CM magazine May 2019

Congratulations to all of the following, who successfully
achieved Diplomas in Credit Management.
LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT (ACICM)
NAME
Joshua Albright
Marco Anholts
Amanda Barton
Darren Beejadhur
Erika Bone
Marie Byford
Claudia Carausu
Julia Carr
Alexia Clark-Webber
Georgina Davies
Dalbinder Dulai
Leanne Eason
Thomas Fowler
Wendy-Jayne Foy
Benjamin Franklin
Cheryl Gray
Leigh Ellen Griffiths
AWARDING BODY
CONGRATULATIONS
Julie Griggs
Freya Hanbury
Shanaz Herbert
William Hern
Alberto Hernandez Rivas
Shabana Hussain
Craig Isherwood
Jennifer Jeffery
Rachel Jones
Siobhan Kirk
Joanne Lafferty
Latia Latham-Hopper
Lynn Macdonald
Zena Maher
Brenda McKee
Mihael Mihaylov
Holley-Ann Mimms
Paul Murphy
Lisa Nash
Samantha Poil
Andrew Robinson
Lynne Robson
Kelly Rushmore
James Rutter
Stephen Sands
Sarah Sheldon
Hannah Shirtcliffe
Jenny Stephens
Paul Thackray
Kirsty Tippett
Lisa Whannel
Mark Wiles
Wendy Zhungu
LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN DEBT COLLECTION (ACICM)
NAME
Martin Poole
LEVEL 3 DIPLOMA IN MONEY & DEBT ADVICE (ACICM)
NAME
Clive Atkinson
Lauren Brooks
Lisa Browne
Shauna Duffy
Haydn Garnett
Katherine Gilmour
Danielle Holroyd
Lucy Kihlberg
Paul Mcmanus
Andrew O'Donnell
Patience Pattison
Heidi Robinson
Jake Schulz
Leanne Simister
Katie Smith
LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA IN CREDIT AND COLLECTIONS (MCICM(GRAD)
NAME
Sana Ahmed
Beccy Eady-Wagstaff
Jodie Foster
Eleanor Kelly
Daniel Parker
Antonia Penfold
LEVEL 5 DIPLOMA IN CREDIT MANAGEMENT (MCICM(GRAD)
NAME
Matthew Norman
CAREERS’ ADVICE
Stepping up to seniority
Driven and ambitious employees are an important part
of any organisation to help them achieve success.
Karen Young
AUTHOR – Karen Young
WHILE employers can
provide opportunities to
feed the ambition of their
workforce, employees
can take their own steps
to give themselves the
best chance of advancing to senior positions in
credit management.
The Hays Salary and Recruiting Trends 2019
guide showed that progression was a primary
concern for credit professionals. Almost a
quarter (23 percent) of employees revealed that
the main reason they would leave their current
job is because of lack of future opportunities
and over half (51 percent) feel that there is no
scope for career progression in their current
role. Professionals across all sectors should
feel constantly empowered to progress within
their role but this is of particular importance
for aspiring managers and leaders in the credit
profession.
Although you can’t award yourself your
next promotion when you personally feel
you deserve it, you can still keep your goal in
sight to accelerate your journey. Set yourself
personal progression and development
milestones and ask your employer to make your
promotion path and timeline as clear as they
can. If your goals are long-term and relevant
to your broader career, communicating these
to your recruiter will ensure your future roles
align appropriately. Plotting and sharing your
progression expectations keeps you motivated
and gives others the best chance of helping you
get to where you want to be.
IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING
Continuous learning is something all successful
professionals strive to achieve, and those in
credit management realise the importance of
this. Data from our Salary Guide shows training
and/or professional certification support is
the most important benefit for 38 percent
of credit staff when considering a new role.
Encouragingly, professionals in this specialism
realise the credibility that qualifications add to
your professional profile and the bearing they
can have you on career development.
No matter what’s on offer at work, this is
one of the ways employees can take control of
their progression. If relevant to your role, take
advantage of any training which is available to
you. Find yourself a mentor, take up shadowing
opportunities and keep a look out for webinars
and industry events. There is also a wealth of
accessible multimedia content online that can
offer easy to digest information. Expanding
your knowledge within your field will equip you
with the skills to take on more opportunities
which enable you to expand and advance your
role.
EMBRACE DECISION-MAKING
Being indecisive is permissible lower down the
career ladder, but there is no room for it as an
individual progresses and has to respond to
increasingly urgent and financially significant
demands. Procrastinating over a tough business
decision can mean losing out on advantageous
opportunities. Being decisive at the right
moment is crucial further up the ladder and
exhibiting this at any level will demonstrate
your potential to work at a senior level in credit
management.
However, decisiveness without the ability
to learn can seriously inhibit a professional’s
development. If you regularly make quick
decisions, this won’t always go to plan but it’s
crucial to learn from your errors to know the
correct course of action in a similar situation.
Strike a balance between showing you can be
decisive while also recognising the impact of
your decisions in order to demonstrate that you
can operate at a senior level.
TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR WORK
Having an admirable approach to work is
different to having achieved a lot in a particular
role or being willing to work extra hours
when required. Professionals who exhibit a
commendable work ethic get to the top by
showing how they go above and beyond to
benefit the business. This might take the form
of achieving extra qualifications, attending
network events, gaining international
experience, working closely with different
functions in the business or getting involved
with external industry events.
If you go the extra mile by doing these things
you’re revealing your ambition, self-motivation
and proactiveness through the way you work.
These qualities are present in senior leaders
across all professions so making sure they shine
through is key to advancing your role.
While you can’t write a prescriptive list
detailing you how to get to the top in credit
management, acting on the above points will
ensure you are doing what you can to reach your
potential. Along with personal traits, strategic
career moves and the occasional bit of luck,
you can propel yourself to where you want to
be while contributing to a workforce that works
harder and smarter and gets better results.
Karen Young is Director at Hays
Credit Management.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / May 2019 / PAGE 54 The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / May 2019 / PAGE 55