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If one completed a certification program, and he keeps it through the years by 1) paying a membership fee or 2) taking the course again when required (around every year or so), how should he write the date of his certification on his resume? Should he write the date of the first time he completed the certification, or should he write "cont. certification" or "presently certified", or something like that? Thanks.

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  • How relevant is that certification of yours to either your current employer or a prospective employer? Dec 18, 2014 at 23:09
  • Similar to Vietnhi's question: how relevant is it to the prospective employer that they know the first date he was certified vs when the certification expires? Usually only the expiration date matters.
    – NotMe
    Dec 18, 2014 at 23:11
  • Sometimes knowing how long the applicant has been certified can be another proxy for how much experience they've gotten at the level of skill the cert attests to. Assuming they've actually been using that skill set. (It also matters a lot what the cert is, who it's from, and so on... just as with degrees.)
    – keshlam
    Dec 19, 2014 at 0:29

2 Answers 2

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how should he write the date of his certification on his resume? Should he write the date of the first time he completed the certification, or should he write "cont. certification" or "presently certified", or something like that?

I've often seen a section heading of "Current Certifications".

Under that, the certifications are listed like this:

  • MSABC Certified since 1978
  • SXHDC Certified since 1985
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  • What if one has cleared it in beta stage(ie when there was no resources or help and would be the first breed to take the exam) how to emphasize this Dec 25, 2014 at 4:42
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I would include both dates.

  • MSabc since 2000, renewed in 2013.

It tells them that you aren't just carrying a line on the resume. Many times I have seen resumes with outdated information. I don't need to know that you have experience with Windows 3.1, 95... The line should have been dropped or cleaned up years ago.

If they are familiar with the certification the renewed date lets them know how stale your knowledge is. It may also let them know if it is about to expire, and they may need to invest in keeping you certified.

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