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the value of certification when applying for a job? RRS feed

  • Question

  • since i'm considering getting an mta certificate(via exam), i was wondering are these certifications add any score to my resume when especially i'm applying for a job? i mean, does my employer would think i'm awesome if he/she notices a certificate in my resume? please suggest me with good responses, bcoz if i'm gonna need the certificate i 'm going to spend some money to buy books for preparation of the mta exams. 

    Also i just found out about other certifications like mcpd, mcts, etc. what's the difference? should i go for one of them or mta?

    -------------i'm a college student pursuing B.Tech in IT(last semester) in India. I kinda started worrying about getting a job. I did 6 months industrial training in ASP.NET 4.0 using C# + the advanced topics.----------------

    PLEASE HELP!!!
    Thursday, December 20, 2012 8:50 AM

Answers

  • Hi Siddharth,

    I can only tell you, what we do in our company (a german company so be aware that it might be completly different in other areas of the world!):

    The certifications can help you to get an invite for an interview. But to get a / the job you simply have to pass the interview and inside the interview certifications does not count at all. So in my eyes it can be good to have a certification but if you want to get a job you simply need to pass the interview.

    So find out what the company is looking for and what they need. (We was seeking senior engineers only in the past so in our interviews it was very important that people had a deep understanding of the technologies we are using and that the person is able to integrate into our team.) If you are still a student then other parts might be more important. A company knows that they have to teach you to do the job propperly so you normaly start as a junior engineer that has experienced engineers in his teams that will help and teach you. So they might not expect deep knowledge in their technologies but they want to see that you are really interested in the technology used....

    So a certification that you do by yourself could be helpfull because it might show that you are interested in learning the technology.

    Just a few thoughts in the hope that they are helpfull for you.

    With kind regards,

    Konrad

    • Proposed as answer by Gopinath.S Thursday, December 20, 2012 11:07 AM
    • Marked as answer by Horizon_NetEditor Sunday, December 30, 2012 9:30 PM
    Thursday, December 20, 2012 10:29 AM
    Answerer

All replies

  • Hi Siddharth,

    I can only tell you, what we do in our company (a german company so be aware that it might be completly different in other areas of the world!):

    The certifications can help you to get an invite for an interview. But to get a / the job you simply have to pass the interview and inside the interview certifications does not count at all. So in my eyes it can be good to have a certification but if you want to get a job you simply need to pass the interview.

    So find out what the company is looking for and what they need. (We was seeking senior engineers only in the past so in our interviews it was very important that people had a deep understanding of the technologies we are using and that the person is able to integrate into our team.) If you are still a student then other parts might be more important. A company knows that they have to teach you to do the job propperly so you normaly start as a junior engineer that has experienced engineers in his teams that will help and teach you. So they might not expect deep knowledge in their technologies but they want to see that you are really interested in the technology used....

    So a certification that you do by yourself could be helpfull because it might show that you are interested in learning the technology.

    Just a few thoughts in the hope that they are helpfull for you.

    With kind regards,

    Konrad

    • Proposed as answer by Gopinath.S Thursday, December 20, 2012 11:07 AM
    • Marked as answer by Horizon_NetEditor Sunday, December 30, 2012 9:30 PM
    Thursday, December 20, 2012 10:29 AM
    Answerer
  • thank you
    Friday, December 21, 2012 1:28 PM
  • [...] Also i just found out about other certifications like mcpd, mcts, etc. what's the difference? should i go for one of them or mta?

    MTA is an "entry-level" certification. It is supposed to be relatively simple, aimed at people such as students with little or no work experience. On the other hand, the "upper-level" certifications such as MCTS or MCPD are recommended for people with one or two years of experience working with the technology.

    There is a diagram showing how the certifications "stack" on each other here:

    http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/0/9/109AE5B6-BFB5-47DF-98AF-7361A1FDC51A/MTA_Cert_Pathway.pdf

    As to the value of certification for getting a job, I agree with the previous respondent in the sense that the certification will let your CV "stand out" from within a large pile of other CVs from other candidates that are similar to yours but do not include a certification. This will enhance your possibilities of getting an interview, but you will still need to demonstrate your worth at the interview.

    Saturday, December 22, 2012 9:35 AM