Are Certifications/Licenses Important? by Richard Taylor Edwards

The short answers to these questions are yes and no. Certifications and licenses are very important and not at all: sometimes even both at the same time.

Given that this answer isn't actually terribly helpful allow us to expand on this. In one sense certifications and licenses are vital. Without them it isn't just that you wouldn't be able to do the job you're applying for, it's that it would be illegal for you to do that job. While we can no doubt think of many instances where the law has been changed in recent years (things like someone on site knowing how to do CPR, or having a designated safety officer) which seem to have more to do with box ticking than anything useful, it must be obvious that unless you've got a license to be a solicitor, you can't be a solicitor. Similarly, if you haven't got the certification that you know how to build a house you're unlikely to run that side of the business for a national house builder.

So after these legal requirements, that you can prove on a piece of paper that you've got the right to do what your new job needs you to do, what about the other certifications and licenses that proliferate? Some again are important, in that they tell both a potential employer and your recruitment consultant at Talisman that you do indeed have knowledge or experience in certain areas. Some of them will be tangential (for example, having gone on a health and safety course might not be a crucial distinction, merely a useful one) and others will be vital as they are required for someone in the organization.

Still others will be deeply unimportant in any thing but a first job. The most unusual of these is a degree: many jobs are considered to be graduates only jobs these days but three to five years down the career path they no longer matter. They're almost a badge that one has to have to get into the gang: a kinder description is that a degree, in whatever subject, simply shows a certain level of education and agility of mind. This becomes less important sa later there is a career record to look at instead.

When looking at particular positions or companies the best person to ask about the importance or not of a specific license or certificate will be your Talisman contact. They will know which to emphasize as of being of real importance to the employer and which are just part of the standard boilerplate.

Richard Taylor Edwards, Managing Director of Talisman Executive Resourcing, the leading provider of employment services in UK.

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