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Email ThisOkay, I don’t know if this is a rant, pet peeve, or actual advice for those you in the professional world. But, I really can’t stand people that have a hundred letters after their name for every certification they’ve received in their professional career. I know you’ve come across the real estate agent who’s business card looks like this: E
John Smith, GRI, eTech, AIS, REI
I just made those last three up, because I didn’t want to spend the time researching what real certifications are out there. You’ve probably also seen the IT professional with a business card that looks like this:
Horatio Rodriguez, A+, MCP, MCSP, MCSE
It just looks silly doesn’t it? At my office, there used to be a lady that worked there who was in our training department, and she had literally completed every professional designation available. Then, she thought it would be cool to list every acronym for the certification on her name plate. There was like 11 or 12 acronyms after her name. Before you send me hate comments, here me out on this one. I don’t think that you should list a certification after your name if you completed one course that gave you a certification. Also, if the certification is offered by an organization that is not well-known in your industry, you shouldn’t throw the acronym after your name. No one will know what it means.
Here is a list of degrees and certifications that I know of that warrant being listed after your name.
University Professors: If you went through the schooling and wrote the dissertation, then you deserve to put it after your name. Universities don’t just give these out, unless you received an honorary Phd, which is nothing like getting the real thing. I don’t mind calling someone with a bonafide Phd, “Doctor”, because I know they had to go through a lot to get the degree. Medical doctors don’t really need any letters after their name because of the DR in front of their name.
Financial Advisors: If you completed the CFP or CFA certification, they have a lot of qualifications, and you have to complete a group of courses to receive the designation. You also need professional experience. These certifications have a commanding presence in the financial advising profession, therefore, you should put the letters after your name.
Certified Public Accountant: Ask someone who has taken the series of tests to become a CPA how hard it is. They definitely deserve to put CPA after their name, and there is a big difference between a CPA and a staff accountant who crunches numbers.
Pharmacists: I think it’s a little weird to call a pharmacist “Doctor”, even though a lot of people do it. So, i think it’s more appropriate for them to put “Pharm.D” after their name, or “Ph.D” if they went the extra mile for that.
Insurance Professionals: The only two designations that warrant being listed after your name is the AIC and CPCU designations. They require you to pass multiple courses, and you really need to know your stuff to pass the tests.
I am sure there are more, but these are just a few examples that support my point. Here are some examples of people who shouldn’t put letters after their name.
- Any certification you received by completing one class or passing one test.
- Anyone with a bachelor’s or master’s degree
- Lower Level medical employees such as nurses and medical assistants
- Any certification given by an organization that is unknown in your professional industry
Okay, so you’re probably saying to yourself, “who is he to tell me what letters I should be putting after my name?” That’s a good point, and it’s none of my business what you put on your business card. But, I think the cleaner way to list your certifications is in a bullet format in the corner of your business card or just keep them listed in your resume. I think you come across as an attention seeker by listing every single certification after your name you’ve received in your career. Letters after your name are nothing more than a status symbol. It’s a way to boast about your credentials. But, my challenge to you is to let your work product and customer service be your credentials. If people ask about your designations and degrees, definitely tell them. But, don’t let your name look like a math equation on paper.
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Haha, great point. When I was at IBM I was staffed on a project working for the Army. Some of the emails I received would have up to 15 letters after people’s names. I had no idea what any of them meant and it just added to the crazy list of acronyms that everyone walked around blabbing about. I just nodded my head and pretended I could decipher it all.
What about attorneys? JD, Esq.?
Great points, and overall I completely agree. My disagreement is where you say medical doctors don’t need the letters after there name because they have the Dr. at the front.
There are actually more types of professional doctors than just MDs who would use the prefix Dr. with their name. Here’s a list of a few:
D.M.D. - Doctor of Dentistry
D.V.M. - Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
M.D. - Doctor of Medicine
O.D. - Doctor of Optometry
Au.D. - Doctor of Audiology
It’s important to know what kind of professional degree a personal has received, as not every health care professional has gone through the full 4 years + 4 years residency of traditional medical school.
Also, what about JDs? That’s a pretty important distinction for lawyers.
Speaking on behalf of the Human Resources profession, I would add that any of the following certifications are more than appropriate to include on your business card.
PHR
Professional in Human Resources
SPHR
Senior Professional in Human Resources
GPHR
Global Professional in Human Resources
This certification is more than just a test. It is a cumulation of several years experience in the human resources field as well as required continuing education and experience in order to stay relevant.
random anecodote. . . a new college grad got hired for a marketing assistant role at my old department. . . rather than write out her full title, her signature was name, MA.
No one had the heart to tell her she was dumb. This moment being one in a long string of incidents. To this day, she’s probably still sending out e-mails with the initials MA after her name. Initials I didn’t use with a Master of Arts degree.
completely agree. its pretentious for anyone, except from a (real) professional body, to place a whole heap of letters. Doctors, Profs, Army folk, Lawyers you expect it. Your regular company director, president, business analyst - no way! My opinion of someone with all those letters after is theyre hiding behind them, scared that they cant demonstrate their real abilities. stuck in the world of academia - qualifications dont make the money; your actions do.
Good point about the doctors. There is a difference between a DO and an MD.
Also, I know that I missed some legitimate professions and certifications, I was just giving a few examples ones that I thought should have it.
My overall point is that you shouldn’t use all of those letters after your name to make you feel better about your profession or to impress others. Let your skills and abilities do the talking.
Also, I didn’t mention this in my post, but i should have. If you have mutliple certifications, then pick the one that means the most in your industry and put that one after your name rather than listing out all of them.
I say if you worked your bootie off and are still paying off a bajillion student loans, feel free to use up some extra ink on your business card. I’m not saying you should walk around calling yourself Doctor or even signing your email with all of your credentials, but the business card is sort of sacred ground.
you’re right on most counts. does ego drive all of this? i come from a very educated family and we always said that showing class meant allowing your work to speak for itself. it’s one thing to show letters on your resume when a job requires the qualification, and another to sign every correspondence with it.
at springraise, we’re trying to quantify the value of each degree or certification. we’re in the early stages but in a year or so, we should have some pretty solid data. the more people enter, the easier it’ll be to answer the question.
then we’ll have evidence to say if it pays off to have letters. thanks for posting this! great job.
I think I’ll leave the letters on my LinkedIn profile. Guy Kawasaki posted an article about good name cards, recently. I think most people avoid looking at the letters. I have a PMP certification, and I’ve been told countless times to include it after my name… but for what?
@ Boon - you should use PMP because it almost spells out PIMP. So hot right now.
But anyhoo, you make good points Erik. Some people pay a lot of money to keep those letters around, but at one point is it ego-driven rather than really informative?
Torbjorn Rive, BA, pRES, CPM, EtC.
I have a manager where I work who will write her certifications next to her name any time she signs anything. She will actually handwrite it next to her signature.
That’s great, Rachel. I love all of these stories. The letters thing is getting a little ridiculous. I am all about givine people their due, but you don’t have to throw it in our face at every chance possible! haha