Dates for certs on a resume?

mog27mog27 Member Posts: 302
Is it a good idea NOT to put the dates you received a certification on a resume due to the fact that some may have been a while back and it doesn't look current? In particular, compTIA certs since they don't ever expire. I had the dates of my certs (all compTIA) on my resume and I remember one recruiter or interviewer comment that my A+ was a long time ago. Had the dates been left out, no one can see if you got the compTIA cert this year or 6 years ago. Thoughts?
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Comments

  • iowatechiowatech Member Posts: 120
    I wouldn't write the dates in unless it was within 2 years, unless it was specifically asked for by the employer. All to often people see some number and start assuming things, at least with no dates the door is open for conversation on the topic.
    __
    Example: "So after viewing your A+ credintials we see your certification is from 6 years ago?" , Yes, however to prove competence I would be more than willing to renew the A+ if you would like me to.
    __

    Rather than HR seeing it's from 2001 and just skipping the whole resume`

    Just an example.
  • malcyboodmalcybood Member Posts: 900 ■■■□□□□□□□
    I have my certs listed in date as I only have a few just now i.e.

    May 2007 ITIL Foundations
    April 2007 Cisco CCNA
    August 2006 CompTIA Network+

    However I'm sitting the Security+ in Feb 2008 and CCDA in March so hopefully I will pass them and at that stage I'll probably list them something along the lines of the below.


    Professional Certification
    August 2006 - March 2008

    Cisco CCDA, CCNA
    CompTIA Security+, Network+
    ITIL Foundations


    The reason I put dates in for professional certification is to keep the education part of my CV consistent. I have dated my college/uni education so I also wanted to date my IT professional education. One f the main things to remember about a CV is to keep the format consistent, so for me it's either the whole education has dates or none at all.

    Malc

    P.S. you could list the exam number then you're giving an indication in essence of when you took the exam but not listing an exact date so it leaves it in their court to know their stuff.....Just a thought!
  • leefdaddyleefdaddy Member Posts: 405
    I don't list my cert dates... I don't think it has an advantage at all... Some employers may think you got it to long ago or too recently.
    Dustin Leefers
  • GT-RobGT-Rob Member Posts: 1,090
    the only benefit I can see to putting a date on a cert, is if you have been in IT for many years, and just want to show that something like your A+ isn't 10 years old. Even then, it is a moot point and most vendor certs kind of explain themselves (MCSE 2003 obviously isn't 10 years old).
  • blargoeblargoe Member Posts: 4,174 ■■■■■■■■■□
    No benefit to putting dates.
    IT guy since 12/00

    Recent: 11/2019 - RHCSA (RHEL 7); 2/2019 - Updated VCP to 6.5 (just a few days before VMware discontinued the re-cert policy...)
    Working on: RHCE/Ansible
    Future: Probably continued Red Hat Immersion, Possibly VCAP Design, or maybe a completely different path. Depends on job demands...
  • shednikshednik Member Posts: 2,005
    blargoe wrote:
    No benefit to putting dates.

    +1...ehh make it +2
  • KasorKasor Member Posts: 933 ■■■■□□□□□□
    Definitely not need it. Only need the date when you apply for Govn't job using their format.
    Kill All Suffer T "o" ReBorn
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