Is there such thing as too many certificates?

JoshyJ

As per the title with experience is there such thing as too many certificates?

There wouldn't be an issue obviously for personal learning but when it comes to a resume or job interview?

gadav478

I would only list certs that are pertainent to the position. No need to waste space on a resume if it's not needed.

JoshyJ

I understand that. But lets say networking. You could be certified in Juniper, F5, Cisco, Checkpoint, CISSP.

YFZblu

CISSP is not a networking certification.

The first response answered your question. Determine the value of your certifications and list those you feel bring the most value to your resume at that time - leaving others off. You can always add things like 'F5' to the skills portion of your resume if you want to get keywords in.

FloOz

As others have said I would only list/pursue certifications that are relevant to my field. Unless I am trying to break into a different field in IT.

instant000

I'll stop trying to get certs when they stop paying off for me. I am not stopping anytime soon!

(1) some certs are prerequisites to higher certs (CCNA to CCNP, MCP to MCSA)
(2) some certs have little impact once you get higher certs (Security+ vs CISSP)

Unfortunately, you run into cases whereby HR/recruiters do not realize this, and you could get filtered inadvertently. To avoid filtering, I end up listing lower level certs unnecessarily.

Snow.bros

As many as they are don't they have some kind of good impression to the hiring recruiter or a manager?

networker050184

If you have a bunch of certifications and not very much experience first thing people are probably going to think is you dumped them. If you have a lot of certifications that match up to your experience then I don't see it being a negative.

Snow.bros

networker050184 wrote: »

If you have a bunch of certifications and not very much experience first thing people are probably going to think is you dumped them. If you have a lot of certifications that match up to your experience then I don't see it being a negative.

Don't these hiring manager or recruiters test your knowledge on the position you are applying for and shouldn't that be their concern or is it something unprofessional for a tech?

dave330i

Snow.bros wrote: »

Don't these hiring manager or recruiters test your knowledge on the position you are applying for and shouldn't that be their concern or is it something unprofessional for a tech?

Interviewing brain dumpers still takes time.

networker050184

Snow.bros wrote: »

Don't these hiring manager or recruiters test your knowledge on the position you are applying for and shouldn't that be their concern or is it something unprofessional for a tech?

If they take a look at your resume and the first thing that comes to mind is dumper you think they are going to want to bring you in or speak with you?

Snow.bros

That makes sense, but what if you have a purpose for all those certs and you would like to change careers within the same industry one day and maybe you adding the other certs as proof of work experience in the IT industry (for example you a network engineer and now you would like to move into programming) can that be used against you?

networker050184

Sure, anything can be used against you. There really isn't any reason to get certified above the entry level for anything you do not have direct experience with IMO.

Iristheangel

Plus it's not always about how many certs you have but what level of certs you have. For example, if someone has a plethora of entry level certs (CompTIAs, CCNA, MCSA, etc) but no experience, I don't hold it against them since they're entry-level and seeking an entry-level job. It's usually when someone shows up with every intermediate or dumpable exam without the normal experience to go along with it. It's pretty fishy when someone says that they have the CCNP R&S, Voice, Security, Data Center, and Service Provider with little or no experience.

That being said, with experience and if you're still getting a good ROI on your certs, then no. There can't be "too many certs."

Snow.bros

Oh that's cool, i didn't know these entry level certs can be helpful throughout your career, i thought that they could only help get your foot into the door, that sounds really smart.

Iristheangel

I think someone mentioned it in this thread but a lot of times recruiters and HR people don't know that the CCNA is a prerequisite for the CCNP or they do keyword searches for certs like "CCNA" so you might get passed up based on someone else's ignorance or because you're missing that keyword in your resume. Annoying but in that sense, it's wise to keep your lower level certifications on your resume even if it's common knowledge among IT crowds that the certifications you hold require you to have the lesser ones because your resume isn't always viewed by those people first

N2IT

I think it can hurt and I also thing it can help. It really is a roll of the dice when it comes to certifications. Some people view them as a great thing, some people scoff at people with certifications it's really hard to answer your question. Most people I found could careless one way or another. All in all I think it helps more than it hurts, but like some have mentioned having a ton of irrelevant certifications taking up valuable white space on your resume is probably not a good strategy.

pert

My answer is that it never hurts with HR, but sometimes with hiring manager. Hiring manager will never see your resume if it doesn't get past HR. Most hiring managers will be curious enough to give you a brief 5-10 min phone interview to see if there is anything there if your resume piques your interest. If you're not capable of selling yourself in that timeframe, then who's fault is it?

SteveO86

All depends. Whenever I have had to do interviews or review resumes for positions I never dwelled too long on the 'certifications' portion of the resume. Sure I'd read them and make note of them, and you can guarantee I will ask you questions that are basic to the certification and if you couldn't answer them properly I would definitely count it against you. I usually focus more so on your experience, what you have done and where you have been.

In regards to your second post in this thread, just to name a few I've worked with Cisco, Juniper, F5, CheckPoint, SonicWall, & Fortinet. I've been to training class for all of those, in fact I just got back from a CCSA/CCSE class this week, however I don't think I will even bother with the CCSA. (My choice) But I could, however that doesn't mean I will list the certification on resume, I will however mention the experience on resume.

Usually on my resume I only list some of my Cisco Certs, and my Microsoft cert (just so I can show I'm a 100% Cisco and I know how Microsoft/Servers work. I will list my other certs on linkedin and in blog but not on resume unless I am specifically asked.

I would not dwell on the question, "do I have too many certifications?" -If you study and work hard enough you will do fine and people wont mind.

TechGuru80

From the standpoint of money and ROI, there is such thing as too many certifications. There could easily be 25-30 certifications out there for networking and security but certain ones are really what get you an interview. You can search on the job web sites by keyword and the certification but for instance, Microsoft and Cisco have progression certs CCNA to CCNP for example...in this case you wouldn't need to list CCNA unless you are a CCNA:Voice and CCNP:R&S. Having a 2-3 page resume is fairly normal the more years of experience you have. Also remember, certifications might have run over into other valuable areas...CCNP:R&S and Security...and if you are versatile you can have a better chance.

ajs1976

I have heard this from a few hiring managers. "With that many certs, how does that person have time to get any work done?"

not sure what the right answer is, but i'm moving towards targeted resumes and having everything listed on linkedin.

emerald_octane

I don't think you can have too many certs but i think it can be obsessive and counter-productive to procure them all. I say the renewable certs via CPE are top of the food chain. Get once, use many. Next lifetime certs are great though if they are technology based they can become stale after a while. Expireable certs are on the bottom of my list except for Cisco certs which are ANSI certified as of very recently.

SteveO86

ajs1976 wrote: »

I have heard this from a few hiring managers. "With that many certs, how does that person have time to get any work done?"

I do not understand this statement at all. How does having 'x' amount of certifications effect ones effectiveness at work?

gadav478

Iristheangel wrote: »

For example, if someone has a plethora of entry level certs (CompTIAs, CCNA, MCSA, etc) but no experience, I don't hold it against them since they're entry-level and seeking an entry-level job. It's usually when someone shows up with every intermediate or dumpable exam without the normal experience to go along with it. It's pretty fishy when someone says that they have the CCNP R&S, Voice, Security, Data Center, and Service Provider with little or no experience.

Point taken.
Everyone keeps saying there is a way to put certs in your resume in some type of tag so it shows up in search engines... how do you do that?

instant000

ajs1976 wrote: »

I have heard this from a few hiring managers. "With that many certs, how does that person have time to get any work done?"

Last I checked, unless you worked at Pearson Vue,Prometric,etc., you didn't take certification tests at work. Also, if you don't do your job, you get fired for being an ineffective worker.

I wonder ... would I fall into the "that many" pile? I have seen people with tons more than I have, so I really hope not. I want to make sure to get a quantified response, before I go too far explaining the process of using personal time and personal funds to seek self-improvement.

Also, I'm wondering why the manager would not want an employee improving themselves?! Would they rather the employee uses downtime on LOL CAT videos and facebook?!

YFZblu

ajs1976 wrote: »

I have heard this from a few hiring managers. "With that many certs, how does that person have time to get any work done?

Yeah, this makes no sense.

Iristheangel

instant000 wrote: »

I wonder ... would I fall into the "that many" pile? I have seen people with tons more than I have, so I really hope not. I want to make sure to get a quantified response, before I go too far explaining the process of using personal time and personal funds to seek self-improvement.

If I posted all my certs, I would probably fall into that category as well. I got a lot of BS certs while going to school and working at that MSP. I dropped the CompTIAs, Citrix, most of the MS and CIWs completely from my resume at this point.

ajs1976

Some people study on their own time, some do it on company time, and some use both. In the two specific examples I can think of both managers allowed people to study on the clock, appreciated the value of having certified employees, and understand the kind of time commitment needed to pass an exam. When they saw a long list of certs, they assumed that the person in question studied all the time at work and didn't do much actual work.

Not my opinion, but it was theirs.

srabiee

This may come off as harsh, but...

Anyone who sees my long list of certs (derived from countless hours of hard work, self-study, determination, and willingness to learn new IT concepts and technologies) and then draws negative connotations from it can bite my ass. (dumping being a completely different issue altogether)

I think it's overly-cautious nonsense to worry about obtaining too many certs, presuming that the certs were obtained legitimately and the person learned the technologies during the self-study process. Never be afraid to pursue and further your knowledge of new technologies and to stay relevant in the constantly-changing field of IT. Certs are a way to do that.

Based on changing technologies, new technologies and products, certs that expire every 3 years, etc, I will probably never stop actively working on some aspect of certification as long as I am in this field.

010101

JoshyJ wrote: »

As per the title with experience is there such thing as too many certificates?

Without a doubt.
Too many certs tells me the person is most likely a paper tiger who cheats on exams and probably doesn't know any of the material.

I'll never forget about 15 years ago I met a new employee where I work.
He had every certification known to man. MCSE, CNE, CCNA, etc, etc.
He admitted to me he had never even physically TOUCHED a server or router.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was fired about 2 years later and is now an accountant.


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chanakyajupudi

Certs are just a way of showing you are proficient in a particular skill or field.

In the case of dumping - No one will survive for a long time even if one is selected because of the certs.

I think earning certs is good if you are in the particular field. A lot of us do most of the certs due to client or compliance requirement.