I’ve been reading a lot of posts on the level 2 and level 3 forum. From what I’ve read, some people have failed 3-4 times on level 2 or level 3. Some even take it 5-6 times. Would you guys hire someone that failed some level 3-4 times or even 5 times? The employment manager might not ask, but what if they do? How long did it take to pass the CFA exam? Why did you fail level 2 or 3, 3-4 times? Doesn’t this put you at a disadvantage?
If you are stupid enough to tell them you failed 3-4 times, you are probably not competent enough for the job in the first place. You can just say it took me 5 years because I had other priorities in life and could not take the exams in consecutive years.
ZeroBonus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If you are stupid enough to tell them you failed > 3-4 times, you are probably not competent enough > for the job in the first place. > > You can just say it took me 5 years because I had > other priorities in life and could not take the > exams in consecutive years. I kinda like that answer.
^^How does being honest make you incompetent?
Zerobonus is pretty arrogant for a guy who hasn’t even started studying for LI. I might well hire such a person because I need a skill set that they have that is different from mine. For example, a gifted trader who was persistent enough to finish CFA exams would look pretty good to me.
You aren’t required to disclose every failure or difficulty you’ve had in achieving your goals, and for the CFA candidate that has struggled to pass year after year, I their persistence is admirable. And there are certainly some jobs in which persistence in achieving a goal is a highly valued trait.
JoeyDVivre Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Zerobonus is pretty arrogant for a guy who hasn’t > even started studying for LI. > > I might well hire such a person because I need a > skill set that they have that is different from > mine. For example, a gifted trader who was > persistent enough to finish CFA exams would look > pretty good to me. But what if you had 2 candidates: candidate A: went 3 for 3 and passed all exams with >70% in most sections. candidate B: failed L2 4 times, and failed L3 5 times. Would you hire candidate B for being persistent and achieving his goals despite the fact that he was not smart enough to study hard the first time and pass? If the hiring manager knew I failed Level 2 5 times, I am not going to be honest and say I failed because I didn’t study. Of course I will say: “I believe in achieving every goal I set for myself. Even though I was unable to pass the exam on my first try I knew the skills and abilities I possessed were not truly reflected by my test scores… blah blah blah” Most of the time if a person failed the exam multiple times it is because of lack of studying hence incompetency.
You can either put CFA after your name or you can’t. Its binary. Doesn’t matter how long it took you to do it… Its simply a designation on your business card, your company bio, your email signature. Nobody asks how long it took. Its a line item on your resume… and if its more than that because you feel the need to say you went 3 for 3 in 18 months and passed all exams with >70% in all sections and have earned the right to use the charter which means you have demonstrated superior knowledge blah blah blah… its probably because you have nothing better to put on there.
On the same topic, Can the employers check with the CFAI that how many times the candidate took each level?? Thanks,
anishcandy Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > On the same topic, > > Can the employers check with the CFAI that how > many times the candidate took each level?? > > Thanks, Actually yes, at my shop they start with a base salary offer of $X, assuming a 4-year CFA period (i.e. allowing for one fail). If you passed in 3 years, your offer is ($X + $15); if you took more than 4 years to complete, the offer becomes ($X - $5/year)
There are people who are book smart but can’t make money for their clients. There are also people who can make money for their clients, and are so focused on making money for their clients that they neglect things like CFA study, regular exercise, vacations, etc. While there are some uses for people who are book smart but can’t make money, in general I much prefer to hire people who can make money, whether they have fancy qualifications or not. And sometimes that means hiring people who have racked up multiple CFA exam failures.
WhitecollarRedneck Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > While there are some uses for people who are book > smart but can’t make money, in general I much > prefer to hire people who can make money, whether > they have fancy qualifications or not. And > sometimes that means hiring people who have racked > up multiple CFA exam failures. +10 The point of being in this business is to make money, not collect paper. The same thing goes for analysis. You can crunch all the numbers you want, but if your stock picks don’t work, it doesn’t matter much (unless you work on the sell-side, in which case you are probably mostly just pushing paper anyway).
bromion Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > (unless you work on the sell-side, in > which case you are probably mostly just pushing > paper anyway). I don’t know what you do, but this couldn’t be more incorrect
I don’t understand why it would matter if a candidate failed a few exams. A charter is a charter. The president of the CFA Society in my area took 9 years to get his charter failing Level 1 two times, Level 2 four times, and level 3 three times. It really should not matter.
I agree, it’s just 3 letters. Once you plebes get into the real world and actually get hired by someone with clout, having the CFA is a pretty minor thing. You’ve gotta produce on a going forward basis. Willy
I passed 3/3, but I would never hold anyone in contempt who didn’t. Still, I wouldn’t admit to failing multiple times unless they asked. If they do ask (which I doubt) Just say that you registered, but were unable to properly study due to work/life commitments.
ZeroBonus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > JoeyDVivre Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Zerobonus is pretty arrogant for a guy who > hasn’t > > even started studying for LI. > > > > I might well hire such a person because I need > a > > skill set that they have that is different from > > mine. For example, a gifted trader who was > > persistent enough to finish CFA exams would > look > > pretty good to me. > > > But what if you had 2 candidates: > > candidate A: went 3 for 3 and passed all exams > with >70% in most sections. > candidate B: failed L2 4 times, and failed L3 5 > times. > > Would you hire candidate B for being persistent > and achieving his goals despite the fact that he > was not smart enough to study hard the first time > and pass? > > If the hiring manager knew I failed Level 2 5 > times, I am not going to be honest and say I > failed because I didn’t study. Of course I will > say: “I believe in achieving every goal I set for > myself. Even though I was unable to pass the exam > on my first try I knew the skills and abilities I > possessed were not truly reflected by my test > scores… blah blah blah” > > Most of the time if a person failed the exam > multiple times it is because of lack of studying > hence incompetency. Then candidate A would be someone like me and I would have to decide whether or not that was needed. I can positively assure you there are all kinds of finance functions I don’t perform well (marketing, trading, tweaking math models, etc).
Although I agree with most of the sentiment and can see how work, family and priorities may make it hard to pass the tests on the first go there should be a limit. For example, in Canada if you fail a test 3 times in the process of getting your CA designation you are barred for life from attempting it again. This stops people who may otherwise not be qualified from getting their charter by just taking the tests over and over until they get lucky, if you cant do it within the first 3 times you don’t know the underlying principles and requisite knowledge. Having said that, anyone who fails the CFA that many times will have spent a long ass time having a cover story to hide the fact they failed and why they had gaps in their attempts.
"Would you guys hire someone that failed some level 3-4 times or even 5 times? " Such a person would not be hired at my firm. The only guy here who had failed a CFA exam more than 3 times was fired recently for other reasons.
I would rather have gone 3/3, and been one of the infamous 1.5ers. Some people think those people are gloating, but I’m impressed with their achievement. It shows a great combination of intelligence and hard work. I also think there is something to be said for those who persist through multiple disappointments. Work and home can make it very difficult to pass in certain years. I had two sons diagnosed with autism during my time in the program. It is pass/fail and reasons for failing and excuses for failing do not change the result. I do not think I would have gone 3/3 under the best of circumstances. However, to suggest I just got lucky because it was my third time at L3 is ridiculous. You cannot pass this exam without knowing the material very well.