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Archo
Newcomer I

Put provisional pass on resume?

Hello,

 

I received my provisional pass on the CISSP exam today, and I wanted to know if that's something I can include on a resume.  With the 8+ week wait for the endorsement verificaion and review process I'd like to include the pending CISSP on my resume (of course listing it as provisional or pending). 

 

Looking at the logo guidelines in makes it clear that I can't claim to have the CISSP certification, but it doesn't specifically call out if you can list a provisional pass on a resume.  I'm not finding anything concrete that says doing so would violate ToS.

 

If I need to wait the 8 weeks to get everything approved and official that's fine.  I'm just excited and looking forward to being able to include the CISSP to my resume.

 

Thanks!

15 Replies
Misterroboto
Viewer II

Are you going to claim the associate or go for the full endorsement? On the resume you should have the date align with the cert, so a recruiter should be able to deduce your situation from there. What counts is the meat and potatoes experience in the resume.
Archo
Newcomer I

I'm going for the full CISSP.  I have 15+ years experience, and I have someone lined up for the endorsement, so I'm not too worried about getting through the rest of it.

 

My hope was to list on my resume (LinkedIn, etc.) that I've passed the exam, and now I am working through the rest of the process.  It sounds like it can be 8 weeks to get everything finalized, so I'm just trying to find what the rules are about stating where I am in the process.  So far all I've only found things about misrepresenting status, like claiming to have the CISSP even though it's not finished.

Flyslinger2
Community Champion

My personal practice was to NOT modify a thing until it was officially official. I'm a bit of a pragmatist in that I want 100% certainty that it is granted before I change documents/websites.

Early_Adopter
Community Champion

Well as an associate I believe you can’t disclose which exam you have passed, so ‘pending certification’ on a CV might well not be a good idea, as it might be construed as claim to certification that relies on the reader making an inference.

 

Perhaps you could add ‘Currently pursuing CISSP’? This would let you get picked up by HR filters and I don’t see it as being in anyway contentious and might even be good to talk about in an interview - al least it gives the old and bold a chance to ramble on  “ tut, tut when I were a lad, my CISSP certification would take at least 25 years to come through after submitting the endorsement which was only allowed from the head of the of a nuclear capable country and As well as an exam pass, and experience you were required to submit a your own death certificate...”

 

 

emb021
Advocate I

While all the certifying bodies I known of (ISC2, ISACA, etc) encourage folks to post or share that they passed an exam on social media, they do NOT want you to put this on your resume as it may give the false impression that you have the certification when you don't (yet).  Same for your LinkedIn profile.

 

Until you receive the email that confirms you now have the certification, don't do it.  In fact, you can get in trouble for this.

 

I also discourage people from saying they "are working on the CISSP" or the like on their resume.

 

As to the Associate of ISC2.  It doesn't indicate which test you passed.  You can certainly tell a potential employer that you passed and what you passed, but that's it.

 

 

---
Michael Brown, CISSP, HCISPP, CISA, CISM, CGEIT, CRISC, CDPSE, GSLC, GSTRT, GLEG, GSNA, CIST, CIGE, ISSA Fellow
toastedpenguin
Viewer II

This topic appears to come up a lot and I had the same question when I passed the exam in early January.  This thread should provide some guidance - https://community.isc2.org/t5/Certifications/CISSP-Endorsement-Wait/td-p/15458

 

Hope this helps!

 

Archo
Newcomer I

I went through that thread, and a few others, and I haven't seen anything that looked like an official answer, or that referenced any published guidelines.  At best, I've seen that you can't claim to have completed the certificate when it's not completed, but nothing pertaining to stating that it is in progress.

 

This is the first exam that I've taken where there was a significant gap between the exam and the official conferment of the certification.  The closest I've come to something similar would be something like the CCNP, where I could list that I'd passed specific exams, and was working toward completing the set.

 

I'm at a point where I'm starting the process of looking for a job, and I'd like to be able to convey on a resume that I've passed the exam, and I'm working through the endorsement process.  However, I also don't want to risk something that would put me on the wrong side of the ToS.

 

I am thinking of putting something like this: CISSP in progress (exam passed, pending endorsement and verification)

 

AlecTrevelyan
Community Champion

The thread that @toastedpenguin linked contains a link to this thread:

 

https://community.isc2.org/t5/Member-Support/Waiting-for-endorsement-Am-i-quot-Associate-quot/m-p/84...

 

Where @Melleive had contacted ISC2 and been advised what was permissible to say in terms of provisionally passing an exam while awaiting endorsement.

 

The actual post is here:

 

https://community.isc2.org/t5/Member-Support/Waiting-for-endorsement-Am-i-quot-Associate-quot/m-p/84...

 

Although, you should read the full thread for context and written confirmation from @amandavanceISC2 on the correct verbiage.

 

I was in the same boat a while ago and did exactly this.

 

Archo
Newcomer I

Awesome! thanks @AlecTrevelyan!

 

It would be nice if that information was put in the logo guidelines or something.  With the 8-week wait for such a valuable certification I would expect most people have the same question, and there's not a clear answer that's easy to find.