Professional Qualifications ? How many are too many ?

I have an ex-office colleague who possess the following qualifications : 1. CIMA 2. MICPA 3. ACCA 4. Diploma 5. Degree 6. Master That was then when I worked in Malaysia. I am not sure what other credentials that he has added in his portfolio today since it has been a while since we were in contact. My first impression upon knowing his credentials ? Impressive !. When I asked him, why so many ? His immediate respond was " People said it is difficult even get one, so I want to prove them wrong ". He is right. Talking from my personal experience. I was struggling to get my CIMA qualification and the same for few others, at least the one that I know. He made it so easy. Then, I moved to Doha, Qatar and on my first day in the bus heading to the office, the fellow passengers introduced himself to me; " Hi I am Venkat and I have professional qualifications- CIMA, ACCA, CPA and all other Cs to in my credentials. What is your name and are you a member of any professional organization ? " " Owh. Hi. I am Irwan and yes I am a CIMA, UK member " This the facts. My organization will only consider candidates with professional qualifications on top of the first degree as one of the criteria to shortlist candidate for interview. Then, I moved to Dubai, UAE and I was asked the same question by my staff on the first day I introduced myself to them " Are you a member of professional organization ? ". " Yes, I am a member of CIMA, UK ". I learned later that all the staff in my department have at least a member of a professional organization, with one is a member of three (3) professional organization. The question or rather questions are ; 1. Does it help to have more than 1 professional qualification in this competitive job market as product differentiation strategy? 2. If the shortlisting criteria(s) are based on the above, aren't the organization narrowing it choices of getting the right candidates with the right quality and capability beyond the qualifications ? One proponent of this, at least the recruitment team managed to narrow down the scopes and shortlisting the candidate is faster, quicker, effective and easier for recruitment team whom being pressured to fill up the vacant positions which being left vacant for as long as the organization exists. My next question, at whose expense ? In the profession and industry that I am in, I would be more happy to settle for the following potential candidates who possess the following as criteria(s) to be shortlisted candidates for interview ; 1. Having first degree from established university in the country of origin; 2. A member of professional organization ; 3. Experience with audit firm as essential [not mandatory] ; 4. Working with organizations that are peer group if not bigger in size and market value; 5. Expected salary [market rate as benchmark] ; The rest are up to candidates performance during interview. So to my question, how many is too many ? One is enough for me.

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!

Words that Sabotage Your CV!

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Alesia Benedict, CVGetInterviews.co.uk

Creating a winning CV is a feat of strategy involving focus, wording, design and content selection. To achieve a career marketing document that wins interviews, all areas of the strategy must be spot-on and consciously used in the most effective manner. One of the most common mistakes job candidates make when writing their CVs is not paying attention to strategy and word selection.
There are actually words that can have a detrimental impact on the effectiveness of the CV. When most job candidates write them, they don't consider word choice because they are primarily worried about getting down the basic information. Wording is critical and the wrong one can sabotage your CV.

The average agent and/or hiring manager sees hundreds of CVs from qualified candidates. CVs begin to look and sound the same to them. Here are some words and phrases to avoid:

Soft-skill descriptions
Job seekers feel they need to communicate their soft-skills to the employer because they believe they are the traits that make them unique, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Soft-skills are so common that recruiters pay no attention to them.

Phrases to avoid or severely limit:
- Excellent communication skills
- Strong work ethic
- Personable presenter
- Detail-oriented
Do not bore the reader to tears with these trite, overused and tired phrases. After all, no one will write that he/she takes long lunches, is lazy and argues a lot with peers. Hence, it is much more effective to write a description that is action-based and demonstrates these abilities rather than just laying claim to them. For example, rather than just stating you are an "excellent presenter," you could say "Developed and presented 50+ multi-media presentations to prospects resulting in 35 new accounts, totalling £300,000 in new revenues."
 
Age, health, appearance
Many seasoned job seekers are facing that scary time warp known as pre-retirement and fear age discrimination. They feel they can counter this perceived hurdle by giving a description of their age or health. But this can be death to a CV.
 
Phrases to avoid:
- Youthful
- Athletic
- Fit
- Healthy
- Mature

Additionally, unless specifically requested, there is no need to include personal details such as date of birth, marital status or whether you have children. This information is typically used to exclude candidates from consideration in the hiring process rather than include them. Unless the employer specifically asks, keep this information confidential.
 
Passive voice
Many people write in the passive voice because that is how we've been taught "formally" in school composition. The problem with the passive voice, however, is that it is just that passive! A CV needs to have punch and sparkle and communicate an active, aggressive candidate. Passive does not accomplish that.
Indicators of the passive voice:
- Responsible for
- Duties included
- Served as
- Actions encompassed
Rather than saying "Responsible for management of three direct reports" change it up to "Managed 3 direct reports." It is a shorter, more direct mode of writing and adds impact to the way the CV reads. On the flip side, whilst action verbs are great, don't overdo it.

I have actually seen:
- Smashed numbers through the roof'
- 'Electrified sales team to produce...'
- 'Pushed close rate by 10 per cent'

Take your time
A CV is a marketing document for your career just as a brochure is a marketing document for a product or service. Companies put careful thought and consideration into each and every word that goes into marketing copy and you should do the same in your CV. These words stand in your place with the employer and need to showcase you in a powerful way. In a perfect world, these things would not matter, but in the reality of job search today, they matter a great deal.  Be wise - stop and give some thought to the words you choose.

Last Updated: 18/03/2011 - 1:12 PM

  
Career Builder

DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive. Hi! I am a green e-mail! Unlike my brothers and sisters, my presence on the Internet does not harm our environment. Please go to greenscroll.org and help make the Internet green like me!