Associates Designation

I've run into somewhat of a dilemma and need to have a question answered before I continue sending my resume out.

I passed the CISSP as an associate several weeks ago, however I have been working on my resume and it recently occurred to me that there may be an issue with the way I have my certification listed. I have it down as:

Associate of (ISC)2
Future Designation: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
Test Date: April, 2006

My question lies in the "Future Designation". I realize that I can't designate myself as a CISSP, however I haven't been able to find any information on whether or not I am permitted to mention the fact that I will be designated as a CISSP upon completion of the experience requirement.

I sent (ISC)2 an email about this for clarification, but I wanted to see if anyone else had run into this or had an answer. I'm itching to get my resume out

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Comments

JDMurray

I would suggest that you take out the "future designation" line. There is no guarantee that you will ever actually achieve the full CISSP certification even if you do collect the requisite experience. This line gives me the impression that your full CISSP certification is imminent pending approval of the (ISC)2. This is simply not the case.

Also, I have seen job requisitions that list "(ISC)2 Associate" or "CISSP Associate" rather than "Associate of (ISC)2." I'm not sure if these other designations are valid according to the (ISC)2, but employers seem to be using them.

keatron

The official designation as far as ISC2 is concerned is simply Associate of (ISC)²®. There's no need to list CISSP or SSCP. Passing the CISSP Examination no more makes you a CISSP than getting out of med school makes you a licensed doctor. As JD pointed out, the credential is not imminent. Especially since ISC2's view of your experience might not parallel your view of your experience. ISC2 probably won't hunt you down and execute you for the way you have it listed, but why risk it???

JDMurray

keatron wrote:

The official designation as far as ISC2 is concerned is simply Associate of (ISC)²®. There's no need to list CISSP or SSCP.

How about "CISSP Associate of (ISC)²®?" Most resumes are scanned by software looking for specific keywords and text patterns. I'd hate to miss a possible employment opportunity because someone's text scanning software was looking for "CISSP" and didn't recognize only "Associate of (ISC)²."

This also points out potential text scanning problems when using "(ISC)²" versus "(ISC)2." Of course, I waffle between "(ISC)^2" and "(ISC)**2" myself.

LordSephiroth

ok, thanks for the info. I sent (ISC)2 an email about it yesterday but I'll go ahead and take it out just to be safe.

Thanks again.

keatron

jdmurray wrote:

keatron wrote:

The official designation as far as ISC2 is concerned is simply Associate of (ISC)²®. There's no need to list CISSP or SSCP.

How about "CISSP Associate of (ISC)²®?" Most resumes are scanned by software looking for specific keywords and text patterns. I'd hate to miss a possible employment opportunity because someone's text scanning software was looking for "CISSP" and didn't recognize only "Associate of (ISC)²."

This also points out potential text scanning problems when using "(ISC)²" versus "(ISC)2." Of course, I waffle between "(ISC)^2" and "(ISC)**2" myself.

To these points I would say you should elude to CISSP in the resume somewhere. However it would be pretty embarrassing to list "CISSP Associate of ISC2" then have a potential employer try to find the credential on ISC2 website to find it reads differently than what you have listed. At that point you'll probably be viewed as trying to fluff. And obviously that's not a good thing. I look at resumes of people seeking employment on a weekly basis, and nothing cracks me up more than seeing people do things like make up certs. I'll give you some examples of some of the stuff I saw just this month...

MCT-Microsoft Certified Technician (wrong)
NCE-Novell Certified Engineer (never heard of it)
Now these are just slight deviations from real certs, but it's always safe to stick with what the vendor has already specified. Otherwise you either look like you're fluffing, or you look like you're claiming a cert that of which you don't even know the correct name of.

Then instead of saying something like MCSA2K3 working towards MCSE2K3, I get;

Certifications:
70-270, 70-290, 70-291, (insert other exam here) followed by something like "currently working on 293, will take 294 in July, blah blah blah"

You might get a different response from ISC2 depending on you talk to, as they are not really into resume writing, but again, I'd be more concerned about employer interpretation.

Good luck.

ESOK

I don't really see naming yourself " CISSP Associate of (ISC)² " a bad thing. As long as you can prove that you passed the CISSP exam by showing the ISC2 congrat letter and your Candidate ID exam number than I think most employers and HROs would be OK with that. But, ISC2 tells people directly that they may not call themselves a CISSP, even if they passed the CISSP exam until ISC2 gives your certificate and after the resume review process or audit.

Maybe "Associate of ISC2 (passed CISSP exam on 4/06, Candidate Id:99999)" will work for you too. This will at least let people know that you passed the CISSP exam. Plus when you do get enough experience, and finally get your CISSP certificate, you will be using the same Candidate ID number.