Resume Question

Can I put something like this on my resume? Level III Candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program - June 2009; Level I (June 2007), Level II (June 2008) Is this allowed? because obviosly its a fact…also, would you recommend I put something like this? Thanks

What value do the dates add?

It gives a sense of time flow. You could have passed level 1 in 1984 for all the interview knows. If you put the dates, it shows when you were doing what.

Could you put something about enrolling in the CFA program (June 2007) then level III candidate (June 2009)? Anybody who knows anything about the CFA would know that you took level II in June 2008.

Yeah, but not everybody knows about the CFA. Plenty of people where I work don’t have a clue. They ask if it’s like the CPA. I tell them that CFA is like CPA on HGH.

If that is the case though it won’t matter. If they don’t know about it then it is pretty much a useless line on the resume (to them at least).

I wouldn’t go that far… Anybody can spend 5 minutes researching it online and find out that it’s a legitimate designation.

True. You won’t ever really understand it unless you have done it yourself. I know I didn’t and I am not done yet (or maybe ever).

Well…the plan was to kind of give the interviewer an idea of what CFA is all about…if he asks about it, I could atleast spend 2-3 mins talking about it i.e. why only in June and not any other month and so on and so forth…know what I mean? Because Cjones is right…not too many people who I have interacted with have no clue about what CFA is…and it sometimes ticks me off when they compare it to the CPA…

If they don’t know about it, they aren’t going to bother looking it up. They will assume it means Certified Financial Advisor. If they do know about it, why waste space saying when you passed each level? Just say you are taking L3 in 2009 and leave it at that. No need to brag about passing L1 and L2 on the first try. Use the space to write about your experience. The CFA program shouldn’t be the highlight of your resume.

Agreed with hezagenius. When people post a job they get so many resumes that they only spend a limited time on each one. They certainly won’t see that you mentioned CFA and think “maybe I should spend the time to look up what that is”. In a Cover Letter you can mention that you passed Level II this past June, and if they place any value on the program then it may come up in an interview, but it’s unnecessary to put a timeline on your resume.

You can add the hyperlink below whatever you want to put. It’s one click away for a recruiter to discover that CFA is King I usually do that for the work experience and education section as well

Vino, Do you normally have job interviews over gchat?

No but I don’t fax my CVs either.

Yea…thats kinda what I had in mind…but just thought of asking anyway…more comments are appreciated nonetheless…

I agree that if they dont know about it then you dont get much value explaining it to them…even if they are so inclined to go look it up. Only if they have done it before or possible have close friends/co-workers that have would I see them placing value on it. Otherwise, waste of space to them.

kevinf12 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Otherwise, waste of space to them. =============================== Yeah, to them it’s a waste of valuable space that could have been used for important things like owning macs and masturbating to midget porn and john stamos fan club membership. If they’re so cluleless they don’t know, you can usually put them in their place by spouting out the topics covered- by the time you get to derivatives, they realize who they’re talking to, but really, it’s usually only HR chicks that don’t know what CFA is.

Its definitely a fact but I would also ask what value it adds. I mean I think we’ve beat this discussion to a pulp. Who really cares whether you did it 3/3 or 3/7? I went 3/4 failing only L3 and have direct reports who when 3/3 while probably studying less than I did. My point: the CFA is great to have. GREAT. But lets not lose sight of the fact that the investment profession is an applied discipline and you really get good at this business by being in this business not necessarily but nailing certification exams. With that said, I would just stick to the basic: CFA Level III [Candidate] Boom you’re done and Bob’s your uncle. Willy

—>Yeah, to them it’s a waste of valuable space that could have been used for important things like owning macs and masturbating to midget porn and john stamos fan club membership. If they’re so cluleless they don’t know, you can usually put them in their place by spouting out the topics covered- by the time you get to derivatives, they realize who they’re talking to, but really, it’s usually only HR chicks that don’t know what CFA is.— Exactly…but I dont see why you need the progression to be able to do this. If you have level III Candidate on there and they dont know what it is, they will ask if they want…I would assume that reaction would be the same regardless of if you have just level III candidate or show when you passed what…