on Fri, Feb 14, 2003 at 11:04:33AM -0500, Mike M ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: > Certification is for PHBs only. Right? Is there any evidence other than > marketing blather that certification is a worthwhile endeavor?
Here's a slightly pragmatic take on this. Note that I'm not certified (well, not in any technical skill, anyhow). Several people have noted that when hiring they've seen hundreds of resumes, many for simply unqualified candidates, even in the current economy. Friend of mine at Google reports same. Still. Currently. The job of the HR department and/or the coporate recruiter is to eliminate resumes. If they're worth their salt, they're lopping off the bad ones. Most of 'em do a half-decent job of it. Which is to say, not great, but you really *can* cut a lot of chaff just by eliminating spelling errors and grossly mistargeted resumes. For these people, a certification is simply a decisionmaking tool. List cert foo as a requirement. Cert foo is listed, resume goes in pile "A". Not listed? Roundfiled. Fair? Is life? Lose some good talent? Yes, but with 500 resumes for a single ad, that's not going to hurt. So what's the deal with certs? Depends on the cert. One issue that few people focus on is the fact that vendor certs are very often a massive marketing tool. So Novel's CNA, Cisco CCNA, Microsoft MCSE, Red Hat RHCE -- don't think for a second that the certification isn't there in large part so that *you* will go out and sell *their* product. For technologies with large existing skilled bases, certs can generate significant pushback largely because of the vendor-centricity of them. One of my sidelines, SAS programming, is such a community that's resisted certification for most of the past decade. That said, what a _good_ certification program shows is that the certified individual: - Has demonstrated a minimum level of competence indicated by the certification. - Has demonstrated sufficient interest and committment to a career to invest in the time and financial cost of training and certification. While these of themselves don't assure a qualified candidate, _for a well-designed cert program_ they can be a positive indicator. Cisco's CCNA is highly regarded, and I even know some current MSFT certified types who assure me that the current set of certificates *do* require practical competence and demonstrated skill (he's also an incredible Debian shill for whom I take some responsibility....). There *are* good, vendor-neutral, certification programs. LPI is probably the most significant GNU/Linux certs. SAGE (the System Administrator's Guild (http://www.sage.org/) is another option which is independent of platform -- Unix, GNU/Linux, VMS, what have you. My own take on certification: It *can* be a useful tool but has been abused, leading to distrust on both sides (neither hiring managers nor tech workers like 'em). A solid, respected, and well-known vendor-neutral cert would probably be useful. So are a publication history, a solid Web / Usenet footprint, good references, and a personal recommendation for a position. Of my past four positions: - One was through a body shop I'd worked with for several years. - One was through a personal introduction to the CEO at a Slashdot party. That turned into a dot-bomb.... - One was through a personal referral through a relative of a current employee, relative having known me for some years online and in person. - One (most recent) was a response to an online position posting, with a tailored resume, considered followup email, and in which my online profile, publications, and existing code (including tools which are of specific interest to the firm) played a very strong role. My meeting with the CEO started with the phrase "So, you hate Flash". Message: we've looked at you (ergo: we've taken you seriously), you're not shy with your opinions, and since you're talking to me now, after a technical interview, that's probably a good thing in this culture. And it isn't a web-design shop ;-) Lesson to job seekers: present credible evidence of your person and skills. Could be a cert, a project you've worked on, documentation or writings you've made, a friend who can give a good word for you at a prospect, your own ability to present yourself well in person. Yes, the current US job market is tight, but there are jobs, and some of them are going to qualified candidates. The others will be open again soon enough ;-) Peace. -- Karsten M. Self <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/ What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? Hollings: bought, paid for, but couldn't deliver the CBDTPA: http://www.politechbot.com/docs/cbdtpa/hollings.s2048.032102.html -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]