How they know you know

I have just seen this hilarious video showing some fictitious IT job interviews on the Microsoft learning site. What makes it hilarious for me is that I have conducted interviews like this and had some of the bizarre answers this poor IT manager had and worse. At a couple of companies we’d set our own tests, but I do agree with the point of this video that certification is a force for good, and can be used to at least filter out unsuitable candidates.  Why because it shows me that a candidate at least has a good  knowledge of the subject and has taken time out to study and pass these exams. Of course there are candidates who have just crammed every exam under the sun and like in one of the interviews in the video doesn’t like working with people but that’s why you also interview them and not hand the job over to anyone with an exam.

If we are talking about professionalism then I would argue that some of the most professional IT Professionals can be found in the services, and I was lucky enough to run into some seriously certified Warrant Officers in Royal Signals a few months ago and each of these foremen, as they are known, were both MCSE and CCNA qualified as part of their role.

So if you’re working on Microsoft based infrastructure  and not certified in some way, can I politely ask why not?