In
today’s increasingly competitive market,
candidates, regardless of their experience and qualifications need a
competitive edge over their peers. Professional certifications do just that for
them. Rightly so, because hiring a candidate who does not have the right set of
skills and knowledge affects him/her as well as the employer. This is not to
say that certifications are the ultimate path to your career goals; you, of
course, need to meet all the prerequisites mandated by your recruiters.
Certifications are the best way to tell your employers that you belong to the
category of niche professionals who can make a difference.
If
you are already working in a team with people having varied skills, IT certifications are also one way to
stand out. Not only will they help you enhance your skills and knowledge but
will provide you the competitive advantage over your team members. Trending and
up-to-date certifications will speak for your commitment and make you a
valuable asset to your organization.
Speaking
of certifications, Robert Blanchard, Director of Support Services, Aspen Skiing
Services Co. said-
“The
person with the certification is the one that is going to get hired.”
IT
professionals are not new to being told that certifications are the gateway to
countless career possibilities. But most of them have a tough time figuring out
the smart and best means to make these certifications align with their goals.
First
and foremost, it is necessary to understand why it has become so crucial to
integrate your career with certifications.
Generally speaking, IT professionals
usually consider certifications as the surefire ways to-
- Boost their earning potential
- Seek more opportunities in the job market
- Shift their career to the next best level
A
latest article published by Forbes Magazine says that IT professionals with
certifications are earning an average of $17,000 more per year than the median IT certification salary. From an
employee perspective, certifications let you demonstrate additional
qualifications on your resume in addition to getting hired faster.
Many
of these certifications even
come with digital badges, which according to your potential employers are the
quickest means to verify the stated qualifications immediately. This is further
supported by one recent statistics which says that in the UK’s office, for the
last 3 years, 14% of 13,800 employees were not holding the qualifications which
they claimed. To minimize the possibility of such incidents, more number of
companies are preferring digital badges to verify certifications.
It
is also worth mentioning that certifications are not just useful for the
professionals seeking better opportunities, they are equally beneficial for the
existing employees of a company who want to prove their skills to their
employers.
Certification
and credential holders are the first ones to get noticed when it comes to
hiring new employees. Given the intrinsically valuable nature of such
industry-tailored certifications, the employers can be assured of the expertise
levels of those employees.
A
few salient features of the top certification
programs will explain why employers like them so much-
- Clearly defined program goals and standards
- Customized curriculum with progressive levels
- Expected skill sets and knowledge upon completion
- Proper assessment criteria
- Hands-on projects (for certain programs)
That
fairly explains why certifications enhance the credibility of new
employees.
More
often than not, companies have found critical skill gaps in their existing
teams, that are mostly the barriers to progress. To address these gaps and
uplift the team(s) as a whole, the employers recommend taking up professional
certification programs.
Certifications can also be a
saviour for the existing employees if any of the following situations arise-
- Departments are getting reorganized
- New projects are being assigned to existing staffs
- Cross-functional teams are working together
- Company is merging with other organizations, creating new
responsibilities
In
such cases, the top management often finds it difficult to hire new people with
the required skills and let them upskill the teams. The prescribed approach,
which is all the more realistic, is to have in-house experts who are already certified in the latest technologies.
Before
you decide to take up any certification, be sure of the value it holds in your
career as well as the current market. An ideal example to cite would be that of
ITIL®, which started picking
up momentum post 2012. If statistics are to be believed, there are nearly 1.37
million ITIL® certifications out there. Way too many IT professionals have
benefited from this certification. It has helped them understand the
fundamental concepts of IT Service Management and service lifecycle to improve
business decisions. Implementing the ITIL® best practices have been
found to help these professionals streamline their processes for continuous
improvement.
Two
other top-rated certifications are Agile and Scrum, and PMP®. Agile and Scrum
training and certification program is extremely useful for teams which have
adopted the Scrum framework to simplify processes and work in a collaborative
environment. The Agile methodology is provenly a major upgrade from the
traditional waterfall method and transforming software development projects
worldwide.
The
Project Management Professional (PMP®)
certification, on the other hand, is deemed the most distinguished
qualification for the project managers working with several teams. It
facilitates on-time and on-budget project delivery, mitigating risk factors and
saving costs
Will certifications secure your
career?
It is safe
to say they will. But certifications alone cannot guarantee your future in the IT industry. Even your employers
will not solely rely on certifications to gauge your calibre. Additional
skillsets such as soft skills, technical skills, critical thinking and problem-solving
skills are also the mandates to establish a firm foothold in the corporate
world. It is also important to note that the certifications you opt for should
be up-to-date and on par with the latest trends in the industry. Because in the
end, your employers would handpick only the ones with relevant certifications
and experience. After all, certified professionals are the catalysts for a
major transformation in organizations.
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