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How to gain value from your accreditation?
You find a job offer that attracts you and want to apply… but how can you highlight your qualifications?
Certifications can be useful in making your application stand out in the recruitment process. Whether you have a long career, several degrees or masters, or professional training that has led to professional certifications, there are many ways to include these certifications in a CV to catch the recruiter’s eye.
Professional certifications demonstrate a certain passion for you as a candidate. It can be a particular interest in the industry, or the profession in which you work and therefore be proof of specific expertise and skills.
As a first step, you should evaluate your various certifications and decide for each certificate whether or not it is relevant and significant enough to include on your CV for the position in question.
Obviously, if the advertisement explicitly states that the company is looking for a profile with certain certifications and the recruiter does not find these certifications for the job on your CV, you may not be selected. Hence the importance of highlighting your professional certifications.
Any certification can make your CV shine and be the thing that makes the difference. However, there are rules for highlighting your qualifications on your CV.
Where to put my certifications on my CV?
If they are critical to the job, you can put them in four places:
- After your name
- At the top of your CV summary
- In a special certifications section
- In your work experience section
What information should I include?
A certification is a document that proves that you have acquired a specific skill and is issued by an accredited body. When adding a certification to your CV, specify the following information:
- Name of the certification
- Name of the certification authority
- Date obtained
Remember that valid certifications are only issued by a third party with an appropriate licence.
How to list an ongoing certification on your CV?
You can include a certification that is still in progress on your CV, if it is essential for the job you are applying for, by adding the words “in progress” or “ongoing”, to the description, and specifying the expected completion date.
Can I include an expired certification on my CV?
Generally It is not acceptable to list old or expired certifications on a CV. If you have a certification with a possible expiration date, it is essential that you renew your certification before that date in order to include them on your resume.
Finally, it is very important not to include certifications that you do not have.
How can I include my certification on my Linkedin profile?
It is possible to add your certification to your Linkedin profile. Indeed, certifications are a great way to highlight your professional knowledge and achievements also on your LinkedIn profile. Here is the link to find out how:
https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/44644/manage-licenses-certifications?lang=en
Insider Tip
When you follow a course with different levels of certification, for example PRINCE2, which offers the PRINCE2 Foundation and PRINCE2 Practitioner certifications:
- If you get the Practitioner level, write PRINCE2 Practitioner
- If you are only awarded the Foundation level, write PRINCE2 (without specifying Foundation)
In this way your certification retains its positive effect with recruiters and demonstrates that you have mastered the basics of the method.