How is the expiration date of a certification enforced?

It appears to me that it means nothing more than a deadline on when I'll have to remove any logos or titles. From a job-seeker's perspective it seems to be irrelevant. A date of expiration does not change that I once did pass an exam and that my CV has a list of dates and exams. Or do some vendors expect people to hide their mastered certifications? Is anyone familiar with an extreme case of enforcing expiration dates

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Surge

You are definitely free to say you one had it but you are no longer allowed to represent yourself with the logo or titles that come with it being active.
Depending on the certification family and what company your in or going for it can matter if its active or not. For example small business working on partner levels with microsoft need so many people at certain active certifications to qualify and move up the ladder.

I am not aware of any extreme cases but i doubt most regular people get checked on much..

DissonantData

Surge wrote: »

You are definitely free to say you one had it but you are no longer allowed to represent yourself with the logo or titles that come with it being active.
Depending on the certification family and what company your in or going for it can matter if its active or not. For example small business working on partner levels with microsoft need so many people at certain active certifications to qualify and move up the ladder.

I am not aware of any extreme cases but i doubt most regular people get checked on much..

Are you allowed to list expired certs on your resume?

down77

This is a tricky situation and you need to tread lightly as you could end up misrepresenting yourself on an application/resume.

As a hiring manager I will ask for a copy of your certification transcript to verify credentials. This is not to be a jerk, but necessary because I am required to perform a due diligence background check on candidates that I bring in to the workplace. If I find a candidate that listed an expired certification, I may require them to renew within the first 90 days as a condition of employment (assuming skill is needed for position). If a candidate misrepresents a credential or educational background, in the State of Florida that is a misdemeanor and the resume would go right into the trash regardless of how talented they may be.

My advice, if your certification is inactive, list it as such on your resume to avoid raising concerns. Honesty is always the best policy and I will always give this consideration when reviewing resumes.

Just my 0.02

cyberguypr

I normally won't put an expired cert on my resume unless it brings some value to the table and can help start a conversation geared towards a specific duty or requirement mentioned in the job posting. I agree with marking expired certs as such on the resume. If you don't do it, when you come across people like down77 or me who will ask for your transcript, you'll be screwed as you'll come off as dishonest/shady. Now, if you list it as expired we can talk about future cert plans, different paths you may be exploring, etc.

jvrlopez

To me, saying you have an expired certification is like stating on your resume that you are studying towards a certification. That is, you don't have it. Never occurred to me to list an expired credential on your resume.

cyberguypr

Every time I search for a job I come across position dealing with a lot of old stuff like Windows 2003, Exchange 5.5 or 2010, old SQL versions, etc. In cases like that an expired cert related to the requirement will do what I mentioned above, add value. Of course if the job is state of the art cutting edge stuff, the expired cert is useless. In that case it wouldn't make any sense to list it.

chronos42

So how would you mark these expired certs on your resume? Let's say you had a cert that is relevant to a job that uses Windows 2003. The cert is expired, but you want the employer to know you have skills with that system. Would you list it on the resume? If so, would you indicate its status? Would you leave it off and only discuss it at the interview?