How To Properly Show CFA On Resume and LinkedIn

With 45% of candidates registering for CFA exams for career reasons, it is crucial to keep your “personal marketing materials” – such as CV/resume, LinkedIn, business cards and even email signature – up-to-date to reflect your latest accomplishments in the CFA Program. 

However, did you know about CFA Institute’s strict guidelines on the CFA designation usage on any written communication? Without knowing it, many candidates and charterholders are in violation of these by-laws and could be sanctioned by CFA Institute. And we thought putting CFA on resume was the easy part…

If you’re looking to spruce up your resume especially after results day, we’ve got you covered: here’s our comprehensive guide on how to add CFA to LinkedIn, resume or business cards correctly as per CFA Institute guidelines.

Go through this extensive guide chronologically to ensure you don’t miss anything out!

Let’s get going:

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What are CFA digital badges? How do I use them? 

First off, a relatively recent development: CFA Institute currently distributes digital badges to relevant candidates and charterholders as a means to showcase their achievements in an online, verifiable format.

There are essentially 3 badges available for: 

• candidates who passed Level I​;
• candidates who passed Level II;
• CFA charterholders.

Yes folks. This is an image. Of some badges. That you put on LinkedIn or other social media sites.

Anyways, why isn’t there a “Passed Level III” badge, I hear you ask?

Here’s CFA Institute’s rationale:
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“CFA Institute is pleased to offer digital badges for candidates that have successfully completed Level I and Level II, as well as individual’s that have earned the CFA charter. In order to avoid confusion in the market and ensure we are not degrading the value of the charter, we will not be offering badges to candidates that have passed Level III. Once the individual has earned the relevant work experience and become a member, they will receive the charterholder digital badge.”

How to claim your CFA digital badge

For recent candidates/charterholders who qualify for these badges, Basno (a digital badge vendor) would send you an email on behalf of CFA Institute a few weeks post results day. To claim your badge:

1. just click “Claim Your Badge” within that email, and
2. sign up with Basno.

​​For “older” candidates/charterholders who qualified for these badges years ago, here’s how to claim them:

1. click on the relevant badge on Basno’s website (passed Level I, passed Level II, or CFA charterholder),
2. click on “Get this badge”, 
3. enter your email address,
4. then click “Continue” for an instant verification.

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How to correctly show CFA on resume?

Here is the definitive guide to what should go on your resume for all phases of your CFA qualification process.

The following diagram summarizes everything you’ll need to know to do this correctly.

To indicate your CFA qualification status on your resume/CV: 

1. put “CFA Institute” as an educational awarding body in the “Education” or “Professional Development” section, and
2. list your current status as your most recent qualification. For example (choose level as appropriate):
   • CFA Exam Level I / II / III candidate;
   • Passed CFA Exam Level I / II / III (date); or
   • CFA Charterholder (date)
3. Finally, only for those who have been awarded the CFA charter, you can show that you’re a CFA charterholder on resume by placing the marks “CFA” or “Chartered Financial Analyst” after your name in the header of your CV/resume. For example:
   • Jon Snow, CFA
   • Jon Snow, Chartered Financial Analyst

​The exact wording of your status will depend on where you are in the program. As shown above, at each stage of your CFA Program qualification process, you have to clearly state whether you are a candidate, or you have passed. You can only state that you are a candidate if you have registered for the exam, i.e. passing Level I does not automatically grant you “Level II candidate” status.

Remember that charterholders can only use the trademarks “CFA” or “Chartered Financial Analyst” if:

• they are fee-paying members of CFA Institute (annual membership dues of USD 275);
• they are not subject to certain Professional Conduct violations; and
• their rights to use the CFA designation have not been suspended or revoked.

Note that we won’t be covering finer points such as what should you EXACTLY write on your CV come charterholder status, (e.g. not using the phrase “Jon is a CFA” and all the rest).

I’m going to assume you already know this from your Ethics studies (if not, you may need to brush up on this). Else, happy to elaborate on this in a future post, just let me know in the comments below or the Forum.

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Can I use “CFA Charter pending” if I’m just waiting for work experience?

No, you can’t.

The point to keep in mind is that you cannot state, or even vague imply that you are a CFA charterholder, until you are actually one.

There are many CVs and LinkedIn profiles that will state otherwise – a repeat offender is “CFA Charter Pending”, “CFA, Expected 20XX” or something similar. This is a violation of Standard VII(B) of CFA Institute Ethics and Professional Standards, and you could be sanctioned by CFA Institute for that. 

If you have passed all 3 exams and are just waiting for work experience, I do agree with you that passing the exams is the hardest part, but you still can’t imply charterholder status, or caveat it with some sort of “pending” disclaimer.

​You are, however, allowed to state on your CV “Passed all three levels of the CFA Program [date optional], and may be awarded the charter upon completion of the required work experience.“

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Should I put in a date of when I passed, or when I expect to obtain my CFA charter?

The key thing to bear in mind is this: you can only state facts, not projections. If you wish to state the dates of when you passed your exams, that’s absolutely fine.

What you cannot do is to post a date where you ‘expect’ to pass a certain level or obtain your charter. Dates in the past are fine, dates in the future are not allowed.

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Should I put in the fact that I passed all 3 levels consecutively?

If you passed each level of the exam in consecutive years and wanted to mention it in your CV / resume, that is not a violation of Standard VII(B) because it is a statement of fact.

For example, these statements would be acceptable:

• “I passed all three CFA exams consecutively on the first attempt”, or
• “I passed all three CFA exams in three consecutive years”.

If however, you went ahead to claim or imply superior ability by obtaining the designation in only three years, this would be a violation of Standard VII(B).

As to whether you should put this fact in your CV / resume, it is really a personal choice. Some may think that it may help job search, but others think it may appear arrogant. 

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Does it matter? Can’t I just write what I want?

​Well, it won’t be the best idea to blatantly flout the guidelines.

CFA Institute owns the trademark to the ‘CFA’ designation, so technically they could pursue you for misuse of trademark.

From our experience, they can be pretty vigilant in spotting violations and they are quite strict on following up on them, so we strongly recommend that you follow the guidelines.

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How to add CFA to LinkedIn

What about LinkedIn, an increasingly important careers channel?

Before we start, note that the “Experience” section of a LinkedIn profile is intended to display your employment experience. Therefore, listing your CFA Institute membership or candidacy in this section can create the impression that you are an employee of CFA Institute, which could be considered a violation of the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. 

Fortunately, LinkedIn profiles have sections labeled “Licenses & Certifications” and “Test Scores”, which is the most appropriate place to indicate your CFA license, depending whether you’re a charterholder or a candidate.

Here’s how to update your LinkedIn profile correctly, as per CFA Institute guidelines:

CFA Charterholders: 3 Ways to Update Your LinkedIn CFA Title

1) Add “, CFA” after your last name

• Just a simple, but necessary profile edit 🙂 
• In my view, this is the most effective branding on LinkedIn for CFA charterholders. 

2) Add a certification under “Licenses & Certifications” section

• In your LinkedIn profile, select “Add Profile Section” (a blue button near your profile photo).
• Under Background, select “Licenses & Certifications”. Fill in the form as follows then select “Save”.

Name	If your charter has been awarded, enter “Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.”
Issuing Organization	CFA Institute
Box labeled “This credential does not expire”	CFA Institute members may check this box as long as you satisfy the requirements to maintain your status. In the event that you allow your membership to lapse, you must select the month and year that your membership lapsed.
Issue Date	Select the month and year in which you received your charter.
Credential ID	Leave this field blank.
Credential URL	You may insert your digital badge URL.

3) [Optional] Add your CFA charterholder digital badge in the About section

• Select “Add Profile section”
• Select “About”
• Under “Media”, select “Link”
• Paste your digital badge URL and select “Add”, then “Apply”
• Select Save

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CFA Candidates: 3 Steps to Update Your LinkedIn CFA Status

In general, a CFA Program candidate can indicate which level they have passed under the “Test Scores” section, and/or state that they are a candidate in the program under “Courses” section.

Please remember that it is against the CFA Institute guidelines to:

• use your candidacy in the Heading of your profile, and/or
• indicate an “Expected” date. 

Here’s how to do these LinkedIn profile updates correctly:

1) Indicate that you have Passed CFA Exam Level I / II / III under “Test Scores” section

• In your LinkedIn profile, select “Add Profile Section”.
• Under Accomplishments, select “Test Scores”. Fill the form as follows and then click “Save”.

Test Name	Enter the appropriate level: “CFA Exam Level I / II / III​”.
Associated With	Leave this field blank.
Score	Enter “Passed” if you would like to indicate the level you have passed.
Date	​Enter the month and year of the date you passed the exam.
Description	Enter the level you have completed, e.g., “Passed Level I of the CFA Program”. ​If you have completed all 3 levels of the CFA Program, but have not completed the work experience requirement, you may state: “Passed all three levels of the CFA Program and may be awarded the charter upon completion of the required work experience.”

2) [Optional] Indicate your candidacy under “Courses” section

• Under Accomplishments, select “Courses”.
• Under Course Name, enter the appropriate level “CFA Exam Level I / II / III Candidate”. Leave all other fields blank.

3) [Optional] Add your CFA candidate digital badge in the “About” section

• Select “Add Profile section”
• Select “About”
• Under “Media”, select “Link”
• Paste your digital badge URL and select “Add”, then “Apply”
• Select Save.

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How to display your CFA Charterholder status on business cards & email signatures

​You are probably aware of CFA Institute’s official trademark guidelines on the proper use of CFA and Chartered Financial Analyst marks. 

But here’s our keep-it-simple recommendation that incorporates those guidelines with a touch of real-world practicality:

• For email signatures: adding “, CFA” behind your last name is sufficient.
• For business cards:
  • adding “, CFA” behind your last name, or
  • “Chartered Financial Analyst” in the next line (after your first and last name)

Yup, that’s it.

But a few things to note:

• It is not necessary to use the ® symbol when the marks directly follow the name of a specific individual.
• According to Standard VII(B) of the Standard of Practice Handbook, the CFA designation should not be given more prominence (e.g., larger or bold font) than the charterholder’s name.
• Whilst adding “, Chartered Financial Analyst” is allowed by CFA Institute guidelines, we have omitted that in our recommendation for business cards as it may be too long and perhaps obstructive in the business card design.

What about candidates, we hear you ask?

While it is certainly permissible to state the fact that you have passed a certain level, the practice of putting levels passed on business cards is non-standard and may come across as slightly desperate (although it’s fine for CV/Resume and LinkedIn).

​For candidates, it is probably best to work hard and obtain your charter before putting anything on your business card and email signature.

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Got a question or an example that is confusing you? We’d be happy to help you out – just leave a comment below!

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