Stand Out From the Crowd With an ATD Certification

Who are the more than 5,000 talent development professionals who have earned the APTD or CPTD credential? Get to know the talented and diverse community:

Maggie Xin Sun Consulting Director, Certified Instructor and Coach. She earned the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®) credential in 2020.

Why did you pursue the APTD®/CPTD?®? Based on my personal top strength (from the Gallup StrengthsFinder assessment result) and my own passion and interests, I wanted to explore a higher professional level in talent development. I have more than 12 years of experience in change initiatives across the full HR spectrum, especially in organization development and total rewards. Moreover, I have around seven years of in-house trainer experience across HR areas, particularly leadership, talent auditing, talent acquisition, and
job mapping. Additionally, my long-term career goal is to become an executive coach. This requires a higher level of proficiency, experience, and capability closely aligned with the TDBoK. I pursued the CPTD because it is more suitable for me and gives full play to my previous experience in organizational and personal domains.

How have you benefited from the credential—professionally and/or personally? I definitely benefited throughout my learning journey, which took around one year. I took the CPTD
Certification Preparation Course in DC before ATD19 and took the CPTD exam at the end of 2020. Between the course and exam, I joined the international study group for CPTD candidates via LinkedIn. This group consisted of students from the US, Canada, India, and China. Under the outstanding leadership of our study group leader based in India, everyone passed the CPTD in three months. I significantly enhanced my capability in all three domains, especially Developing Professional Capability. This is greatly beneficial to my current role in management consulting as a consulting director, trainer, and SHRM-certified instructor in the APAC region.

What advice would you share with others considering certification? I am the only official SHRM-certified instructor in China and the APAC region. I have six years of experience in this role and have cultivated or facilitated dozens of Chinese HR professionals to pass the SHRM SCP and CP. I also promote the APTD and CPTD for TD professionals in my network as
the only dual credential holder in China. I believe the certification and recertification journey is lifelong and is a critical success factor for professionals from all walks of life. That’s why I volunteer to write items for and review the CPTD exam to empower more TD professionals.

How do you think certification helps the talent development field? The talent development (TD) field should champion lifelong learning, upskilling, and reskilling, which are critical success factors for lifelong career development. TD certification is undoubtedly a great
example of career development and also sets the standard for the field, much like the bar test for lawyers or the CPA for accountants. Along with high-level professionalism, TD needs a standard test as the threshold to exemplify a certain level of achievement and accomplishment in the designated field.

How did your employer support your pursuit of the credential? My reporting line managers supported my pursuit of both the CPTD and SHRM-SCP. They sponsored me to some extent, since these credentials aligned with my IDP.

What does having your credential mean to you? My credentials (I am the one and only dual credential holder in China now) are immensely important to my professional career. I’m grateful that studying for the CPTD improved my L&D proficiency significantly and provided a structured and professional approach. Moreover, I have renewed my SCP until 2030 and have accumulated 60 credits toward CPTD recertification within about a year and a half. Moreover, certification adds to my credibility in the eyes of my peers, clients, and other stakeholders, who recognize and are impressed by my pursuit of excellence in my profession.

How did you get into the talent development field? I was personally passionate about it and interested in becoming the organization and employee development (OED) expert during my tenure in the Walmart China home office during its era of transformation. I became the in-house project manager and facilitator implementing the project and supported the newly built HR BP team on JD write-up and organization development methodology
training initiatives.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received? Face adversities, build (psychological) resilience, and find joy. Always prepare option B alternatives, especially when leading or handling projects, and adjust your expectations for a higher level of agility, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is a great book you’ve read recently? Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, as well as What It Takes by Stephen Schwarzman.

What is your favorite hobby or pastime? Cooking, music, working out, and traveling.

Have you earned the APTD or CPTD? Share your story with the community.