Several times in my career. I declined to interview because the hiring manager was fixated on some or the other certification that I did not have and had absolutely no desire to acquire at any time. I told the recruiter that it is a red flag and the person likely has no idea what job they are meant to do so they would not be able to manage anyone who is being hired to help perform at that unknown and unknowable job. The recruiters seemed to get the point but they had their marching orders so even if they thought I had an interesting argument there was not much they could do with it. It is highly unlikely my immediate size-up of the abilities of the hiring manager was communicated to anyone. I wish more people heard feedback from the field but that is a whole another problem about how we work hard at protecting feelings, managing expectations and try not to tell people managers that they are really bad at that job and need to go find something else to do.
Reading this Medium essay about the uselessness of certifications made me chuckle. I changed jobs a couple of times because X number of certs in Y months had turned into a performance metric driven zealously by some guys at the very top of the food chain who had never come to come into any kind of contact with technology they insisted on everyone being certified on. But in their hearts they knew that the X in Y months was the only way the teams would be productive and bring in revenue.
In each instance, my managers agreed with me wholeheartedly that this metric was pure bullshit and the top performers on any team were not doing as well as they did because they were certified - it was always a combination of experience, hustle and emotional intelligence. We both agreed, it would be a waste of time fighting the good fight - just get the damn cert and move on with your life. Each time this conversation happened, I did move on with my life but to a place where my value as a human being was not being measured by the number of certs behind my last name.
Two decades ago, certs were useless and that has yet to change. Yet, people do pursue them and there are periods of time when the powers that be imagine they can solve for their lack of leadership ability and vision by keeping their workforce properly certified. My grandmother used to believe in the power of certain amulets she got from her Guru to solve all impossible problems in the family. Faith can move mountains as they say,
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