Do you put your designation(s) on your business card?

I'm curious to see whether people put their designations on their business card. My first job out of grad school I put it on my card, but the further I get along in my career the less inclined I am to do so.

I am dual designated and I sometimes feel like putting designations on a card is just forcing it down the throats of others. Everyone nowadays has at least a designation or 2, so what's the point, really? I would rather let my skills do the talking.

At the same time, friends have argued with me that it is simply a way of setting a baseline with people you interact with so that they know to take you seriously, etc. I never quite bought this argument, but to each their own.

So...do you put your designation(s) on your card? Why? Why not?

What designations do you have?

I would definitely put a designation on a business card if I had one. I put "B.Comm" beside my name on a business card, so does the President of the company I work for ( I copied it from him ).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ptxpress

I'm curious to see whether people put their designations on their business card. My first job out of grad school I put it on my card, but the further I get along in my career the less inclined I am to do so.

I am dual designated and I sometimes feel like putting designations on a card is just forcing it down the throats of others. Everyone nowadays has at least a designation or 2, so what's the point, really? I would rather let my skills do the talking.

At the same time, friends have argued with me that it is simply a way of setting a baseline with people you interact with so that they know to take you seriously, etc. I never quite bought this argument, but to each their own.

So...do you put your designation(s) on your card? Why? Why not?

---

It depends on the company you work for, and the audience you are targeting.

IMO, I would put down professional designations (ie: CA, CMA, CGA, CFA) - I would even consider putting down a MA, MBA, PhD, etc...

If its undergraduate degrees, I don't even bother. That's a dime a dozen.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 7jai

It depends on the company you work for, and the audience you are targeting.

IMO, I would put down professional designations (ie: CA, CMA, CGA, CFA) - I would even consider putting down a MA, MBA, PhD, etc...

If its undergraduate degrees, I don't even bother. That's a dime a dozen.

---

+1, that's what I would do as well. Undergrad degrees are the new high school diploma these days so I won't even bother.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 7jai

It depends on the company you work for, and the audience you are targeting.

IMO, I would put down professional designations (ie: CA, CMA, CGA, CFA) - I would even consider putting down a MA, MBA, PhD, etc...

If its undergraduate degrees, I don't even bother. That's a dime a dozen.

---

I agree, everyone I know have a bachelor degree at the very last... And rarely do people put bachelor degree on business card... As least from what I have seen so far...

The one designation I have on the card is my EIT.

I would put a professional designation on my card. I would not put my bachelor's degree.

I think it's pretty important to determine whether it adds to people's belief of your professional competence + ethics when they first meet you.

A bachelor's degree rarely says anything except that you were smart enough to get through university (tons of people are). It says nothing about your ability to apply what you learned to benefit the client or your company.

A P.Eng, for example, indicates that you have experience + a professional code of ethics to follow.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by THINKPADT61

I agree, everyone I know have a bachelor degree at the very last... And rarely do people put bachelor degree on business card... As least from what I have seen so far...

The one designation I have on the card is my EIT.

---

Is it common for people to put EIT on their business cards? I'm just wondering about the logic of this. An EIT isn't really even a designation. All it says is that you have an engineering degree and you passed an entrance exam. How is putting EIT any different from putting B.A.Sc./B.Eng. on your card?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by 7jai

It depends on the company you work for, and the audience you are targeting.

IMO, I would put down professional designations (ie: CA, CMA, CGA, CFA) - I would even consider putting down a MA, MBA, PhD, etc...

If its undergraduate degrees, I don't even bother. That's a dime a dozen.

---

A lot of MBAs I know don't put down their designation.

Degrees:
Doctorates - always
Masters - never except for professional (MPharm) or natural sciences (MSc)
Bachelors - never except for professional (BPharm)

Professional designation:
Always
Then again....it's subjective what is considered one and what isn't...

Hence, I never bothered putting down my MBA. No one cares if you have one or not.

In our company, it is rare to put down any non-professional designations. The exceptions would be Ph.D. and MBA, though it does depend on the role you play within the company.

So.... what if you have 7 designations? Is it in poor taste to put ALL OF THEM behind your name?

One example that comes to mind is this guy David Debenham (or... David Debenham, LLB, LLM, MBA, CMA, CFI, CFE, DIFA). He always has an ad running in the CMA Management magazine.

http://www.langmichener.ca/index.cfm...Detail&id=9615

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Redguard

So.... what if you have 7 designations? Is it in poor taste to put ALL OF THEM behind your name?

---

I started dropping the irrelevant ones after I left IT..

B.Comm, MBA, PMP, SSBB, CATE, CSA, MCP

down to MBA, PMP, SSBB

Partially also because it looks tacky and doesn't look right on my business card when my full name is shorter then the list of designations. :D

I don't have my designations in my email signature, just business cards. Figure it's a good ice breaker if there are other fellow PMP, MBA, or SSBBs in the room.

I think it can also depend on the combination of your designations and your title. If your title is "Senior Accountant" then putting "B.Comm." would be sort of silly in my opinion. however, if your title is "City Councilor" and you put "B.Comm." then that tells me something additional about yourself. Or even if you are, say, a real estate agent - the "B.Comm." may be of interest to potential clients.

As for EIT, I've seen quite a few of those and even more people who do not bother putting it. Often those people would already have a title like "Engineer in Training" or something, so it is redundant.

My company is kind of weird. All the top level execs are accountants with designations and/or MBA's. THey all have that listed on their business cards, but none of them have it listed on their e-mails, all they have is their name.

So instead of:

John Doe
Chief Financial Officer
XYZ Company
Address, blah blah

It's just John Doe...basically ALL top guys do it starting from the CEo to the regional VP's. The rest of us have our e-mails automatically say a disclaimer and all the other nonsense.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mork

I think it can also depend on the combination of your designations and your title. If your title is "Senior Accountant" then putting "B.Comm." would be sort of silly in my opinion.

---

I had a KPMG "Senior Accountant" give me his card when he was doing our audit. On it, it said.... Name, BCOM... and that was it.

I was laughing pretty hard (after he left of course.... I'm a professional!), and showed it to the rest of my team... and I also tell that story at my new job.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bruizeman

I had a KPMG "Senior Accountant" give me his card when he was doing our audit. On it, it said.... Name, BCOM... and that was it.

I was laughing pretty hard (after he left of course.... I'm a professional!), and showed it to the rest of my team... and I also tell that story at my new job.

---

I'm thinking one of three things.

1. He got his degree from an institution that uses BCom instead of B.Comm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Commerce

or

2. He's also a Missionary and belongs to the Bethany College of Missions
http://www.bcom.org/

or

3. He takes his accounting pretty seriously and has given himself the title of "Bean Counting Optimal Master!!"

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bruizeman

I had a KPMG "Senior Accountant" give me his card when he was doing our audit. On it, it said.... Name, BCOM... and that was it.

I was laughing pretty hard (after he left of course.... I'm a professional!), and showed it to the rest of my team... and I also tell that story at my new job.

---

Silly...

McGill uses BCom instead of BComm. Just don't tell that story in Quebec or you'll be at the wrong end of the joke :lol:

I think he's not laughing cause the auditor only wrote Bcom. It's probably because the audtior only has a BCom and no other professional designation listed.

I don't even have a business card although I might put down MSc. next to my name if I had one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Immortal

I think he's not laughing cause the auditor only wrote Bcom. It's probably because the audtior only has a BCom and no other professional designation listed.

I don't even have a business card although I might put down MSc. next to my name if I had one.

---

Nah...he probably knows many senior accountants don't have their designations yet as it could be someone with anywhere from 2-5 years experience.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Redguard

I'm thinking one of three things.

1. He got his degree from an institution that uses BCom instead of B.Comm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachelor_of_Commerce

or

2. He's also a Missionary and belongs to the Bethany College of Missions
http://www.bcom.org/

or

3. He takes his accounting pretty seriously and has given himself the title of "Bean Counting Optimal Master!!"

---

LOL. #3 must be the new ultra prestigious, tri-fecta accounting designation that comes all 3 (CA+CGA+CMA)

I have an "applied degree" from College (Bachelor of international business & Supply Chain Management, which no one really care anyways) which I don't put on my card.

But I do put my C.P.P. Designation (from PMAC) on my card :cheesygri

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Immortal

I think he's not laughing cause the auditor only wrote Bcom. It's probably because the audtior only has a BCom and no other professional designation listed.

I don't even have a business card although I might put down MSc. next to my name if I had one.

---

No no... I was laughing at the BCOM. If he had a list of achievements and tacked on BCOM in there somewhere, I may have laughed less... maybe... "Name, CA, BCOM"... actually no, that looks even worse.

Another note, I asked my assistant to help me order cards at my new place, and she filled it out for me and gave it to my manager, the ensuing conversation went something like this:

Manager: WTF is this... I'm not signing off on that. ..
Assistant: I thought he would be proud to have his degree on there
Manager: No...............
Me: :o.... She should've showed it to me first before showing you...

lol

You guys are pretty dumb, a lot of schools use B.Com and not B.Comm.

What about on resumes? Anyone noticed a difference in protocol on the resume versus the business card?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by drey2k

You guys are pretty dumb, a lot of schools use B.Com and not B.Comm.

---

You're pretty dense too if you think that's what the discussion was about.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tylaw83

Is it common for people to put EIT on their business cards? I'm just wondering about the logic of this. An EIT isn't really even a designation. All it says is that you have an engineering degree and you passed an entrance exam. How is putting EIT any different from putting B.A.Sc./B.Eng. on your card?

---

EIT is a legal designation just as much as P.Eng is. There is no entrance exam for EIT, but you do have to pay the fees and complete the application process.

The difference is that all engineering graduates have a B.ASc/B.Eng, whereas only the ones that choose to practice and work towards their P.Eng receive the EIT title.

In addition, technically in order to have the term "Engineer" in your job title, you have to be either a P.Eng or EIT. So, as far as the business card goes you should include your EIT status to be clear that you are qualified to use the "Engineer" in your job title. EIT also implies that you are not a drafter or co-op student and that you are actively pursuing your P.Eng, and in my opinion, should be allowed a bit of wiggle room if you appear to be not so knowledgeable about particular material.

I use EIT on my business cards and email... mostly because I'm proud of it, but also so people know the knowledge level of the person that they are speaking to. From my experience, it's much easier to determine a sales person's (or any other organization's representative) knowledge level when they have a non degree-related designation after their name. This goes both ways, though. I know I probably wouldn't have been so relaxed and easy going if I had known I was talking to a very accomplished and intelligent VP of our company, and not just a P.Eng from what I saw in his designation.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Truemana

EIT is a legal designation just as much as P.Eng is. There is no entrance exam for EIT, but you do have to pay the fees and complete the application process.

The difference is that all engineering graduates have a B.ASc/B.Eng, whereas only the ones that choose to practice and work towards their P.Eng receive the EIT title.

In addition, technically in order to have the term "Engineer" in your job title, you have to be either a P.Eng or EIT. So, as far as the business card goes you should include your EIT status to be clear that you are qualified to use the "Engineer" in your job title. EIT also implies that you are not a drafter or co-op student and that you are actively pursuing your P.Eng, and in my opinion, should be allowed a bit of wiggle room if you appear to be not so knowledgeable about particular material.

I use EIT on my business cards and email... mostly because I'm proud of it, but also so people know the knowledge level of the person that they are speaking to. From my experience, it's much easier to determine a sales person's (or any other organization's representative) knowledge level when they have a non degree-related designation after their name. This goes both ways, though. I know I probably wouldn't have been so relaxed and easy going if I had known I was talking to a very accomplished and intelligent VP of our company, and not just a P.Eng from what I saw in his designation.

---

Coming from a fellow engineer, I do not put EIT on my cards. It's not even a real designation. PEO just wants your money. I was an EIT right out of school with my BASc, and I am not working towards my P.Eng title. Yes, I was listed on the PEO site, yes, I was searchable in the database. I stopped paying my money and PEO took me off their list.

EIT just shows how new you are to the industry. Anything short of P.Eng isn't worth anyone's time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer_In_Training
"In Canada, an Engineer In Training (EIT) is someone who has obtained a degree from an accredited institution that qualifies for registration with one of the provincial or territorial engineering professional associations"
ie: Everyone with a BASc.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but good luck on the P.Eng journey.

Have any of you read Work the Pond or The Frog and Prince (basically the same book)?

It's a book about networking and there is a section on name cards. One of the best examples was this one:

<Name>
President of Ireland

And that was all that was on the card, no contact information or anything. There was another good example too, where someone put Ambassador Extraordinare of something (not exactly word for word).

In terms of designations, I would put your degree if you were fresh out of school or even still in school (expected major). However after a couple of years it is rather pointless and in reality no one cares what you did in school. When it comes to professional designations it's beneficial to put the ones that people have heard about on your card. Imo no point putting a minor designation (not know outside your industry) unless you know other people at the event will know what the hell it is. You can always have a variety of cards made up if you want and don't have bad memory!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by isarobotirl

In terms of designations, I would put your degree if you were fresh out of school or even still in school (expected major). However after a couple of years it is rather pointless and in reality no one cares what you did in school. When it comes to professional designations it's beneficial to put the ones that people have heard about on your card. Imo no point putting a minor designation (not know outside your industry) unless you know other people at the event will know what the hell it is. You can always have a variety of cards made up if you want and don't have bad memory!

---

Um... what if you're a LLB/JD, MD, DDS, BScN, BSc Pharm etc. grad? Are you saying these degrees isn't relevant to their profession?? I think these are really important to have after their name once they graduate! I don't know if you're implying that people with a general arts/science/commerce degree should stop putting it on their business card but there are degrees that are very useful to have after your name! I do agree though that if you got a general degree (arts, science, business, cs) then I wouldn't bother unless you got a really high level designation.

Sorta like....I see so many people put CFP, CLU, ACS after their name but....it isn't that prestigeous to get those designations nor is it that hard so I don't respect you more by having these letters after your name. It's filler designations.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by setell

Um... what if you're a LLB/JD, MD, DDS, BScN, BSc Pharm etc. grad? Are you saying these degrees isn't relevant to their profession?? I think these are really important to have after their name once they graduate! I don't know if you're implying that people with a general arts/science/commerce degree should stop putting it on their business card but there are degrees that are very useful to have after your name! I do agree though that if you got a general degree (arts, science, business, cs) then I wouldn't bother unless you got a really high level designation.

Sorta like....I see so many people put CFP, CLU, ACS after their name but....it isn't that prestigeous to get those designations nor is it that hard so I don't respect you more by having these letters after your name. It's filler designations.

---

Hm, I'm not sure about the CLU or ACS, but I certainly want my financial planner at the bank to have a CFP. In fact, I specifically asked to see another financial planner when the first one I was introduced to wasn't designated. It tells me he was at least dedicated enough to his profession to obtain the designation + he has the academic background (I'm aware it's not very challenging or that long of a road). Experience is great but it doesn't tell me whether you understand why things happen + the possible formulas you could use to help me make an educated guess as to what I need for retirement.

Seeing an irrelevant designation would deter me from offering my business to an individual.

I recently saw an ad for a Real Estate agent slipped under my door.

It said something like...

Re/Max
Paramjeet Kumar, B.Sc (Chemical Engineering)
Sales Representative

I'm like... WTF does Chemical Engineering have to do with selling a house? NEXT!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tylaw83

Hm, I'm not sure about the CLU or ACS, but I certainly want my financial planner at the bank to have a CFP. In fact, I specifically asked to see another financial planner when the first one I was introduced to wasn't designated. It tells me he was at least dedicated enough to his profession to obtain the designation + he has the academic background (I'm aware it's not very challenging or that long of a road). Experience is great but it doesn't tell me whether you understand why things happen + the possible formulas you could use to help me make an educated guess as to what I need for retirement.

---

Meh I am my own advisor so I can care less what designation they have. Plus at the banks, besides a possible designation what they have I already know or can access the products they sell. What scare the beejeebus out of me is when I know more then the supposely "financial advisors". 'sigh' it ain't good and I fire them by saying NEXT!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by setell

Meh I am my own advisor so I can care less what designation they have. Plus at the banks, besides a possible designation what they have I already know or can access the products they sell. What scare the beejeebus out of me is when I know more then the supposely "financial advisors". 'sigh' it ain't good and I fire them by saying NEXT!

---

Any accountant could put together their own retirement portfolio, but it's time consuming. Why not let them plan the whole thing for free and then sell you a few funds/stocks that you might have wanted to buy anyway.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Redguard

Seeing an irrelevant designation would deter me from offering my business to an individual.

I recently saw an ad for a Real Estate agent slipped under my door.

It said something like...

Re/Max
Paramjeet Kumar, B.Sc (Chemical Engineering)
Sales Representative

I'm like... WTF does Chemical Engineering have to do with selling a house? NEXT!!

---

I think he can tell you if the concrete foundation used on that prospective house is of a good chemical makeup.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tylaw83

Any accountant could put together their own retirement portfolio, but it's time consuming. Why not let them plan the whole thing for free and then sell you a few funds/stocks that you might have wanted to buy anyway.

---

I'm anal so I like to control things especially how my money may perform in the market. Plus managing my own money keeps me on my toes to keep up to date with the market! I don't just do retirement portfolio's I do the full meal deal with a full financial planning overview (investments, life insurance, disability insurance, etc.) of myself, my fiancee and all my family members. It's my hobby :D Oh I am fully licensed to sell all those products too which may be why I prefer to do it myself! :lol::lol:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by setell

I'm anal so I like to control things especially how my money may perform in the market. Plus managing my own money keeps me on my toes to keep up to date with the market! I don't just do retirement portfolio's I do the full meal deal with a full financial planning overview (investments, life insurance, disability insurance, etc.) of myself, my fiancee and all my family members. It's my hobby :D Oh I am fully licensed to sell all those products too which may be why I prefer to do it myself! :lol::lol:

---

Nerd :cheesygri

I'm way too lazy to do all that stuff although I do manage my own investments.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by simms

Coming from a fellow engineer, I do not put EIT on my cards. It's not even a real designation. PEO just wants your money. I was an EIT right out of school with my BASc, and I am not working towards my P.Eng title. Yes, I was listed on the PEO site, yes, I was searchable in the database. I stopped paying my money and PEO took me off their list.

EIT just shows how new you are to the industry. Anything short of P.Eng isn't worth anyone's time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineer_In_Training
"In Canada, an Engineer In Training (EIT) is someone who has obtained a degree from an accredited institution that qualifies for registration with one of the provincial or territorial engineering professional associations"
ie: Everyone with a BASc.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but good luck on the P.Eng journey.

---

Well... being from BC, I won't assume what the laws are in other parts of the country. I don't want to get into a circle jerk fight, but under the Engineers and Geoscientists Act of BC, EIT is a real designation. Each province individually has jurisdiction over their professional organizations.

I know this is entirely off topic (and I don't intend to direct this solely at you, simms), but Ontario isn't the center of the universe. There's another third of the country that lives in Western Canada. RFD is very GTA-oriented.

You're implying that when you graduate with an engineering degree that you also graduate with the EIT title. That's not true. I frequently see EIT on business cards and in email signatures. AScT and CTech as well. Are those just as unworthy of peoples time?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Truemana

Well... being from BC, I won't assume what the laws are in other parts of the country. I don't want to get into a circle jerk fight, but under the Engineers and Geoscientists Act of BC, EIT is a real designation. Each province individually has jurisdiction over their professional organizations.

I know this is entirely off topic (and I don't intend to direct this solely at you, simms), but Ontario isn't the center of the universe. There's another third of the country that lives in Western Canada. RFD is very GTA-oriented.

You're implying that when you graduate with an engineering degree that you also graduate with the EIT title. That's not true. I frequently see EIT on business cards and in email signatures. AScT and CTech as well. Are those just as unworthy of peoples time?

---

That's fair. I'm only speaking for Ontario because I am from there, just like how you provide the BC perspective. Hopefully I didn't imply the "circle of the universe" motto; just speaking for where I was schooled and which engineering registry I was enrolled in.

For Ontario, I am implying that when you graduate with an engineering degree you also graduate with the EIT title, because that's the way it works here. Again, BC may be different, but I'm speaking from my own experience and relationship with PEO. All that's required is money. It's good to know BC does it differently.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by simms

That's fair. I'm only speaking for Ontario because I am from there, just like how you provide the BC perspective. Hopefully I didn't imply the "circle of the universe" motto; just speaking for where I was schooled and which engineering registry I was enrolled in.

For Ontario, I am implying that when you graduate with an engineering degree you also graduate with the EIT title, because that's the way it works here. Again, BC may be different, but I'm speaking from my own experience and relationship with PEO. All that's required is money. It's good to know BC does it differently.

---

I didn't know that happened in Ontario. The APEG BC process isn't complicated, but they do require you to register, have your transcripts sent in, and have a P.Eng certify your birth certificate. They send you this big registration package and "certificate" (although, I think we both know all engineering associations would love to add a sense of importance wherever they can).

I don't want to imply that EIT on a business card means any set importance, but to me it implies that person is a young engineer and working towards their P.Eng, which is different from a BASc or BEng graduate who decided not to practice. Most companies in BC will pay for your fees, so if you're practicing it's pretty straight forward.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Truemana

Well... being from BC, I won't assume what the laws are in other parts of the country. I don't want to get into a circle jerk fight, but under the Engineers and Geoscientists Act of BC, EIT is a real designation. Each province individually has jurisdiction over their professional organizations.

I know this is entirely off topic (and I don't intend to direct this solely at you, simms), but Ontario isn't the center of the universe. There's another third of the country that lives in Western Canada. RFD is very GTA-oriented.

You're implying that when you graduate with an engineering degree that you also graduate with the EIT title. That's not true. I frequently see EIT on business cards and in email signatures. AScT and CTech as well. Are those just as unworthy of peoples time?

---

It is nice to see a fellow UVic grad on here. ;)

The AScT is a joke...at least in my experience.

I remember during first year of college (I was in a technical program), our class had a presentation from an AScT representative, and they pitched the whole nine yards to us. He convinced a bunch of us (myself included) to sign up and become student-members. Fast forward a couple of years later, when we were scheduled to complete our diploma program and be eligible to become full AScT members. I got my certificate, membership card, membership bill, etc etc in the mail, and continued to do so for the next 3 years.

The only catch is, I had transfered out of the tech program in the 2nd year and was attending university instead. I did not have my tech diploma. I contacted them about it, explained that I was not eligible to be an AScT, and to please take me out of their database and stop sending me bills. However, they still continued to send me all the newsletters and kept me listed as a member for the next THREE years.

Clerical error or not, that is just ********, especially for a "professional" organization.

i work for the government and no one puts designations on business cards. the lowest education level in our directorate is masters (me) and even PhDs don't put anything beside their name.