Applet code:
by T.J. Ripley
A few years ago, if you thought about professional certification at all, you
probably thought about physicians, nurses, counselors, and CPAs. But
nowadays, professional certification encompasses many different fields, not
the least of which is the computer industry.
Certification in the computer industry offers a way for employees to prove
they have the necessary skills to do the job. For employers, it offers a way
to pinpoint specific skillsets. However, in order to make certification a
useful keyword, you need to understand what it means.
When looking for candidates you've probably already seen the names of a
number of different certifications, such as Cisco Certified Internetwork
Expert (CCIE) and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD). But do you
know what it takes to get such certification? Is it simply a matter of
taking a quick online test or do candidates need to pass a rigorous all-day
hands-on exam? What other comparable certifications are offered in that
field?
To answer these questions you need to do some research. Obviously, the
companies that offer the certifications are good sites to visit. But there
are a number of less partisan sites you can visit to help you learn more
about certification. About.com, which maintains a network of sites overseen
by professional guides, offers a site all about computer certification
called
http://certification.about.com. Here you can read feature articles,
check the latest news, subscribe to a newsletter or link to the vendors'
offerings.
GoCertify (
http://www.gocertify.com) offers an extensive site that
categorizes the types of certifications that IT professionals will be
interested in. Here you can get information about certifications for
professionals involved in a variety of specialties, including application
development, databases, ERP, hardware, Internet, networking, operating
systems, security, and training. There are hundreds of certifications listed
here with extensive details about what it takes to get them, what they cost
and what value they have. There are also discussion boards where IT
professionals (or wannabe IT professionals) talk about certifications. There
's even a newsletter so you can keep up on the latest certification
offerings and removals.
Another good resource to check out is the Institute for Network
Professionals (
http://www.inpnet.org) which contains links to lots of
resources for network professionals.
There's even a magazine for certified IT professionals called Certification
Magazine (
http://www.certmag.com). In addition to its feature articles, the
online version contains links to resources, events and certification
programs.
By sorting through these sites you can gain a better understanding of which
certifications are valuable, build a bigger and better list of search
keywords and explore the sites your candidates are likely to visit.
-- T.J. Ripley is a journalist and Web explorer who contributes to AIRS
research and writing.
About AIRS
AIRS teaches recruiters and high-growth companies to find passive candidates
hidden inside directories, databases, archives and the public Web servers of
over 400,000 companies and organizations on the Net. For more information
about our cutting edge training seminars, publications, or web applications
please go to:
http://www.CollegeRecruiter.com/pages/airs.php.
