Earning your Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designation is a learning journey. Along the way, you acquire valuable employee benefits knowledge and relevant new skills. As you apply what you’ve learned to your work, you can forge a unique career pathway that is truly your own. Here’s a designee’s CEBS® story.
A Chat With Rob Staniloff, CEBS
Rob Staniloff, CEBS
HR Advisor, Pension and Benefits
Suncor Energy
Could you describe how expanding your professional network has supported you in obtaining your designation?
“I moved to human resources in 2022 with my current company and about a year and a half later, was presented with the CEBS designation opportunity. I learned that no one in my company had the designation, not even the leaders. I believed that obtaining this designation would not only give me the tools to succeed but will also allow me to stand out in my company as being the ‘go-to’ person.
While obtaining my CEBS designation, I ended up meeting more people in the industry, which has also allowed me to further expand my professional network.”
Could you share a story about how you prepared for your CEBS exams and applied what you learned to your work?
“In preparing for the CEBS exams, I first did some research on what other candidates did to prepare. The main thing I came across that helped me was to stick to a schedule and make sure I followed it. I blocked off time daily and did a lot of studying on the weekends. I made sure I went through the Study Guide and textbook multiple times. A unique thing I did, and my wife came up with this, was to attempt the Practice Exam first before I even cracked a book. I did this for all the Practice Exams, failed them all on that first attempt but knew where I was. An important note about this is that I never looked at what I got wrong on the first attempt. Then I proceeded to move through the Study Guide and textbook again, retook the Practice Exam and saw again where I was. When reviewing the Practice Exam, I looked at the answer to each question to understand why it was correct. By the end of my studies and before I took the real exam, I had gone through the Study Guide about five times and made sure that I was getting 100% on the Practice Exam prior to writing the actual CEBS exam.
I haven’t had a lot of time to be able to apply what I’ve learned but have noticed a difference when speaking to items at work. I’m unique as I can cross the four teams in pensions and benefits at my company and give my advice. At my company, there is a divide where pension colleagues focus on pensions and benefits colleagues focus on benefits. I can move between the two.”
Could you share some insight about how pursuing your CEBS designation demonstrates that you are a lifelong learner and an expert in your profession?
“I decided to pursue my CEBS designation after I did some research, and having the designation tells people that you are an expert in the profession. I have been in the pension and benefits field for about 15 years and knew about the designation previously as I worked with some former colleagues who had it. The opportunity was presented to me at my current company to obtain it. I also love to learn and am still learning about things in this profession. Having this designation not only will help me in my current role but will allow me to move to other roles eventually. Finally, I intend to remain CEBS Compliant as this will allow me the opportunity to keep up with emerging trends in the field.”
Visit CEBS online for information about purchasing course materials, signing up for an Online Study Group, virtual exams and more details on the program. Do you need further guidance on your CEBS journey? Whether you’re about to take your first step or getting close to earning your designation, we’re here to help! Give us a call at (833) 886-3749 or email [email protected].
