Why am I getting certs if no one ever checks them

UrbanBob

Every year I get 3 or 4 new certs and add them to my resume. I'm sure the employers see them listed and say yeah glad you have them but they never follow through and check them or ask me about them. I could literally list anything I want and I still don't think they would care.
What is your all experience? 

DZA_

You're totally right about employers not validating whether a future employee has their certifications in good standing and whether they care. Where they do validate and to see whether you're not BSing or not is in technical interviews I'd say. If you give a solid answer with conjunction with a certification behind your name, good chances that you've rightfully earned the cert and is not a paper cert what I've seen in the industry (it's just plain sad). 

It's up to the employers to really call out whether to validate, could the process with HR be improved? For sure. Ultimately for the majority folks here want to improve themselves and to advance their career with their certifications. It's update to the employer to validate it or not. I haven't had an employer or even during an interview ask to see whether my certificates are still validated or followed through (CAD Market).

theowil

I often think about this very topic. I am new to the IT field so I haven't received my first Job yet, but I do have 3 certification's. I have had three recent interviews  and no one  has asked to validate my certs.

I was asked to join the team at two of the companies so far and waiting to hear back from the third. The first one was contract position the second is for the state. I'm sure if you go to enough interviews someone will ask, but if you have many cert's they prob will only check the one that they want you to have the most.

UnixGuy

Certifications give your a nice structured way to learn about certain topics and dive deep. It gives you a goal to work on, and when you do certs (specially ones with a Lab component), you build skills that you can apply to your current & future jobs. Think of it as an investment to make you an expert in a topic

theowil

UnixGuy said:

Certifications give your a nice structured way to learn about certain topics and dive deep. It gives you a goal to work on, and when you do certs (specially ones with a Lab component), you build skills that you can apply to your current & future jobs. Think of it as an investment to make you an expert in a topic

That's very true. In my case I signed up at a Tech school which taught IT classes, basically a boot-camp. I paid for A+, Net+, Security+ and MCSA Windows 10 all at the same time. I have a deadline of a year from the school and then add on that  the certs have expiration dates. (One of the most stressful summers I have had) .

So I knocked out all three CompTIA certs and now working on Windows 697/698 and from what I read its a tough one. I don't have any on the job experience. I say all that to say that I may not get a chance to take and pass one or maybe even both of the Microsoft exams, but I am going to try.

 So If I cant eventually say that I have that particular Cert. I will definitely try to add as much of the content of what I learned from the study material, to my resume.

Jaydel.Leach

Urbanbob said:

Every year I get 3 or 4 new certs and add them to my resume. I'm sure the employers see them listed and say yeah glad you have them but they never follow through and check them or ask me about them. I could literally list anything I want and I still don't think they would care.
What is your all experience? 

I have never been asked during the interview process to validate my certificates.  However, I have been asked by 3 different employers to hand in my certs after been employed for a month.  The policy for each was that if you couldn't provide them at their request, you have 6 months to get the cert. Just my 2 cents.

chrisone

Current employer requested I bring my certs in for validation before our second interview. I would recommend, just be honest, lying will dig you into a trap where you are hired to perform a certain skill level (based on the certs you lied about) and if you are not meeting those standards you will be let go. There is a reason most employers have a standard 6 month probation. Starting a new relationship based off lies and assuming employers are stupid is not a good move. 

cochi78

theowil said:

I paid for A+, Net+, Security+ and MCSA Windows 10 all at the same time. I have a deadline of a year from the school and then add on that  the certs have expiration dates. (One of the most stressful summers I have had) .

How long ago was that? By renewing Security+, it automatically renewed Net+ and A+ at least for a year or so.

CompTIA may not mean much, but it has convenient renewal cascades which even stretch to 3rd party vendors. Just with AWS Developer Associate, Cloud+/Network+/A+ have sort of an auto-renewal (by paying $ and sending them any updated cert). As soon as you get something from ISACA/ISC², the whole Security branch will renew automatically as well

JDMurray

Most job postings list certs as "nice to have" and not "absolutely required," so why bother checking if a candidate's certs are valid, let alone if the candidate actually has the cert they claim?

Until the past couple of years, there wasn't an easy way to check if a vendor's certification was valid. It was only when the cert vendors finally realized that people were claiming to have certs that really didn't, and this was hurting their brand value, that certification vendors started creating cert validation services. Prior to this, hiring managers and HR departments just didn't check unless the cert was absolutely required for the job, which was rare (usually because of contractual requirements for the work).

theowil

cochi78 said:

theowil said:

I paid for A+, Net+, Security+ and MCSA Windows 10 all at the same time. I have a deadline of a year from the school and then add on that  the certs have expiration dates. (One of the most stressful summers I have had) .

How long ago was that? By renewing Security+, it automatically renewed Net+ and A+ at least for a year or so.

CompTIA may not mean much, but it has convenient renewal cascades which even stretch to 3rd party vendors. Just with AWS Developer Associate, Cloud+/Network+/A+ have sort of an auto-renewal (by paying $ and sending them any updated cert). As soon as you get something from ISACA/ISC², the whole Security branch will renew automatically as well

I started in Mid December of 2017. And yes the higher cert will auto renew lower certs . They expire in 3 years.  So I passed A+ in April and when I took Sec+ in July it renewed  A+ with it. So depending on  what I do in the mean time. I will just renew sec+ ... also I guess it would be better to take something like cysa+ or just any higher cert and renew that way. 

MontagueVandervort

My experience so far has been that no one checks anything... not even my "degrees".

It could be because I bring everything with me to interviews though.

Even then, most just stare at the pile of dust jackets and don't even ask to see anything.

For me, getting certifications is more of a personal quest. I enjoy the material and use the exams to gauge how much I've truly learned. It's just an added bonus that I can actually have someone pay me because of doing something I would do anyway without getting paid.

TechGromit

When employers don't verify certifications, it hurts everyone that has them. It's makes it easier to lie on resumes to put down certifications and experience you really don't have. I have a former co-worker on linkedin that claims he has a CISSP, but his ISC2 cert # and name do not check out.  

PC509

My certifications are first and foremost for me. They are my personal goals when validating my knowledge of a technology or subject. The benefit to my employer is that knowledge. At most, if they do validate they can use that as some kind of partner status. Otherwise, I really don't care much if they validate or not. Many of them aren't even checkmarks for HR (although they work for that). They are pretty much my gold stars in class that I kicked ass on some exams and know my **** when it comes to those subjects. 

JDMurray

TechGromit said:

I have a former co-worker on linkedin that claims he has a CISSP, but his ISC2 cert # and name do not check out.  

A typo possibly? Have you asked him about it?

Jon_Cisco

Some people just want a piece of paper and a job. So for that person it might just be easier to lie. Most people on this forum are self motivated and choose to pursue certifications for the learning that comes with earning them.

EANx

I think some people are forgetting that while you can certainly claim to have a cert you don't have, just because someone has a cert doesn't mean they achieved it honestly.

For me, a cert helps get someone in the door but it's the technical validation part of the interview that gets them the job. If I were running a solutions or training partner, I would absolutely verify the cert but once we have validated their knowledge, I don't really care about the cert itself.

Swift6

It is a shame many employers don't pay much attention to certs. A previous employer once stated they treat candidates with certs with a degree of caution. The reason, too many **** in the internet mean anyone could do it.
This tarnishes the image and reputation of certs in general.

Personally, I find no better way to learn than taking the challenge of working towards a cert. The feeling when you pass is addictive.

Danielm7

JDMurray said:

TechGromit said:

I have a former co-worker on linkedin that claims he has a CISSP, but his ISC2 cert # and name do not check out.  

A typo possibly? Have you asked him about it?

I'd be curious about that too. They went through the effort of putting up a cert number but made up a fake one? That's weird. 

TechGromit

JDMurray said:

TechGromit said:

I have a former co-worker on linkedin that claims he has a CISSP, but his ISC2 cert # and name do not check out.  

A typo possibly? Have you asked him about it?

A typo is possible, but how do you not make sure it's right, when you claim you run a security company as a side business. I haven't called him out on it. 

LionelTeo

Some employers care about it. Personally, I think if certs employers interest is a good way of evaluating an employer. You probably should consider avoiding working of employers who doesn't care about your personal off work achievements.