Although she had a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and had taught for many years, the employer Courtney Burkes worked for required her to get a certification in personal training. Since then, she has believed that a certification does not make a good trainer.
As the director of fitness and wellness at the University of California Irvine, Burkes does require some sort of certification, but also wants to see how they interact with a diverse population and in certain situations.
“Because our population is so diverse in the sense from students to graduate students, from staff to faculty, retirees — they interact with a lot of different people, so I need to make sure that they can communicate well with all those different groups and really can come across as a professional. And sometimes you can’t teach that in certifications.”
If a student approaches her and states he or she wants to be a personal trainer, Burkes will ask them why and encourage them to come back to her after they get certified. She believes encouraging students to get a certification is her way to help them grow.
“There’s just so many different factors that play into what is a good personal trainer and a piece of paper isn’t always the only thing,” said Burkes.
And once you have a staff who loves what they’re doing, Burkes said the feeling is infectious.
John Halsey, the associate program director at University of California, Irvine, hires group fitness instructors for the university. And while he does encourage students to get a certification as well, he also looks at their personality.
“I would look for the spirit, the persona and the smile of the candidate. Because what they’re doing is they’re creating a culture in their class that other people want to emulate,” explained Halsey.
Burkes said she decided to take a holistic wellness approach when hiring personal trainers, which contradicts what she believes many gyms are doing.
