert applicants.
Robust Application
Our application process is extensive by design. It captures information that allows the Paro platform to narrow down the applicant pool to the most qualified talent.
In addition to a standard resume/profile submission, each applicant is asked many qualitative questions to gauge their true interests and intent. Our platform also asks questions to better understand their background and communication style. The goal is to get a well-rounded picture of who the applicants are and what they do.
Application Review
How do we know which applicants to move forward? There are a few things our platform looks for in the application review.
Our ideal candidates should have years of experience in their area of work, whether that’s bookkeeping, accounting, controller leadership, tax preparation and review, FP&A or strategic advisory as a CFO.
They should also have great communication skills – the kind that makes us think, “This person knows how to communicate and deliver excellence to clients.” These candidates have great potential and are selected to move on to the next round.
Interview with an Experience Manager
Applicants are then interviewed by a Paro Expert Recruiter. In these formal interviews, our recruiters assess candidates’ finance and/or accounting expertise. But we also work to determine whether each candidate has the appropriate soft skills needed to be a successful Paro expert.
Our finance experts are client-facing, so it’s important they have good people skills and the ability to communicate their thoughts effectively and concisely.
- Can they adequately assess and manage client projects?
- Are they able to visualize and verbalize what they will need to complete a project?
- Can they provide concrete deliverables and a timeline?
We expect our experts to be specific about the scope of a project with the foresight to ask the right questions.
Skills Assessment
This is where things get serious.
Everyone knows it’s not enough to just talk the talk when it comes to financial expertise. You have to be able to back it up with the technical knowledge to set you apart and show your additive value.
That’s why our skills assessments are unique to each area of candidate expertise. These assessments test essential knowledge and proficiency in a given subject. Only the most exceptional applicants move on to the next step.
Comprehensive Background Check
At this stage, we’ve identified a candidate that is outstanding as both a subject matter expert and communicator. We then perform a thorough background check, which includes education and employment verification.
At this point in the overall process, only the top 2% of all applicants who started the process with us are qualified and invited to join our network.
Pay Set-Up
We keep the weight of managing back-office functions like invoicing off our experts. So, once they have completed their W-9 to confirm they are eligible to work in the U.S, we set up the ability to pay our experts directly through the Paro platform.
Ongoing Profile Verification
What’s next? We regularly check that our experts’ experience, skills and other background information are accurate and up to date. This ensures experts get matched with their best-fit clients and our network remains of the highest caliber.
This careful vetting process is how clients and finance professionals alike remain confident that we have only the cream of the crop within our marketplace. With an average of 15 years’ experience, 100+ finance and accounting services, and a 4.8 out of 5-star average rating from clients, Paro’s finance experts are more than equipped to offer the right subject matter expertise for each company’s unique needs.
Are you interested in growing your opportunities as an independent finance professional? Apply today to become part of Paro’s top-tier network of finance talent. As the expert, you’ll choose the projects that best fit your area of expertise and receive support from the moment you’re matched with a client all the way through to project completion.
