How competitive is my professional profile in the global market? Do I have all the knowledge and skills aligned with the Association for Talent Development’s (ATD) Talent Development Capability Model? Would the experts in my field agree with me? Answering those questions helped me understand that becoming a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) with ATD was the right decision for my career.

I started this journey thinking that the best possible outcome was to obtain the CPTD credential. However, I gained much more. I found the opportunity to interact with professionals from other countries who had vast experience in the talent development field. We identify similarities in our practices and experiences independent of the culture or nationality. I met someone who faced the same challenges I had while working for a family business, and I identified that most of my colleagues faced the same roadblocks during the performance process. Yes, I recommend you seek this certification due to its wide recognition but more so for the enriching experience it represents from personal and professional aspects.

If you decide to pursue this learning experience, these are my recommendations:

1) Start with your “why?”

Yes, it sounds cheesy; nonetheless, it’s necessary. The process of being prepared for the exam could make you feel overwhelmed, which is normal; for that reason, remembering in this situation why you are pursuing this would keep your focus on your goal.

2) Check all the content.

Evaluate your knowledge here. With this in mind, estimate the time you will need to prepare. I invested in the ATD On-Demand CPTD Preparation course, and it helped me organize my activities. During this review, I decided in which domain I needed to spend more time studying.

3) Schedule your study hours in advance.

I created a study plan to calculate my study rhythm per skill. My ratio was 1.5X, with X being ATD estimated study hours considered for each capability in the On-Demand CPTD Prep course. After I had an approximation of how many days it would take me to get through all the content, I included two extra weeks to go over the material. That is how I chose the day of my exam. Setting the time of my exam helped me to avoid Parkinson’s law. It says that we tend to use all the time available to complete the work we need to do, even when we don't need it.

1. Share your goals with others.

You want to share your goals with others so they can help you to stay on track. When I was exhausted or frustrated about my progress, my partner encouraged me to sustain my efforts and helped me to modify my routine to fit my study plan.

5) Take every opportunity to practice.

Most of us know that sharing is caring; nevertheless, it also implies learning. Take every opportunity to share what you learn with others. Explaining or discussing what you learned will help you store the information in your long-term memory.

6) Reflect.

What similarities and differences do you find between your practice and the Talent Development Body of Knowledge? Are there any? Are you learning anything new? If you had had this information before, how would you have approached the projects more efficiently?

7) Have an Agile approach.

You will find numerous recommendations about how to approach this exam, including mine. If you want to try new ways of learning, apply them. But if they are not working for you, change your approach. The key is making mistakes faster. I started studying with mind maps then took notes on OneNote and visualized thinking to prepare myself for the exam.

Looking back, I am so glad I decided to become a CPTD. This decision introduced me to incredible professionals and has allowed me to use my skills to serve others in ways I didn’t expect. I encourage you to become a Certified Professional in Talent Development and think that your doing so enriches your professional and personal life in more ways than you expect, as it did for me.