certs on resume

[icecream-guy]

I've seen this subject hashed through on other boards. haven't see anything here.

should I remove expired certs from my resume  or not.  I worked really hard on my CCIP and am very proud of the accomplishment, but since training resources were not available to renew, i let it lapse. 

not sure to remove it completely, which I don't want to do. for the above reasons.  or just denote it as "expired".
or some other way to denote it from my certifications and accomplishments ( it is still an accomplishment) bullet list.
which might include separating out the two into separate lists.

Here is what I did.  I use the white space on the right side of my resume to put the vendor supplied logos'
(to the right of my name header block).  I removed it from there, and denoted in the certifications and accomplihments bullet list as (expired).

is this sufficient? or should I get rid of it, as I said above it's still an accomplishment. I think Cisco would want me to remove the reference to the cert maybe rewording the text from  "Cisco Certified Internetwork Professional, Cisco Systems 04/2009" to something else.....

since the CCIP was retired, may reference as "retired" rather than expired.

what do you think??
 

[wintermute000]

I don't see any issue writing retired or expired. It's the truth after all

[jinxer]

I would have it there with retired by its side. Its still quite an acomplishment as you say and it might intrigue as well.

[deanwebb]

Retired is a good way of putting it. I don't list expired ones. My MCSE and CCDA are expired, my IBM Firewall Expert is from 1997, and my Certified Technical Trainer is lifelong. However, they're not relevant to jobs that I want, so I would leave them off, even if they were current.

[AdamTilbrook]

I don't see any issue with leaving a cert on your resume whether expired or not, and also whether it's relevant to the job you're going for. After all it shows your potential employer that you may be willing to complete further study which they may see as a value add to their business if they were to employ you.

[deanwebb]

I don't see any issue with leaving a cert on your resume whether expired or not, and also whether it's relevant to the job you're going for. After all it shows your potential employer that you may be willing to complete further study which they may see as a value add to their business if they were to employ you.

True, but if it is expired or retired, that should be noted. It would be wrong to present myself as fully knowledgeable on Windows Server 2012 when my MCSE expired about ten years or so ago and the last sever I touched was Windows Server 2000. If I don't renew my CCNP, then I will note it's expired if I note it at all.

[AdamTilbrook]

True, but if it is expired or retired, that should be noted. It would be wrong to present myself as fully knowledgeable on Windows Server 2012 when my MCSE expired about ten years or so ago and the last sever I touched was Windows Server 2000. If I don't renew my CCNP, then I will note it's expired if I note it at all.

Absolutely agree, note that it has expired but still worth noting it nonetheless.

[NetworkGroover]

I also agree with the previous statements.  I've gotten to the point that there is no real ROI in maintaining all of my certs, and frankly, I no longer have the time/desire to do so.  So I fully intend on letting some of my certs lapse, but will definitely list them on my resume, and I will note them as expired.  In the mean time, I will re-certify the ones that are relevant/useful in my current job or would be useful if I were looking for one in my desired field.

[Network2501]

Leave it to show prior learning and skills but communicate that it's not active.

[NetworkGroover]

... and with more thought on this subject, I never thought of using the word "Retired" rather than "Expired".  Such a little thing, but portrays something completely different.  "Retired" says that it wasn't useful so you let it lapse.  "Expired", despite the reality of the story, could be perceived as that you were lazy.  Nice suggestion.

[javentre]

I think retired implies the vendor retired that exam/cert (like NT 4.0), not that you chose not to renew it.

I don't list old or expired certs, but I may mention something about those technologies under my skills header.

[NetworkGroover]

I think retired implies the vendor retired that exam/cert (like NT 4.0), not that you chose not to renew it.

I don't list old or expired certs, but I may mention something about those technologies under my skills header.

That's fair, and maybe once you get to a certain level it doesn't matter because you have the job experience to make up for it and plenty of opportunity in the area.  Not that I'm even remotely looking for another job right now, but I'm still hesitant to just completely remove them.  Still have that old mentality about matching keyword searches typically done by recruiters.

[javentre]

Yes, I understand.

I don't market myself to recruiters, and that may be a key difference.  If I jump ship at some point, it would probably be through a personal connection, or a previous company, rather than a cold lead like a recruiter.

[Fred]

I'm trying to think of this from a hiring manager perspective... I'd probably be fine with seeing '(expired)' after the cert, and maybe '(retired)'.  I find the latter awkward, as the meaning isn't as clear. 

You definitely don't want a long list of expired certs.  That would look bad.

If I go back into my tech role where I know about the certs, I'd suggest leaving it off.  Seems like a meaningless entry.  Similarly, don't add "CCIE Written" to your resume.  For those who know, it just looks bad. (Stepping back into the manager perspective, they might not know the difference, so that one's a crapshoot.)

[deanwebb]

"CCIE Written, But Expire" is the BEST thing you can have on your resume. Unless you want to get a job.