I enjoyed reading a post on “Todd’s Back From Red” blog (@backfromred) titled, “The PMP, A Sign of Competency or Marketing?“. In the post, Todd shared his thoughts around the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and the value of certification as a gauge of someone’s competency as a project manager.
Todd’s firsthand experience with the PMP certification process was the result of his publisher’s marketing department making it a requirement for publishing his new book. My experience with certification was similar to Todd’s, although I finished the PMP course but didn’t take the PMP exam.
“Optimistically, I moved forward hopeful I would learn something in the process. It did not take long, I learned why I needed to recover those projects that PMPs were running into the ground. A feeling of job security would overcome me.” – Todd Williams
As a CIO, CTO and even a CEIEIO at one point, I’ve never been a big fan of using IT certification to gauge a candidate’s level of competency. Some people who know me might argue that my position stems from the fact that I never earned an undergrad or advanced degree myself. 
While I fully support schools and organizations that offer IT certification, and the people who want them, my reliance on certification as IT a gauge of competency has been zero, and I don’t expect that’ll change any time soon – especially after reading posts like Todd’s and my own experience with certification programs like the PMP.
“Certifications were created by vendors to sell products. Once people were trained, these companies ended up with all of these specialists out there that didn’t work for them but advocated for them.” -David Foote
That said, I’m a huge supporter of a person’s need to learn and grow. In fact, I have not only developed but also teach 4 courses at New York University, in the Professional Certificate in Digital Media Marketing program. These programs have helped thousands of people just getting started or changing career their career focus over to digital marketing.
As the economy continues it’s unpredictable ebb and flow, one thing is certain; organizations need to make smart decisions about the people they invest in.
As David Foote, co-founder, CEO and Chief Research Officer of Foote Partners said in a 2009 report, “…the action has shifted to rapid specialized skills acquisition and selective hiring.” Workforce reshuffling in response to business decisions is now happening in a matter of weeks instead of months. And that creates short-term volatility in both skills pay and demand, says Foote.
A June 2008 eWeek.com article stated, “IT leaders, analysts and in-the-trenches professionals say certifications mean little in the candidate selection process.” The article goes on to say that the dotcom bust drove many IT pros to get one or more IT certifications in the hopes of improving job security, while their managers used these accreditations to assure their value to others in the organization.
“Certifications count for zero,” one IT manager at a large retail company told eWEEK, insisting that they only proved someone was good at taking a test. “They correlate little with what kind of asset they’d be.” -eWeek.com
That was then and this is now. It’s March of 2010 and we’re in the midst of what could possibly be the worst financial crisis since the 30′s. IT professionals need every advantage they can get to compete for fewer jobs against more candidates – and that might just include an IT certification or two.
Do you rely on IT certification when hiring? What has your experience been, good or bad, when hiring IT resources with or without certifications? Do you have an IT certification or more than one? Have they been helpful to you in your career as far as being a gate item or helping you get more money? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Join the conversation – leave your comments below.
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This was a very interesting read. As a hiring manager, I had person after person come in with one certification after another. I am glad the candidates took the time to increase their skill set, however what is key, is can they apply the “book” knowledge they learned in class, or can they just regurgitate the material in order to pass the class. People with certifications that can not apply the material, will end up under performing and causing more issues instead of resolving issues.
Thanks for the comment, Jeff. My point about having a cert when looking for a job was that sometimes, it can be the difference between getting an interview or not with some hiring managers. That said, I’m with you. Is the candidate going to have practical skills they can apply right away or will it be a theoretical approach, with the practical experience coming while they learn on the job?
I do remember one IT resource I worked with sometime back. He was already in place when I hired on as the CTO and SVP of Product Development. Very formal in the way he communicated; called everyone ‘sir’ and “ma’am”. I got a real kick out of that! Old school brain in a 25 year old body. He was a big fan of certifications and he had a number of them. But this guy worked his a## off and always delivered results.
Certifications for him were a hobby, a way to challenge himself.
I’m interested in results and the people who can deliver don’t need a certificate to prove it. They need to roll up their sleeves and show me.
When I’ve hired folks in the past, I’ve looked at certifications as part of my overall view of the candidate. If I’m hiring for a Database Administrator, a DBA certification helps me understand that this person has knowledge in the area…but it doesn’t help me determine their experience or skills in the area.
On the other hand, if I’m hiring for a Project Manager for a large enterprise implementation, a Project Management Certification like the PMP really doesn’t do much for me. The PMP certification tells me that the user has experience in the project management world and has passed a test…but it doesn’t tell me anything about that person’s real abilities.
I completely agree with what you wrote about how at this time, “IT professionals need every advantage they can get to compete for fewer jobs against more candidates.” While certificates don’t prove the applicants can apply the skills they’ve learned to pass the exams, though, ask them how they trained for the certification exam. If they’ve worked with the technologies specifically in past jobs or trained for their exams with online labs that gave them practical, hands-on experience (like those provided by TestOut – yes, my client), they can likely do the job.
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