Under Professional Development, is it acceptable to put “CFA Level II Candidate” in bold? I reviewed the designation/reference portion of the ethics book but could not find anything related to this. I understand that putting CFA in bold after your name is a violation, but what about the above scenario?
Also, is it common and acceptable for candidates to put “CFA Level X Candidate” directly under their name at the top of the resume?
It’s a fine idea on the former. Don’t do the latter.
I’ve seen the level of the candidate under the name and it never bothered me or other Charterholders. People who don’t have the charter tend not to like seeing it though, so if you think your manager won’t be one, probably not a good idea unless the job description mentions progress toward CFA as something desirable.
Personally, I think it looks strange to have it in bold in a subsection of the resume, unless it is consistent with the formatting of other professional development activities. Maybe just put it first and on its own line if you can.
When I was a L3 candidate, I had it listed right under my name and it was fine. Actually, the real problem was that one time (and maybe others) the guy with my résumé in hand somehow missed that I had passed L2 of the CFA until I brought it up in the interview, despite having it under my name and in the professional develpment areas. Telling him I’d passed Level 2 literally turned e interview around and I ended up getting offered the position.
Thanks for the responses.
@bchad, the thing I was concerned about was that it does look a bit awkard with me bolding it when looking at my resume as a whole. I couldn’t really find a way to put it on its own line either, without completely reformatting the resume. Your story about your interviewer not knowing you passed L2 despite it being on your resume is what I’m worried about. I ended up leaving it bolded, hope it works out!
I’m with Numi, don’t put it next to your name
I have this problem. The format of my CV is generally bold, but i had to make it not bold.
I don’t think you can put it next to your name I’m not sure. I prefer this
OBJECTIVE
XXX
PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS
Passed CFA level II exam (first attempt) - 2013
or
Level III candidate in the CFA Program
Honestly I feel like this should be the least of one’s worries as far as the resume is concerned
The fact that you passed Level X of the CFA exam should not be highlighted, bolded, or otherwise drawn attention to. Otherwise, it looks like that is the pinnacle of your existence to date.
You should put it in the “Education” section, or in the “Designations” section, with all of your other accomplishments. And it should be formatted just like all of your other accomplishments.
But to say “Green Man, Level 3 CFA Candidate” is dumb. Just like saying, “Green Man, accepted to Harvard” is dumb.
It also depends on what the job is. CFA is still respected in Asset Management and junior people who aren’t expected to have as much experience are valued if they have made progress,so it makes sense to mention it more loudly on the resume. Hedge Funds, Private Equity, and Investment Banking are a different story. Those guys will just laugh at you and feel its more useful just to know how much you were paid at your last job; price, after all, contains all relevant information since we know that labor markets are efficient (even though they are sure financial markets aren’t)
I think it’s okay to put it under “education” section on your resume, but you should not put it after or under your name as a “title” for yourself.
and it should never be bolded.
Either “Passed CFA Level I exam” or “CFA Level II Candidate” is fine as long as you have registered for L2.
Can you register for L2 yet? If not or you have not, you are not technically a L2 candidate. To your question though, I would not bold it.
And I certainly wouldn’t say “passed on my first attempt” on there. Might be the douchiest thing you could put on a resume. You might as well just say, “I went to a top-2 school” or “I like to brag about myself a lot” or “I have a giant dingaling.”
My former employer was interviewing someone whom we might bring in as a junior analyst since we sort of liked his investment writeups that he had sent. In our actual meeting, he led the conversation with the fact that he had passed the two exams on his first attempt and that he felt CFAI 's work experience requirements for the charter were too demanding. My portfolio manager and I tried to pretend like we were interested, but truly not one f*ck was given about CFA candidacy that day.
That was the private equity employer, or the investment bank?
^ That was actually with my hedge fund summer internship in business school
I apologize for grave-digging this thread. I did not want to start a new topic because I’ve seen this same question asked in nearly every way, shape, or form on Analyst Forum. Here is my particular situation:
I am responding to an internal job posting. My company’s website requires every candidate to fill out a cookie-cutter candidate profile. In this profile, there is a section where candidates are asked to list their certifications. As it appears on the screen, there is the word “certification” followed by a blank field. I recently passed the Level 1 exam in June and feel that it adds value to the position for which I am applying; however, I do not want to misrepresent my status as a Level II candidate as either a full or partial certification. Is it acceptable to list Passed CFA Level 1 Exam in one of these fields?
^ I don’t see a problem with that. If you want to be really safe though, you could always add “(Registered for Level II Exam to be administered in June 2014)”.
Certifications seems like the right place to put it. Just don’t say anything to insinuate that it is a partial designation, or have an expected completion date. Those are both no-nos with CFAI.
You might say, “progress toward CFA charter: passed level 1 exam, (date)”
@ higgmond & bchad - thanks for the replies, guys
This candidate profile asks for education, job experiences, and certifications. I am limited in the amount of information that I can list in each field. It would seem most appropriate to list the accomplishment under “certifications,” but again, I would hate to misrepresent it as a certification. As it stands, I have listed Passed CFA Level 1 Exam in the crediential field and 06/01/2013 in the date field. To me, this seems like a statement of fact.
^ I think you’re fine.