Another Reason Why a Technical Certification Will Get You The Interview

by James Ellis on November 8th, 2010

My exciting, not-quite Pulitzer Prize winning post about why getting a technical certification will get you interviews was just the first part. 

The second part is simple. When Becki the Employer is looking to fill a spot, maybe she doesn't post an opening. Maybe she has a recruiter or headhunter go head hunting. Maybe she doesn't want to be inundated with an excess of resumes, like she was in the first post. 

So Becki is going to spend a lot of money (and I do mean a lot... how's something in the mid four-figures sound to you?) to find a few qualified candidates to interview and choose from. Why would Becki do this? Because most hiring managers know that time is always more valuable than money and look to spend money to save time where ever they can.

So the recruiter isn't going to place an want ad. The recruiter is going to go shopping on job boards. Again, there are a million people with their resume on the Monster/CareerBuilder/Dice job boards, so what does the recruiter do? How can a recruiter find the right match as fast as possible?

You got it: search for a technical certification. Here's an example.  How many resumes will you find if you search LinkedIn with the word "project?" In this instance, searching only in the greater Chicagoland area, you'll find 130,000 people. 

If you search "project manager" using the same criteria, you'll get 87,000 people, so that cuts the list down by about a third.

If you search "project manager" as a phrase, you'll boil the list down to 47,600 people. That cuts the list down by another third, which is nice.

If you search "professional project manager," you'll knock that list down to 27,000 people, which is almost half.

And what about "PMP?" What's your guess? Maybe the search cut the list by another third? Or maybe half?

Nope. That list is only 5,600 people long. That's 4.3% of the original list pf people who said they worked on projects.

If you're a recruiter, that's the first search you do.

Starting to see how a certification gets you an interview? Do you see how a certification puts you on an elite list of candidates? See how a certification cuts a pool of hundreds of applicants down to a dozen?

That's what I thought.

Ask me questions in the comments!!

-James

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PMP Certification Training, 2008

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A Cisco Success Story

I attended a resume writing seminar & conducted mock phone interviews with a Microtrain career counselor. These two activities gave me a leg up on distinguishing myself from all the other people looking for work. Since the career counselor's at Microtrain had a track record of getting people hired, their insight and positive past experiences helped me tremendously in getting hired with a Cisco Voice Systems Integrator in the Chicago area. I was hired as a Cisco Voice Tech Engineer with a starting salary of $65,000 / year with a Cisco voice systems reseller located in the Chicagoland area. Microtrain was very instramental in making this a reality. From expediting my WIA grant, to providing excellent hands-on training from knowledgable instructors I was able to achieve becoming certified with my CCNP. Microtrain's career services was the final catalyst in connecting me with this company by communicating with them on my behalf and with me in setting up the interview. One week later and I was hired. No joke. Thanks Microtrain!

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PMP Certification Training, November 2008

Thanks Microtrain for conducting a great PMP course that set me on a successful path to obtain my PMP certification. I have passed the test!

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Dawn has been a pleasure to work with. She is diligent in her efforts to give MicroTrain’s students the best opportunities to connect and network with various companies and players in the job market. The curriculums and certification programs are in line with today’s current IT needs. It’s good to see that they evolve with what employers are most seeking out there. I would recommend to any employer that hires skilled IT workers that they look into MicroTrain’s career services department as a potential source of candidates. The business of hiring can be quite costly, and Dawn and her staff provide a free service to outside companies. This value-add for MicroTrain’s students aligns with their mission in both training and job assistance to set up a win/win scenario for all involved.

Jean S.

PMP Certification Training, Lombard, 2008

I was laid off for many months and not really getting many callbacks for my resume and no job offers. After I put the letters PMP on it, not only did I see an increase in quantity, but also quality of interviews. I had been spinning my wheels for 5 months, and after the PMP went on, I had 2 job offers in 6 weeks. It really was the "golden ticket"

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