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You are here: Home / Blog Post / 7 tips from someone who has graded your CMP application
Aug 15

7 tips from someone who has graded your CMP application

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

Virginia benefit auctioneer CMP Certificate

Yesterday I prepped you about my work with the Convention Industry Council®. From morning until early evening today, I sat with ~40 reviewers (I’m pretty sure I was the only Virginia benefit auctioneer) at the Westin Arlington Gateway and scored (“reviewed”) application after application. We were seated at round tables to facilitate group help. If one of us had a question or wanted a second opinion, she could easily pose it to another CMP® for feedback.

We read applications, checked math, confirmed transcripts, and considered the veracity of job responsibilities, adjusting as necessary. CIC takes your application seriously. Each CMP application is checked by at least two different CMPs. If one miscalculates a score or feels differently about a job description, it’s likely to be caught.

I learned that the CMP program has some hard core fans who serve regularly as reviewers. Although they enjoy this “grading” process, it seems more that they are called from a position of service. They want the designation to be recognized … to be impressive … to mean something. This core group is driven to make the program better and are by-the-book, straight-shooters.

They taught newbie reviewers like me where to focus, what to immediately reject, and how to detect (pardon the expression) bullshit.

Have you watched Project Runway, with Heidi Klum’s distinctive, “You are OUT!” phrase when she dismisses a hopeful designer from the competition? Our core reviewers taught us when to look at an application and say, “You are OUT!”

By sheer volume of grading, I observed what I believe to be the seven most common mistakes made on the CMP application form. What I’m sharing is nothing new; it’s requested on the CMP application.

But as we planners are busy people and the application is voluminous, so I suspect that in the bustle of everyday life, parts of the application don’t seem as relevant.

But they are!

As I slogged through applications today, I noticed where applicants consistently stumbled. Sometimes it meant only a small deduction of points which didn’t affect the applicants ability to qualify for the test.

In other cases, it was a substantial deduction — or just enough of a deduction that the required 90 points were not met.  It required the applicant to do further work (or provide supplemental material) to qualify.

Here are seven tips on how to ensure you get the “Q” grade (for “Qualified for Exam”) on your CMP application:

1. Be thorough in describing your job responsibilities.

CIC encourages you to attach a resume. Do it. In addition, on the single, tiny line CIC gives you to document your responsibilities, make an attempt. Add a page, if you must, just be sure to describe your responsibilities. Do not simply say your responsibilities were “meeting planning.” Seriously, folks. You are applying for a meeting planning certification that is judged by meeting planners, and we know that there are hundreds of aspects to meeting planning.

Tell us what you are responsible for managing. Is it budgets, SoE, hotel negotiation, and security detail? Do you oversee F&B for 40 events at the hotel? Are you the primary registration contact for a 700-person conference in your association?

Spell it out, or (imagine Heidi here) “You are OUT!”

Here’s a kicker: If the reviewers are unable to clearly determine your responsibilities, the second portion of the application (management responsibilities) is immediately dropped to zero points. They can’t evaluate section two without understanding section one.

2. Be realistic in estimating how much of your time is spent on event management work.

Would an Executive Director of a non-profit with six staff spend 90% of his time working on an annual convention for 300 people?

Unlikely.

Would an Event Assistant… reporting to a Director of Events … who reports to a VP of Events … be solely responsible for a conference of 20,000 people?

Unlikely.

Don’t try to pull one over on the reviewers. They’ll cut your points, and “You are OUT!”

3. Organizing internal company meetings isn’t true event management, so don’t use it on your application.

When I worked at GE, I would schedule a meeting for 8 or 10 people in one of our conference rooms. I usually did this via our online conference system and it took 3 minutes. I could not count this as a legitimate “event” in my CMP application, and neither can you.

If you do, “You are OUT!”

4. Details matter when it comes to continuing education documentation.

Like the “experience” category, this is a section in which many points are often cut.

If you attend a seminar from an event management conference, save a page from the program describing the seminar. If your company is sending you to a training, tuck an outline from the speaker into your application. At the least, write a description about the key points covered yourself. Anything is better than nothing, and you don’t want the reviewer to be wondering if this course really counts as meeting planning training.

I’m telling you — when in doubt, “You are OUT!”

5. Date ranges don’t work.

Assume you are a member of your local chapter of MPI. You’ve attended 8 of the group’s last 12 monthly meetings. On your CMP application, we need to see each date listed with each topic mentioned. If you put “8 meetings between January 2008 – September 2009” that will not count and (you guessed it), “You are OUT!”

6. Spell out acronyms.

I graded applications from Hawaii to Florida today. There are a slew of regional event-focused organizations across the USA.

If we reviewers don’t know that the SEOCPMPESCND stands for the Special Events Organizers, Conference Planners, and Meeting Professionals Educational Steering Committee of North Dakota, we won’t give you the points. (My apologies to the SEOCPMPESCND, if there is one.)

7. Include documentation of your membership in hospitality-related associations.

Most national groups — MPI, ASAE, ISES, etc. — provide easy methods of proving your membership. Include a copy of something that shows you really are a member. It could be a receipt, a certificate, or even your printed-out profile from the organization’s member directory. This section is easy to prove, and one membership gives you a significant amount of points (5).

Some applications today were presented in voluminous 3-ring binders; others were held together with binder clips. The presentation isn’t as important as the content.

Follow these tips to ensure everything is included on your application. I want you to sail through the process without any hiccups.

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Copyright © 2009 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. Kristin Anderson says

    August 3, 2018 at 3:14 PM

    This has been incredibly helpful. I was about to submit my application today and now I have these great notes to go back and edit. THANK YOU!

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      August 3, 2018 at 3:29 PM

      Good luck, Kristin! My post was written a few years ago, but I would hope the reviewers are just as picky now as then.

      Reply

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Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PS8/Y29udGFpbmVyPWV2cC1CVk4xMFNDUTRXIj48L3NjcmlwdD48ZGl2IGlkPSJldnAtQlZOMTBTQ1E0VyIgZGF0YS1yb2xlPSJldnAtdmlkZW8iIGRhdGEtZXZwLWlkPSJSM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PSI+PC9kaXY+ The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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