How a Professional Certification Can Help Consultants Stand Out from the Crowd

If you’re competing for a promotion, a new job, or a potential client, being a CFS is a great signal to the world that you have the applied knowledge and skill of a food science professional, and that you’ve made a commitment to lifelong learning.

Take, for instance, the case of Lori Rothman, CFS. Lori, a sensory scientist and principal at Lori Rothman Consulting, helps companies with both tactical and strategic initiatives. In her line of work, Lori says, the CFS designation has made a significant difference:

LORI:

I think that having a CFS has had a tremendous impact. I’m a sensory science consultant—I’m working with people that don’t know me. I’m getting referrals from people, or I’m seeing people that have looked at my LinkedIn profile but might not otherwise know me. And for those people that don’t know me, the CFS gives me immediate credibility—not just that I’m a professional, but that I am a food scientist. It’s an immediate communication tool: it lets people know who I am, and that when I approach my discipline, I understand the technical wherewithal of product development and food processing, and that I can communicate with product development professionals on a different level than someone who doesn’t have the certification. It’s a beacon that says, “Oh, she’s a food scientist, so she has a different level of understanding.”

So for product developers, they immediately understand that I grasp a lot of the problems that they’re going to face, and that I’m going to be able to relate the sensory properties of products to how they formulate, and we can take that journey together. And even for people that do know me, and that know me as a sensory scientist, it again gives me credibility that I am able to work with product developers and that I speak their language. So when, say, developers have to speak with their colleagues from marketing, I can work as sort of a translator between the technical group and the business group.

If someone was thinking about getting their CFS, I would tell them to definitely get it. It’s a professional certification that means something. CFS is one more thing that says you take what you do seriously, and you want to let the world know you’ve achieved a certain level of competence. 
The continuing education aspect is especially great, because it’s still an evolving science, and there’s new methodology being developed all the time. Knowing I have to stay current for my CFS certification really gives me one extra push to make sure I am on top of what’s going on in the field.

Lori is just one of nearly 2,000 Certified Food Scientists in 55 countries around the world. The CFS—the only global certification for food science professional—recognizes the applied scientific knowledge and skills of global food professionals and provides a universal way to identify, cultivate, and retain top talent.