Category Archives: Hiring a Professional

Accreditation, Application process, Education, Family History, Genealogy, Hiring a Professional, ICAPGen, Professionals, Renewals, Volunteer opportunities

Why Becoming an Accredited Genealogist® Professional Is Worth It

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By Trish T. Melander

Considering accreditation? It may be one of the best investments you can make in your genealogical career.

Genealogy is more than a hobby or even a profession—it’s a calling. And for many researchers who feel that calling deeply, one eventually asks themselves: Should I become accredited?

If you’re exploring that question, you’re already on a path of growth. Earning the Accredited Genealogist® (AG®) credential through ICAPGen℠ is more than a professional milestone — it’s a transformative experience that elevates your skills, your confidence, and your credibility.

Let’s walk through some of the reasons why many genealogists choose to pursue accreditation—and why it might be right for you, too.

1. Join a Legacy of Professional Excellence and Ethics

For more than fifty years, accreditation has served as an independent, trustworthy way to demonstrate true genealogical competence. When you earn the AG credential, you join this heritage of quality research, ethical practice, and professional rigor. The Code of Ethics signed by each AG professional ensures the public that honest communication, transparency in research limitations, respect for client confidentiality, properly citing sources, and accurately representing results are hallmarks of your work. 

Your commitment sets you apart and builds trust before a client ever meets you.

2. Increase your Visibility by Developing Specialized Expertise in a Specific Region

One of the unique strengths of ICAPGen accreditation is its regional focus. Candidates choose a specific geographic area and must demonstrate deep, practical expertise in the records, history, and cultural context of that region. The “Find an Accredited Genealogist Professional” directory on the ICAPGen website illustrates the areas around the world where accredited professionals are already working. Your deep skills in one of these regions can set you above the rest as a specialist in that area. Additionally, your specific expertise allows you to add professional post nominals (“AG®”) after your name, be listed on the ICAPGen website, where many clients find accredited professionals, and become more appealing to clients seeking expert genealogy help.

By the time you complete the accreditation process, you’ll feel confident handling even some of the most challenging research problems.

3. Independent Verification of Your Genealogical Skillset

Anyone can claim to be a genealogist. A credential proves it.

Accreditation is an objective, third-party evaluation of your research skills, analytical thinking, evidence correlation, writing clarity, and ability to solve complex genealogical problems. Maybe you are already refining some of these skills without the benefit of a defined path and a measuring stick to help you see areas for improvement in your work. Often, we can be so excited about the research that we don’t spend much time documenting it in writing to help a client review the results. Striving for accreditation allows you to put these skills to work in a concise body of work that is reviewed and awarded the credential when it’s ready — with stepping stones along the way if areas of your work need to improve.

That independent verification can be incredibly empowering — both for you and for anyone who hires you. You will build confidence to take on more complex client work, present and publish with authority, communicate your findings clearly, and build stronger client relationships.

4. Strengthen Your Research Skills Through Training and Preparation

Preparing for accreditation makes you a better researcher—regardless of where you are in your career. ICAPGen offers webinars, study groups, practice materials, and guidance from experienced AG professionals.

By the time you complete the accreditation journey, you will have sharpened every aspect of your research process—from methodology and analysis to report writing and time management.

Renewing your credential every five years to keep it current allows you to continue to refine your skills and demonstrate that refinement to other AG professionals in a manner that supports your growth. Your client’s ongoing mystery weaving through Georgia and Alabama may allow you multiple opportunities to use new methods of analysis, and come to sound genealogical conclusions over time.

5. New Opportunities to Serve, Lead and Expand

Once accredited, you will also have opportunities to serve within the ICAPGen organization. Some of these include serving a term as a commissioner, working with one of the testing committees, as a mentor or study-group leader, or supporting accreditation development. 

AG professionals are committed to building the genealogical community, and take opportunities to lead genealogical societies, our credentialing organization, libraries, and special research groups. It’s a chance to give back to the community, collaborate with other professionals, and help shape the future of genealogical standards.

Will the benefits make your effort pay off?

If you’re passionate about genealogy and committed to professionalism, accreditation can be one of the most meaningful steps you take in your career. As we’ve discussed here, it can expand your opportunities, broaden and deepen your knowledge, and connect you with a community of researchers who have demonstrated their skills as a professional.

The journey requires dedication, but the benefits last a lifetime.

And who knows? A few years from now, you may be the one inspiring new candidates to begin their own accreditation journey!

Education, Family History, Genealogy, Hiring a Professional, ICAPGen

Ten Effective Steps to Hiring an Accredited Genealogist (AG) Professional

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By Trish T. Melander, AG®

Have you been considering dusting off the family skeleton that hides in your upstairs closet, beneath your child’s marching band uniform from a decade ago and next to the worn out shoes the dog chewed on? Are there unresolved questions about your family history that you would like someone with expertise to help you answer? New cousins to meet, and want to be sure that you’re including the right ones in your family reunion? Maybe you’ve been working on a genealogy research problem and would like some guidance, or some record lookups at a distant location, or you’re ready to have someone take over and work on the problem with a fresh set of eyes.

It can feel intimidating to hire an Accredited Genealogist® professional to answer your genealogical questions – almost like you need to solve the research question first before you can explain what you would like them to solve! If you put in some time to be prepared when finding a researcher, the outcomes will be better, the process will be more enjoyable, and you will feel confident the research is done well.

Here are some simple steps that will help you hire the right genealogist to do the right research, and be confident you and they can have the best possible experience researching your ancestors!

Before You Hire

First, here are some things to consider in your preparation so that you can approach hiring a professional. Organizing your previous work will help you significantly as you prepare. However, don’t let the organizing keep you from reaching out – finding the right researcher may help motivate you to focus on the specific problem and assemble the needed pieces to start working with an AG® professional.

  1. Identify the research problem that the professional will be asked to resolve.
  2. Determine how much you want to pay for genealogical research. Not everything can be found in one research session. Most genealogists will break a project into smaller components to address budget constraints.

Once you have made these preparations, it’s time to locate and contact the right AG professional to do the work. You may find that there are multiple researchers who meet the qualifications you are looking for, and you may want to ask questions to learn more about their approach to the research you need. Some AG professionals may have websites or other available information about the services they offer, specific types of problems they can solve, and what you can expect from working with them.

Making Contact

  1. Use the Find a Professional directory to identify several AG professionals specializing in the area where the ancestor lived.
  2. Write to each one, explaining briefly the genealogical problem and what the AG professional will be requested to do, e.g., research a family, perform specific record searches, or act as a consultant to advise you in your research.
  3. Discuss the fees charged by the professional, their practice of providing updates, and ask for an estimate of when you will receive their report.

At this point, you are ready to choose the researcher and start working together! This new business relationship can open doors for you and bring answers to genealogy questions you have. This is another point when the preparation you put into arranging your previous research will be useful, and transferring the previous research to them will start the work off on the right foot. Remember, the more you share with them, the more they can see the context of the records that will help solve your research question. This is the time to be generous with what you know!

Hiring the Accredited Genealogist Professional

  1.  Discussing your specific research requirements and objectives with your chosen genealogist and together putting them in writing will avoid misunderstanding.
  2. Provide the researcher with copies of documents from any previously related research in order to avoid or minimize duplication.
  3. After the researcher has had an opportunity to review the data that you provided, he or she might require some additional information about your expectations or needs, e.g., what format is required: electronic, paper, or both? Should the genealogist add the information into a genealogy computer program or to an online tree? If international research is required, are translations needed?

It’s time to tie up the loose ends so that you can be sure you and the researcher have the same expectations for the outcome, and that you will be satisfied with what they produce on your behalf. Attention to these final details will help you know what you’re getting, and can spur you to ask any remaining questions before the research begins. Don’t be afraid to ask for explanations; you may have never worked with a researcher before.

Finalizing the Arrangement

  1. Be sure you both understand and agree upon the costs involved, how often the genealogist will send updates, and who will hold publication rights to the final materials. Negotiate and sign a written contract.
  2. Realistic expectations are important. If you have any questions or concerns about your research, be sure to communicate with the genealogist.

Following these steps should help both you and the AG professional have an enjoyable and productive experience. Initial preparation, carefully choosing the right researcher, communicating clearly about previous research and the current problem to solve, and maintaining realistic expectations will all make for a successful outcome! Hiring an AG professional can be a rewarding way to answer your questions about your family history, and leverage their expertise to save you time and frustration when the research isn’t moving forward.

About the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen℠)

The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) is a globally recognized credentialing organization dedicated to advancing professional excellence in genealogical research and reporting. Through rigorous written and oral examinations, ICAPGen evaluates and accredits genealogists who demonstrate depth of expertise, ethical practice, and mastery of regional research standards. Accredited Genealogist® professionals who earn ICAPGen credentials have met stringent competency benchmarks, providing clients and the public with confidence in their professional capabilities and commitment to industry best practices.