I went 3 for 3 and I advise against it. Chances are someone interviewing you with the designation failed at least one exam. I would only bring it up if asked. Try and stay humble about it.
what about stating “passed all in 18 months” ? lol
Would not do it. IMO this is akin to putting Mensa on your resume. Only exception is if you have little work experience, your resume sucks and you need to waste space.
It means that you are skilled at taking exams. Then it is down to you to assess if that helps you with the job application or not.
If you want to do that I would throw it in the education section of your resume
Ex. CFA Institute 2016-2018
pretty fcking easy, but I’m not saying be a dick and start off with it. Generally it will be a two-on-one interview with someone from HR who doesn’t know much about the cfa program and then the hiring manager who will have Charterholders in the team or be a Charterholder. They will see passed level 3 or Charterholder on the CV and it will come up in conversation. You just talk naturally. Mention you studied your arse off and managed to pass and blah blah blah. After you finish your cfa-dick-waving you will get into the more serious, behavioral questions
“After you finish your cfa-dick-waving you will get into the more serious, behavioral questions”
or just go the LBJ route - unzip, slap it on the table, and state ‘3 for 3!’
Yes, you’re a tool if you do it. Cons outweigh the pros IMO. Congrats on passing on the 1st attempts tho!
IMO, perhaps biased since I have failed a level, it does not really denote anything. You could have scraped by with 3 straight 60’s (60-65 whatever the MPS is) or you could have blitzed every level in the 98th percentile. Fact is, no one will every truly know your score.
I also agree with the sentiment that the pure odds are that if you’re interviewing with a Charterholder, there’s a high probability that they failed at least one level and may not take it positively if you state you passed all three first attempt, whether or not that is fair. It is certainly a feat that you yourself should be very proud of, just not one that I would put on my resume or bring up in an interview unprovoked.
There’s exactly one job for which your passing each exam on the first try matters: teaching others to pass the CFA exams.
really? i wouldn’t care if i found out one of my instructors failed once along the way a couple decades ago
which earns more respect:
- young dude, no kids, has all the time in the world to study and pass the CFA exams on 1st go, OR
2)Older professional, young family and full time demanding jobs and failed a few times but otherwise had to be ultra organised and determined to study and pass the CFA exams?
I once read about a single mum of 2, had a job and managed to pass all 3 exams on the 1st go. wow!
Right so I think I have the actual answer now.
I keep seeing all those guys on LinkedIn going like: “I am happy to share that I have completed the CFA programme”. Some might explicitly mention on the first attempt. Every time I see that post on Linked In I go like: “what a t rick”! So I think you have my answer. 
What is your opinion on those chaps sharing those news to every man and his dog on LinkedIn? “Tell my what you have and I will tell you what you lack” is my opinion.
The other thing to mention is I don’t think that claim is verifiable by anyone but you no? Like for an employer to verify you passed all 3 first attempt they’d need to log into your account and look?
Am I wrong about this? Couldn’t anyone just say they passed all three first attempt and really never have it questioned?
What do you think the CFA institute would do if they received an inquiry about that for a person who was lying about it? seems like a good way to get thrown out of the program
Do you think that CFA charter makes you smarter than anyone else?
Who cares enough to really check that out though? To me, employers just want to see the letters so they can put it on their marketing material and check that box. No one is hiring based on how many attempts it took you to complete the exam
Find me a job post that says:
Required: must have passed all three levels of the CFA program on the first attempt
This hot chick who was studying level 1 in the library last year asked me if it was my first time taking level 2, I told her it was actually my third time - and well, we still hooked up.
Moral of the story OP, no one cares if you’re lifeless enough to pass all on your first time, especially since I’m still going to steal yo’ girl.
people who have high GPAs and put that on their resume are also tools because all that means is that you are good at college not smarter than anyone else