Read this before you take any professional certification exam in 2023
Read this before you take any professional certification exam in 2023
In the last 6 months, I have had the privilege of facilitating training sessions for well over 300 professionals within and outside Nigeria on several courses. I am always motivated by the passion and drive I get from my delegates during our virtual and physical session.
On several occasions, delegates confide in me and express their frustration when they come on LinkedIn. LinkedIn can be very intimidating, they say, as almost everywhere you turn, you will see someone with multiply designations and credentials after their name and the weight of that can be overwhelming.
In response, they will turn and ask, “which professional course/certification should I go for?” In as much as I would want to dive into sharing the benefit of certification X over certification Y in the marketplace and how certifications make you stand out from the rest of your peers, my first response is always an illustration that ends with a question.
Take this conversation I had with David as an example.
David: Hello Michael, which certification do you think I should go for?
Me: Well David, I have a question for you. If you can answer my question honestly, I think it will address the question you are asking.
David: ok shoot.
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Me: If you were to travel by road and you get to a very busy bus station with several buses, which one will you board? Better still, what determines the vehicle you should board when you get to a bus station?
David: (Thinking for a second…) Well, I can’t just enter any vehicle I see, even if it is filling fast. I take it that different vehicles are moving to different locations so my choice of vehicle will be based on my destination.
Me: Well said! Every certification is like a vehicle, and it will tell a particular story about you and your experience and lead you down a specific path. So before asking which certification you should go for, the first question should be this – what is my career goal, direction, or destination. If you can answer this honestly, it will be easier to know the right vehicle that can drive you to that destination.
Certifications generally give credibility to your knowledge and experience on a subject matter or field. If it comes from a trusted and recognized body, then that body is putting their weight behind you to say that you have the necessary knowledge and experience to operate in that field.
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CBAP Certification Training
Addition points
When settling for a means of transportation, note that there are several types of vehicles, and they don’t all move at the same speed. This implies you do an industry check on the relevance and acceptance on the certification before you board. If you have a particular industry or company in mind, simply check their website or LinkedIn page or connect with someone working there in the capacity you are interested in. Its an advantage if you have an idea of what is accepted or valued within that space
2 thoughts on “Read this before you take any professional certification exam in 2023”
This is very lovely
However I would love to add a perspective to this.
I have over 15 certifications on various areas, thankfully LinkedIn and Udemy gave me so much.
And even on my LinkedIn, it isn’t all my certificates that are shown there.
I think much more than the certification, the knowledge is necessary.
I have knowledge in various aspects and I also agree that the more reputable the certificate awarder the more the validity and reliability of the knowledge which one claims to possess.
I think the knowledge gotten is very important.
I have many certification on management, both from NIM and LinkedIn and I would say that there isn’t a true way to knowing a particular thing.
Both certificates were good. Each taught me management in a different perspective.
LinkedIn taught me management from a branding perspective while NIM taught me management from a professional perspective.
Both of which are good and would come in handy. So I very much agree with the writer that knowing the destination is good, using different buses would get you to the same destination but the vehicle matters, and each vehicle has its uniqueness, you can also get to the same destination by air or rail and going through each would enable you to see a perspective alone
Great Perspective Emmanuel. I like your desire to constantly learn and grow.