Introduction

Professional certification, trade certification or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure that s/he is well-qualified to take up a job or a task.

Certification can lead to better visibility, opportunities and jobs. In today's increasingly complex and highly-specialized economy, credentials are so important. Off course, you know you've got the right skill sets to take up the job but, how do you convince potential customers and employers the same?  For most of the career-minded professionals, certification is often the answer.
 

What Does Certification Mean to Recruiters?


There are three general types of certifications. They are listed in order of development level and portability, they are: corporate (internal), product-specific and profession-wide.

When evaluating prospective candidates, employers frequently look to certification as a measure of excellence and commitment to quality.

The findings of a 2010 Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) study provide an interesting peek into the typical mindset of a manager who has to recruit IT professionals. According to the findings, 91% of all managers interviewed stated that they regard IT certifications as effective yardsticks to judge a candidate’s worth and look for these stamps on resumes. This is not surprising in light of the following statistic, also gleaned from the study. More than 80% of these managers believe that certified IT professionals are more efficient workers and enhance the performance of the teams they are a part of. Clearly, IT hiring managers see benefits in recruiting certified professionals.
 

What Does Certification Mean to Organizations?

Businesses benefit from certification because they will have a benchmark to compensate measure and evaluate employees’ skills for roles within the organization. Teams are trained to consistent skills levels. Certified people are typically more productive and work to consistent standards. Certification ensures that knowledge has been retained. It also results in greater customer satisfaction (internal and external customers) and lower staff turnover.
 

What Does Certification Mean to Professionals?

Professionals benefit by:
  • increasing their value and income
  • developing the skills necessary to analyze the issues and implement solutions in today’s increasingly complex computing environment,
  • keeping up with ever-changing technologies and
  • acquire skills that differentia them from the rest


Conclusion

Training and certification will play essential roles in preparing professionals for bringing about evolution in their organizations. Certification, training and experience are three of the top four most important characteristics when selecting a candidate for a position.
 

Reference:

Wikipedia and Microsoft

About the Author

EshnaEshna

Eshna is a writer at Simplilearn. She has done Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication and is a Gold Medalist in the same. A voracious reader, she has penned several articles in leading national newspapers like TOI, HT and The Telegraph. She loves traveling and photography.

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