Congratulations! You have taken your first steps towards a career as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. As you prepare for your CFP® exam, consider connecting with a CFP® professional as a mentor for support and guidance during a window of time before your test date.
“Mentoring helps candidates focus on time management, study strategy, staying motivated and more,”According to CFP Board’s website, the non-profit organization is dedicated to supporting professional standards for personal financial planning.
The CFP Board Mentor Program aligns with the CFP® exam schedule and sets up short-term mentoring relationships to align with the March, July or November exams. In April, the next mentoring period opens to prepare candidates for July’s exam. Mentors and mentors must meet at least 3 times over the three-month period leading to the exam.
CFP Board also provides online resources to support the mentor/mentee relationship, including sample practice exam questions, more information about the key knowledge topics to which exam questions are linked, and a guide to the Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct that CFP® professionals need to know and implement in their careers.
There are additional benefits to mentoring both for mentors and mentees:
- It’s personal. CFP Board mentors help candidates to identify their strengths and focus on the areas that will make them successful in passing the exam.
- They are willing to share their knowledge. The financial planning profession is supportive and inclusive, and many established advisors choose to become mentors because they enjoy sharing their insights and offering encouragement to those ready to become a CERTIFIED FINANICAL PLANNER™ professional.
- Long-term connections. The CFP Board formal mentor program is designed to support students through the exam process, but some candidates for CFP® certification and their mentors continue to connect, and mentors can continue to provide career advice and networking opportunities.
CFP Board Mentor Program aims to achieve the following goals: “foster the next generation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals to succeed and advance the profession,” CFP Board emphasizes.
For more information, please visit cfp.net/get-certified/tools-and-resources/find-a-mentor for links to sign up to find a mentor or become a mentor, as well as more resources to help prepare for the CFP®exam.
