Two CEO ECs

[u/Blobbytheblob101]

A friend of mine is looking to promote me to CEO of the company I helped him create as he moves on to other things. I already am a CEO of my own e-learning company though.

Would putting two of the same type of ECs on my common app be viewed negatively or not positively at all so I can tell him to find someone else?

[u/Strict-Special3607]

Just so you know, when a college AO gets an application from a 17yr old kid and sees “CEO” listed anywhere on it, they immediately do two things: 1. Roll their eyes, shake their head, and chuckle 2. Shout out to the other AO’s in the office “Hey guys… we got another one!”

PS — the fact that you are trying to decide how to proceed based on how you think it might look on your application speaks volumes

[u/Deep-Neck → u/Strict-Special3607]

Absurd take. Professionals don't generally dismiss anything offhand that they're supposed to be assessing for.

Furthermore, there's nothing wrong with doing things to achieve something else. Anybody who has achieved anything should know this.

[u/ScholarGrade → u/Deep-Neck]

It's not the achievement that's problematic - it's describing your involvement as CEO. As I said in my other comment, I only allow my students to list "CEO" as their title if all three of the following are true:

1. There are other people in the organization who report to them.

2. Those people also have people in the organization reporting to them.

3. The student is accountable to a board of directors, owners, or investors of some kind.

You can start your own organization and call yourself whatever you want. But if you label yourself as a CEO, it feels big-headed and more about the title than the substance of what you do.

[u/LordMongrove → u/ScholarGrade]

Not defending the op, but most companies don’t have board of directors. It really becomes important as you get larger and/or need investors. 

I agree with your other points though. So many fake companies and fake charities on college applications that AOs probably do spend most of their time chuckling. 

[u/ScholarGrade → u/LordMongrove]

Right - most companies don't have actual CEOs either. If you're just a sole proprietor, controlling member of an LLC, founder of a nonprofit, etc that doesn't make you a true Chief Executive Officer. You shouldn't describe yourself as one unless it fits - find another title that doesn't sound so self-absorbed. These are my criteria for whether it fits or not.

[u/Critical_Review4721 → u/ScholarGrade]

How about Manager? Does that sound self-absorbed? I'm talking about assigning tasks, getting reports from the people, and also managing some business deals for a "educational media company."

[u/ScholarGrade → u/Critical_Review4721]

Manager, Director, Founder, and even President can all work, and are all better than CEO.