CV Question

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by Bruce, May 20, 2016.

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  1. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Question about a CV; I've never needed one before, a resume has always sufficed, but I'm figuring I should get one together.

    Where would one put certificates for relevant training & education? Not academic certificates, but awarded for completing a training program? A distinct category, or include them under the education section?
     
  2. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I, personally, am a fan of only putting academic degrees (and credit bearing Grad or UG certificates) under "Education" and creating a separate category for non-credit and/or technical certificates. That's my rule for all formats; LinkedIn, resume, CV, tombstone etc.

    My reasoning is simply that it can cause some confusion that might appear to be deceptively self-serving. Neither of my degrees are from impressive schools. But I have a Certificate (non-credit) in Human Resource Management from Cornell's School of ILR. If I put that into the education section it may appear, at first glance, as if I'm claiming a degree from Cornell rather than non-credit training. I think my certificate is fantastic and it has impressed during interviews but I like people to recognize it immediately for what it is. It also keeps the section from getting cluttered and enables the reviewer to quickly and easily verify your degrees. In my world, when people fill up the education section, it is often to disguise the fact that they don't have the degree required in the posting or possibly to convince me that their MOOCs all tally up to a degree equivalent.

    That said, I don't hire academics and never have. My only experience with academic hiring is my own adjunct gig (and I just used a resume). So if this is for academic purposes there may be some variation with which I am simply not familiar.

    And now...

     
  3. John Bear

    John Bear Senior Member

    So much depends on where it may end up: one of three on the desk in a small school or business; one of 476* on the desk of a big enterprise, or, ever-increasingly, on the flatbed of a scanner to be scanned and "read" by software, never to be seen by human eyes if it doesn't match the algorithm. The key in all 3 categories may be visual clarity. So: certificates visually separated. And the longer the CV, the more need, probably, for a short "executive summary" at the top.
    _______
    * My only relevant experience was in the hiring of four full-time US-based mentors for the Leicester University distance Master's. One modest-sized ad in the Chronicle of Higher Education yielded 476 responses -- more than a few with either no cover letter, or a form cover letter ("Dear Advertiser").
     
  4. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Thanks, that's what I was thinking. What do you title the separate section? I was thinking something like "Additional Training & Certification".

    I wouldn't bother, but I've got a ton of training certificates, some available to police only, that a hiring manager would probably be impressed with, even though they look and sound much more impressive than they actually are in reality. :biggrin:
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2016
  5. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Thanks, this is my first foray with a CV, and it feels strange listing almost everything about myself. My sister-in-law (Harvard MBA) did my résumé for me, and she's always saying "Concise, concise, concise!!", but she's in the business world.
     
  6. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I think that's a good title. I've also used "Industry Certifications and Training" or other variations.

    One thing that irks me about LinkedIn is that I feel that "certifications" is the best place to put my certificates even though they aren't the same. My SPHR is a certification. My certificate in HR is a certificate. They have different purposes. But LinkedIn doesn't let me name categories. If they did then I would also have my military experience in a separate section.

    I think any category name is fine as long as it is clear what the section contains.

    Incidentally, I specified "industry" when I worked in PA where it seemed to be VERY common for people to list certifications that were completely irrelevant to the job for which they were applying. For example, in PA you can obtain police officer certification (called "Act 120") at many community colleges throughout the state. Only the largish cities actually had their own formal academies. The small municipalities basically just out out ads for candidates who are already certified. The result is a lot of people with police certification who either never worked for a police department or only ever got part time work that they abandoned because of low pay ($9/hr and less than 10 hours a week wasn't uncommon in some two-person departments). The state unemployment office also put nearly everyone through either CNA or CDL training when they showed up to collect benefits regardless of their education.

    So you might get a guy with a degree in accounting applying for an accounting job who lists his police officer certification, from when he was younger and wanted to be a cop, the commercial driver's license that the state basically forced him to take when his last employer laid him off and oh, by the way, he also has a CPA.

    The obvious fix is to curate your resume and ensure that what is listed is relevant to the specific jobs to which you are applying. This may require multiple drafts if you're applying to a broad segment of things. But in that region I felt the need to specify "industry" because so many people in that area were abusing the "certifications" section to the point that many hiring managers were just skipping it.

    But as long as your section headings are clear and accurate I believe you'll be fine.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2016

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