What are we missing?

[Constant]

Hi everyone! As you've likely noticed, we recently updated the amount of information that we collect about writers on their Education, Certifications, and Areas of Expertise. Right now we're just using this internally to help match clients to writers, but will be developing more features that will rely on this data.

In advance of that, we wanted to get your feedback and see if there are any Certifications or Areas of Expertise that we're missing. If we are, please let us know here and we'll add it! Also note that the Areas of Expertise are identical to the Categories we have for articles, so any suggestions will impact both.

[philipanderson]

Hi - a few ideas for you.

1 - Under 'Project Management Professional' it may be worth adding Prince2 - this is probably the most commonly recognised project management qualification.

2 - Please add 'Program Management Professional' - this is quite different to a project manageer (as I am sure you are aware)

2 - There are various Six Sigma qualifications - perhaps it could be worth adding Six Sigma - Green Belt and Six Sigma - Black Belt. These are business change qualifications - not really project management.

Thanks

Philip

[Judith]

I would like to see Photography credentials added.

[Lysis]

I see there is no tech, but lots of tech certs are actually a drawback for lots of people in the industry. I think the only two I can think of that still hold value are the Cisco certs and maybe the Oracle certs. The MSCE and all the MS certs, I wouldn't put them on my resume anymore because people make fun of you for having them. Kinda like getting your degree at University of Phoenix or ITT. Don't want to admit that. lol

I dunno though.. Maybe people want to put down MS certs.

[ChrisBlank]

Will these credentials show up in search results when customers search for writers? That would be a big help for those of us who are only included in one or two writer pools (or none at all). That would help make us more visible for potential private requests.

To directly respond to your query, I would like to see a section for "green" credentials such as LEED, Living Building or similar qualifications. I have been a member of the USGBC for years and would like to be able to include this membership with my bio info.

[Isabelnewth]

Not sure I'm looking at the right place....the account details which starts with your earnings on the site then goes down through interests etc?

If so, please could you provide for UK qualifications? I am qualified as a lawyer in the UK, but the qualifications on the menu don't fit me, so I haven't listed any legal qualifications.

Thanks.

[kassiesamp]

I too am a lawyer - Australian - but couldn't see an appropriate category that I could tick. For us in Australia, we say admitted as a solicitor or barrister, or both.

I am also a librarian - for me this is a Graduate Diploma - ie we do this after a tertiary level degree. A diploma is of more weight than a certificate.

It's hard to find a suitable category when the terminology is, presumably, slanted towards American qualifications.

[jak]

Why not add an Other Professional Qual that could cover international quals, perhaps with the country alongside?

[LauraGinn]

It's a bit of a weird one, but I'm a PADI scuba instructor. As I have been writing a lot of scuba articles recently (and as a few have cropped up in the public requests) it would be useful to have this added as it basically means I've completed all of the theory and practical exams to know what I'm talking about I guess there are a few sports credentials that could also be added?

[TracyEnright]

Hi there

I've tried to update the educational section and I couldn't find anywhere to put my UK HR qualifications (I have Chartered Membership of the professional body).

Perhaps something could be added there?

Thanks

Tracy

[jmamos]

Agree with the scuba qualifications (except I'm NAUI certified not PADI), and I think there should be an "other" option where we can fill in our own qualifications that might be quite specialized or uncommon (for instance, I'm a BATD certified dance instructor in tap and jazz, but I can't see that being common enough to make its own option). Also, I'd like to see a languages certification option, such as beginner/intermediate/advanced French/Spanish/etc.

[contentwriter]

Every time I edit my Education and other fields, it never saves. I use Firefox.

[weagle87]

Having a teaching certificate requires a master's degree and several layers of testing. I would appreciate certified teacher being included so that I can check something. I think it's far more likely for teachers to moonlight as writers than for higher paid professionals.

P.S. I cannot change my picture although I can update my bio.

[evaku]

P.S. I cannot change my picture although I can update my bio.

I've had that problem in the past and the way I was able to make it work was by making sure that my image was a perfect square (or as close as possible to square).