Should I Add PMP As a Title in My Business Card?
Newly PMP certified Project Managers wonder whether they should append “PMP” as a title in their business card or not.
In order to determine the right answer to this question, we need to examine three things: titles, business cards, and the history of the PMP accreditation.
Titles
Titles are suffixes or prefixes appended to the name of the person originally used to highlight a certain career position (for example “MD”), a level of education (“Ph.D.”, “MBA”), a rank in the government (“MP”), etc…. Recently, titles have been used to highlight prominent accreditations issued by either commercial or self-proclaimed not-for-profit organizations, such as “MCSC” (issued by Microsoft) or “CCNA” (issued by Cisco).
Business Cards
Business cards are essentially given to one’s acquaintances to promote himself or his business. Business cards usually include the career position and/or the level of education. However, since business cards are all about promotion, then adding any title (including a prominent accreditation title) promoting the person is considered acceptable.
History of the PMP Accreditation
The PMP accreditation was initiated in 1984 by PMI which is, as of 2010, a 40 year old (self-proclaimed) not-for-profit organization, aiming at enhancing the status of Project Management worldwide, and promoting it as a profession, while at the same time, defining Project Management standards. The PMP accreditation was launched as a response to the increasing number of projects worldwide, to give companies the ability to test the knowledge of their Project Managers, in order to make sure that these Project Managers are fully capable of managing projects efficiently.
The mid 90’s was a turning point for the PMP certification, namely because:
- Its reputation and popularity increased dramatically.
- Companies started seeking PMP certified Project Managers to fill in Project Management jobs.
- Companies started paying higher salaries for PMP certified Project Managers.
The above reasons created a rush (that still exists) to get become PMP certified. Project Managers (and sometimes persons with no Project Management experience) started seeking this certification on an individual basis in order to increase their salary and their job prospects.
Ever since, the demand for the PMP certification has skyrocketed, and it’s fast becoming a requirement for Project Managers (with the exception of countries where the PRINCE2 certification is much more prominent), and no longer a “nice-to-have” certification.
It is worthy to note that in the whole history of the accreditation (and so far), it was never easy to become PMP certified, even if the applicant is an experienced Project Manager. The current PMP pass rate is 80% (according to the PMI) and almost every applicant studies hard for the PMP test. This means that not just everyone can get this certification. Worldwide, the current number of PMP certified people is around 360,000.
Is It Appropriate to Add PMP to the Project Manager’s Business Card?
By examining the history of the PMP accreditation, one can easily determine that is has the following 2 characteristics:
- It has now become a prominent and a reputable accreditation.
- It definitely adds value to the Project Manager.
Since PMP is now a prominent accreditation, it has now a “title status”, and since it adds value to the Project Managers, it is a good promotion to the individual and can definitely be added to the business card of the Project Manager.
Quick Note: Some Project Managers append “PMP” to their name while posting in various Project Management forums and commenting on Project Management posts/articles. While, as we stated, PMP is considered a title, your are discouraged to mention it extensively in front of other Project Managers that may very well be much more experienced than you (and often not holding any kind of Project Management accreditation). Doing so might be considered “boasting”.
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