Technical certifications are just "window dressing"

[NYUGrad2000]

Just curious why many managers seem to be overly impressed with certifications when hiring staff. I've got almost 10 years hands-on data warehouse experience with complex MicroStrategy applications but never pursued my certification. I've passed rigorous technical interviews, always play a lead technical role and have great ref's. Yet more than once, I've been told I'm not getting an interview because I lack certification. The same is true with some friends in other technical niches. Do you really think passing a test and holding a piece of paper should be the major determining factor?

[BigShot]

It's not just about "holding the piece of paper" as you put it.
It demonstrates the person's commitment to that technology - and not just being a jack of all trades.
Also shows me seriousness in continued education.
When I hire consultants I allways seek out certifications for another important reason… it's called "cover my ass."
If a project runs into trouble, I don't want management second-quessing me and asking why I didn't hire qualified consultants for the job.

[bmarks]

It also shows you are capable of picking up things. Education shows that you are capable of learning.

[late74C]

Sorry - but this is like the same discussion of those who have a college degree and those who don't but have 'life expereince' -- in some occupations even within tech jobs it didn't matter in the past, in this day and age its 'table stakes' to even be considered.

By passing a cert' test it shows that a person has a working understanding of the basic concepts, etc. -- without it the hiring manager has no idea as to what level of experience you have.

On a similar topic, we recently tried an open book 'test' for our prospective ERP BA's with some really interesting results -- many so called senior people totally blew it, from their answers we could determine that they didn't have much at all experience using the software that they would be working with -- remember this was open book, no time restriction and no restriction on what resource they could use. Some even stated via their email response that 'all the answers are online so I choose not to respond' -- sorry, that just shows too much arrogance. So again, barring some other way that you may suggest, how is a hiring manager able to determine what you know (and remember they may get dozens' of resumes to review) --- to your first comment, its not that we are 'overly impressed' its that we need to weed out those worth follow up from the rest.

Another way is to think of a tech certificate as a CLEP test (using life experience to get college credit -- if you pass a College-Level Examination Program test you can forego certain college courses for a degree - saves you time and money). It just shows you have working knowledge equivalent to that level -- I happen to enjoy history so I did History I and II and was able to skip a few electives.

Lastly, if you think that your experience would be sufficient to blow by any cert' test -- I would state that within a cover letter that you would be willing to submit to any standard tech tests they may have and/or a sit down with one of their senior tech people in lieu of certficates that you don't currently hold. It may at least get you a second look --

[bmarks]

I agree that if you have extensive exp a Certification should not matter, especially if that's all you have and do not have real life exp, but it seems more and more these days the managers are looking at certifications.

[Greg]

Certificates – are they needed? In a normal job market professional cert’s are the desired requirements; in today’s job market they have moved into the must have category.

I agree with Late74C “By passing a cert' test it shows that a person has a working understanding of the basic concepts, etc. -- without it the hiring manager has no idea as to what level of experience you have.” It has also become the means of getting one’s proverbial foot in the door if you will. It used to be if you did not have a high school diploma you could not get an interview; then came the technical degree; then came the college degree, and today the advanced degree.

The technical degree or skills has come back in the form of technical certifications. More and more companies appear to be using the cert requirement as a major need for the company, yet most are actually using it to weed out candidates, hoping they will get the best of the best. Certificates are the new down select criteria for HR departments not familiar with the roles. It is also easy for them to use this checklist approach because they cannot manage nor physically review and evaluate the hundreds, if not thousands or resumes they are receiving for each open position.

Sometimes really good candidates are not passed through to the hiring manager because of this new method of selection. Late74C had another good idea – use the cover letter to your advantage to address any potential short comings in your certifications. It is about getting noticed and invited to the interview where you can address in person how you can help the company deliver on their mission.

Also, if you feel you do have the skills and experience to pass the cert test, then schedule them and pass them. This will eliminate non selection based on no certifications. While there is a cost to this and most folks that have been laid off may not have the funds to take these tests, I would advise trying to find a way to take them.