Beware the facade of the badge collectors

Human Resources

Tom Ryan at MarCloud explains why he is often sceptical about the value of industry certifications, especially when they are not backed by experience

The tech space is exciting, innovative and full of opportunities for career progression. However, with this comes a challenge for clients and employers alike: the badge collectors.

You might remember the cautionary tale of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theronos. Holmes claimed to have a chemical engineering degree from Stanford University, medical expertise and a background in science that enabled her to understand how to build a revolutionary blood-testing technology. In reality, Holmes dropped out of university, was not adept in the medical or scientific field, and simply had enough confidence to fool people into believing her.

The ‘fake it until you make it’ mantra is still seen by a minority as a valid approach to career development in technology and marketing. Watch out for these people.

The good news is badge collectors are quite easy to spot. LinkedIn is littered with shameless posts on how someone has collected another certification which ‘adds another string to my bow’. I very recently read a post from an individual celebrating their new certification alongside a screenshot of their results - which highlighted that they scored 0% in at least two sections of the exam.

No single exam or training course can turn someone into a marketing expert overnight. However, those holding lots of accreditations are quite often seen as being greater experts than the most experienced practitioners. This is starting to discredit a discipline I am very passionate about.

Certifications and badges should be seen as milestones on the way to obtaining mastery, not checkboxes to show you’ve achieved it.

Badges can create overconfidence

People can go one of two ways when they specialise in an area as vast as marketing automation and CRM: imposter syndrome or total overconfidence.

I once interviewed a 24-year-old who was earning a £35,000 salary in their first job in the industry. They had newly attained some certifications in a niche area and were now demanding a £70,000 salary - the justification was tied directly to the certifications. Now, I don’t necessarily blame the individual: the tech industry is incentivising these badges and creating a narrative that badges bring greater salaries. But this individual had very little hands-on experience. He was not offered the job.

On the flip side, I have employed some amazingly talented people who have a large amount of hands-on experience. When speaking to them, they sometimes communicated a feeling of inferiority because they knew how much they did not know. These people are the true experts: always humbled by new problems, they are at the forefront of innovative tech.

Malcolm Gladwell originated the popular idea that ten thousand hours is the magic number of hours you need to achieve greatness in any field. This concept is true in the technology world since you need to understand and experience the nuances and technical limitations of something to really appreciate how it works.

Anyone can spend a day or two revising facts and pass a multiple-choice exam (I should stress that the certifications I’m referring to are almost exclusively multiple choice). Butt attaining these certifications is not mastery. To master a discipline, you need hands-on experience.

Can you rely on certificates and badges?

The short answer is: you cannot rely on certificates and badges on their own. They can act as a great final seal of approval as part of a wider assessment. However, they should not be a primary driver in your decision-making process.

Let’s put this in perspective. Some people make a mockery of the certification system. There are Linkedin influencers who make claims around how they passed X certifications within Y months. These people may be highly intelligent and driven individuals, but all these claims tell me is they are very good at remembering information and passing multiple choice exams.

Unfortunately, all too often the poor skills of people who dip into a discipline and then claim expertise is only exposed when they start working on a complicated project. This can sometimes be the reason big projects fail.

It’s easy to be seduced by the perfume of certifications, but ultimately, it is better to work with someone who has 10 years’ of experience and no certifications than someone with 10 certifications and no experience. (I wish this was an extreme example – but it happens.)

Do not let recruiters fool you

Another part of this issue is the people responsible for bringing high-quality talent to clients - recruiters. There are some great recruiters out there but beware, a lot of them do not understand the technology and take the certifications as a sign of proven expertise. This isn’t necessarily the fault of the recruiter, but it is a fact.

Occasionally, recruiters place a candidate with limited experience, based on their certifications alone. This phenomenon occurs when the recruiter and client-side hiring manager have no technical expertise. If a business hires a candidate who doesn’t have the skills for the role, it could cost them thousands.

How do I know who to work with?

There’s a tried and tested approach when it comes to choosing the right partner for you, whether it’s a consultancy or a recruiter to hire internally:

Case studies: Have they worked with similar clients, and can they demonstrate proven success?
Interview: Don’t be afraid to ask challenging questions. If the candidate can provide confident answers and examples of how they approach problem solving, that’s a good sign.
Clear scoping: When asking candidates to submit a proposal, the scope of work should be clear and easy to understand.
Customer references: People should be overjoyed if you ask them for a reference, as it’s their chance to show off. If your request is met with hesitancy, that is a red flag.
Zoom out for a second: What is their specialism? If they are not 100% active within the subject area you need help with, they may be a jack of all trades, but not a master of the problem you need to solve.
Work with specialist recruiters: If you are hiring directly, make sure your recruiter has a technical background or at least understands the space well enough to identify a badge collector.