References while applying for Charter

hi all,

i have 2 queries regarding the References My 4 year relevant workex is spread over 3 organisations and i understand we have to provide 3 references or 2 if one of them is a charterholder and member of local society.

so,

  • do i have to give 3 references ? one from each company ? or 2 will do

  • if yes, can i give names of 3 collegues (none CFA) who can testify my experience ?

Many thanks,

It is not necessary to provide references of colleagues from each company. You can provide references of 3 colleagues (who are not charterholders) from your present company.

oh… okay, thanks for the help.

It is for the first time I hear this interpretation and I seriouly doubt its validity. The reference person is supposed to confirm you worked for the organisation XYZ.

I submitted work experience for two employers. I had 3 colleagues as references from only one of those previous employers (all charterholders, none that were supervisors). After two submitted their referrals I was able to submit my application to CFAI and my work experience was approved by the Institute (pending local society - i.e. payment of society dues). My third reference submitted after but was acknowledged and accepted into my application by CFAI.

SO basically you went with one employer- one CFA charterholder reference.The rule.

This is a somewhat different story to what was suggested above.

I supplied 3 references for 3 work places, each for a different one.

And honestly I would not hesitate to report the wrongdoing if I personally knew someone to curcumvent the rules.

Just because I had to go the hard way.

^ @MarginCall

  1. I don’t follow. I supplied 3 references, all charterholders, but only from one of the companies I worked for.

  2. Why are you so angry? Do you feel like I was attacking you? I was simply pointing out that you do not need to submit references for each and every place you have mentioned in your relevant work experience.

  3. What wrongdoing? Who circumvented the rules?

  4. Again, I’m confused by the hostility. No hard feelings here, just contributing from my experiences for the benefit of the forum. No ill will from this side of the aisle.

  1. Yes. And it came down to the rule - one reference plus one charterholder.

2.3.4. You misunderstood me.

Why should I be angry with CFAI? I love them. Otherwise would I sacrifice a nice piece from Tiffany over the years to them?))) But I was also following the rules religiously.

What I am saying is that the thorough reference check is paramount. Otherwise we will soon have people from non-qualifying professions populating the Charter space. And that means devaluing the charter. That is all.

If a candidate XYZ has only 4 years to confirm with a reference person, that will be it. He should not have 8 recognised. That is my personal opinion.

But I will write a letter to a local society about that. As a recommendation.

The CFAI approved my work experience but my local society denied my application because I didn’t have a CFA Charterholder as a reference. I had to withdraw my application and now I am back at square one.

I’m pretty pissed about the whole thing because I am actively looking for jobs and really could use those 3 letters behind my name.

Dude - that sucks!

Ok, understood.

No worries, sorry about that.

Never thought you were, and I’m glad to hear that.

Completely agree.

I am a little lost why this matters, anything above the threshold is gravy. It’s not like you get rewarded…

you don’t need to choose your local society (my local one is expensive, so no). and you can apply to as many as you like. ( I am a member of two).

Does your reference have to be someone you worked with? What if someone who is your mentor but is CFA and member of local society?

It has to be people you have worked with. Unfortunately reference check is quite sloppy and I have also brought this up in another thread. I know people who have had their reference check approved where they have only provided references from one company which she/he had worked for only one year out of her total four years of submitted experiences.

I submitted two references… both charterholders and members of my local society, one is a supervisor, the other I have never worked with… that’s what the “other professional reference” category is for.

my experience was approved without any hiccups.

I had 2.5 years at one org and 1.5 years at my current org. My three references were from my current org.

I had 2 jobs submitted. All my references were from my current job. Also, all references were peers (no bosses). I was approved if that helps.

That’s weird. I didn’t have any Charterholder as a reference neither and no problem.