Invest in Yourself With Three Letters...CHT

April 25, 2013 | 428 Views

Invest in Yourself With Three Letters...CHT

Gini Quiroz, CHT

The idea of getting a professional certification terrified me initially. What if I don't pass? How embarrassing! Will that mean I'm not good enough for my job? Last spring I reached out to a couple of mentors (those whom already held the title, CHT), and was comforted in knowing the confidence they had in the program. At the beginning of the process, I thought having the three letters behind my name would confirm all of my hard work despite not having a degree in hospitality. I could finally hold a title that gave me some street credibility in the training world.

At last summer’s conference in Chicago, I made the decision to invest in myself and encourage you to do the same. Register for the review session and CHT exam at #CHARTMiami!

Truth is, the process and preparation for the exam was invaluable. I studied really hard—like being back in college. Surprisingly I knew quite a bit already just from my personal on-the-job experiences. But I was reminded of a few things. One of them being—stick to the basics. It's like Ken Blanchard and Don Shula discuss in the book Everyone's a Coach; you can know every trick play out there, but if you stop practicing and forget the basics—it will be almost impossible to win the game. Run fast. Tackle hard. Get the ball from one end of the field to the other—hopefully more than the other team. Simple.

Training has very fundamental basics, too. Engaging in the CHT process reminded me of that. Very quickly it stopped being about me (as it never should have been). It wasn't simply the task of passing (admittedly the competitive side of me didn't go away completely). I have an obligation and owe team members my best self, and to be that, it's important for me to grow and develop, too.

The three letters didn't change the way I do my job or how serious people take me. They did though, force me to refocus where I was putting my energy. And it does come with a certain level of responsibility. If you have a PhD next to your name, you should be prepared to "doctor" talk to folks. Similarly having those three letters "CHT" following your signature, opens the door for anyone to talk "trainer" with you. As trainers, we typically welcome those conversations.

Invest in yourself and register today. Good luck on your exam!

CHART Community Discussion

Leave a comment




Allowed tags: <b><i><br>Add a new comment:



Comments (0)