Certificate of completion posts

I saw few times people publishing their "Certificate of completion" from Udemy or Cybrary on their LinkedIn profile. I feel it is something between "funny" and "foolish".
Is it just my impression?

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stryder144

Considering that most organizations want to see their employees advancing their knowledge, and the fact that continuing education can be expensive to say the least, I think that posting such information to LinkedIn gives a future employer an idea that you aren't sitting still educationally. A lot of the Cybrary material can be used to keep your CEs current, which is a requirement to keep your A+, Network+, Security+, CISSP, etc. active. So posting what you are doing to keep yourself up-to-date and relevant shouldn't be looked down upon, in my opinion. Having said that, though, I won't consider someone with a ton of Cybrary completion certificates as equal to someone who has a relevant IT certificate from CompTIA, ISC2, ISACA, etc. But it helps me to judge where they are at. Naturally, by posting such material, it is open season on the knowledge that they should have acquired during the course they took. Don't put down that you successfully completed the Cybrary HIPAA course and not expect me to ask questions related to HIPAA.

trojin

I'm just afraid we can see soon posts like "I just watched 1th video from Cybrary course"

. Free courses are fine. I'm using them too, but never will post this as "topic". Watch videos, do free training, pass exam and post your achievement.
But this just my opinion...

mzx380

I list that I've taken these courses, but I don't post them as certificates of completion. I reserve the certification section for more establish certs that I earn through proctored exams.

dhay13

I have them listed that I have completed the courses but don't list them under certifications. I do this to show potential employers my level of commitment and motivation.

UnixGuy

Sure why not, list the courses and self-study that you've done (in an organised near matter), especially if you can back it out with knowledge.

e.g. you list that you completed a python course, when they ask you about it in the interview, mention that you are comfortable with Python and ready to answer any python related questions

trojin

I can list paid courses in my LinkedIn profile even I did not sat any exam after course. I can add programming language as skill. But I wont add to my certs any cert from Udemy, Cybrary or similar sites. This way we will very soon list every video watched on youtube or webinar attended. 12 hours Python course from Udemy wont make me a Python programmer.

UnixGuy

True, but it also depends on the job you're applying to. If (for example), the job is heavy on Perl scripting AND you're comfortable with Perl, you can highlight the courses you did (even if not paid) AND/OR the projects you worked on including home lab stuff (as long as you point out they're in a home lab).

Use your best judgement, there are no hard set rules really

ITSec14

UnixGuy wrote: »

True, but it also depends on the job you're applying to. If (for example), the job is heavy on Perl scripting AND you're comfortable with Perl, you can highlight the courses you did (even if not paid) AND/OR the projects you worked on including home lab stuff (as long as you point out they're in a home lab).

Use your best judgement, there are no hard set rules really

I thought the micro certs seemed kind of legit at first...until I actually took a couple free tests and had repeated questions, plenty of misspelled words and wrong answers...

I wouldn't post that info on LinkedIn either way though. I do think that the traditional approach to certifications (multiple choice/answer) seems outdated now though. The certs that are hands on are a much better measure of knowledge and performance.

UnixGuy

@ITSec: I agree Lab based certs are the best, but are Multiple choice exams going to disappear anytime soon? I don't think so.

yoba222

I saw one LinkedIn profile where the guy had some edX course listed . . . it was something like machine learning or artificial intelligence--something there really aren't certs for. He had the course linked to edX for verification and he had taken the time to ensure he had a perfect 100% score. I have to admit it made his profile feel more professional than not.

I don't list any and I normally I scoff at resume padding like that but you have to admit it can be a way to add a phrase you want to a resume.

Mike7

Guess it depends on whether you have any achievements to list.
If you have tons of certification, you will not bother to list completed courses. If you have none, listing that Udemy course you completed is a good way to fill up that "void". It helps increase the hit rate especially if you are looking for a job. A recruiter looking for infosec personnel may hit your Linkedin because you list "attended CISSP course" or "bought CISSP book.

Same goes for resumes. In fact, I just saw one where this guy is "actively pursuing" 3 GIAC SANS certification. Another guy list OSCP even though he did not take the exam.

Danielm7

Linkedin and your resume are two different things. I don't want to see all that stuff listed out on your resume, but if I bother looking you up I have no problem with someone listing other types of education they've done. As others mentioned it might make the candidate more appealing as I can get an idea if they're someone who is interested in lots of continuing education and keeping themselves updated.

mbarrett

trojin wrote: »

I saw few times people publishing their "Certificate of completion" from Udemy or Cybrary on their LinkedIn profile.

I can see where someone who goes to a live classroom and spends time learning the material would want to mention that they completed it as a way of demonstrating what they have been focused on. However, I'm not sure what value there is with posting a certificate saying you went to a website and played a video in your web browser.

NetworkNewb

I trust them with a grain of salt whenever I see someone with those small cert of completions and courses. I've done them and know they can mean close nothing in terms of actual knowledge you need to complete them. To me they don't even make think the person is trying to improve their knowledge. It just looks like they are trying to sell themselves by getting a bunch of small easy accomplishments where you don't actually have to learn a ton.

If someone was serious about learning something they should show it by getting a "big", more well-known certification. Or they show it by showing an example of what they have learned. That can either by showing things you have done at your job. Or maybe you have a personal website showing examples of what you have created or done with knowledge you attained.

Just my 2 cents and what I think after having took some of those.

Edit: I even got this one from MIT's online course. I don't list it on my resume and even took it off LinkedIn because I didn't think I learned much from that much from the course and didn't want to have to explain to people why I took a MIT course and how I didn't find it that useful.

MIT.jpg

trojin

mbarrett wrote: »

I can see where someone who goes to a live classroom and spends time learning the material would want to mention that they completed it as a way of demonstrating what they have been focused on. However, I'm not sure what value there is with posting a certificate saying you went to a website and played a video in your web browser.

Exactly what I'm taking about