There’s no such thing as auto-pilot for your BV and Lit Support career. This newsletter…
John Borrowman, CPC
Borrowman Baker, LLC
Gallatin, TN
True: Credentials alone won’t advance your BV career. But if you’ve done this work for a couple of years and haven’t started work on one, you could be cutting your career off at the knees.
When you’re in the thick of it and soaking up experience and knowledge as fast as you can, it’s easy to set aside thoughts about a credential. You might be in a practice that offers little or no encouragement or support for credentials. If you’re planning to spend your entire career there, of course, that may not be a problem.
Or maybe the more senior professionals in your practice have one or more credentials. But when it comes to people at your level, there’s not enough time or money.
As a result, you put your head down and keep plugging. Then, one day, you look up, and you’re five or six years into your BV career. An opportunity knocks on your door, and you answer. Your potential employer wants to know why you haven’t made progress toward a credential. You have an explanation, sure. But to that interviewer, it only sounds like an excuse.
What to do?
- Check out the various credentials and choose one that makes sense to you. Talk to co-workers who already have it or are going after it themselves. Take what you hear and translate that to the practical, on-the-job value of credential-driven training.
- Understand the costs—research not only the costs of the actual training, but also any other expenses that go with it. Be clear about the total investment.
- At your next review (or before, if that would mean waiting too long), tell your supervisor you want to pursue a BV credential. Be prepared to explain why. Ask what the firm’s policy is about supporting employees who pursue BV credentials. Ask for a commitment to take the first step and enroll in a specific training program.
And if the boss is less than enthusiastic?
- Don’t rule out paying for part – or all – of the training yourself. Maybe the firm will share the cost. Maybe they’ll give you the time off with pay, even though they won’t cover the cost.
- Keep a record of your conversations and requests. Write a “memo to file” if necessary. “I asked X times” will sound better to a potential employer than “I just never got around to it”.
If you’ve done what you can and still can’t get the support you need to pursue a BV credential, contact us. Maybe it’s time to talk about a career move.
John Borrowman
