How do you verify somebody has a MS cert and is not lying?

[StageLeft]

I know you can get an MS id and a card and what not - is there anything you can do with the number after somebody gives it to you to confirm that they have what they say they have?

 

[BillGates]

To verify Microsoft Certification status call Microsoft Education & Certification hotline at 800-636-7544 -- give them the applicant's name and location and, if possible, their MCP/MCSE/MCSD/etc ID number.

Mine is 2453776 if you wanted to look me up!



P.S. -- I swear there used to be a place on Microsoft's site that you could send employers to verify this same info but I'm unable to find it. I logged into my MCP account and came up with nothing. I'll report back if I track it down.

 

[Killbat]

Pop quiz.

With theme music and flashing lights.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Who cares? MS Cert is like printing your resume with a small liner around the outside. It doesn't help one effing bit. :frown:

 

[Stark]

Originally posted by: FFMCobalt
Who cares? MS Cert is like printing your resume with a small liner around the outside. It doesn't help one effing bit. :frown:

sure it does. it's just that a LOT of people have them.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: FFMCobalt
Who cares? MS Cert is like printing your resume with a small liner around the outside. It doesn't help one effing bit. :frown:

It helps more in developer-space, not so much in the admin-space. It's also very valuable in the context of consulting. Clients like certifications, they don't care about dogmatic opinions. If you're not certified and the other guy is, guess who gets the contract?

[edit]The example I always cite was the contract I lost a year or so ago due to the fact that I wasn't certified in Microsoft Access. You got that right. Nevermind the fact that the the implementation didn't even include Access, I still lost it because they had existing Access databases. The guy who was MOUS (whatever the hell it is) certified go the contract, despite that fact that he never was able to implement the solution.[/edit]

 

[Yax]

Is it from an accredited institution?

Me used to have:
MCP, MCSE, MCP+I, CNE, Intranetware CNE, CNA, CCNA, SCSA, SCNA, hmm, what else, can't think of any more at this time, but to be honest, I'm only proud of my BS in CS.

Well, Got sick of certs so I didn't bother to update any of them so I guess, currently, I own none of them.

 

[Yax]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: FFMCobalt
Who cares? MS Cert is like printing your resume with a small liner around the outside. It doesn't help one effing bit. :frown:

It helps more in developer-space, not so much in the admin-space. It's also very valuable in the context of consulting. Clients like certifications, they don't care about dogmatic opinions. If you're not certified and the other guy is, guess who gets the contract?

[edit]The example I always cite was the contract I lost a year or so ago due to the fact that I wasn't certified in Microsoft Access. You got that right. Nevermind the fact that the the implementation didn't even include Access, I still lost it because they had existing Access databases. The guy who was MOUS (whatever the hell it is) certified go the contract, despite that fact that he never was able to implement the solution.[/edit]

MOUS? That's microsoft Office user specialist I think. Its like the easiest cert to get.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: cheapbidder01

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: FFMCobalt
Who cares? MS Cert is like printing your resume with a small liner around the outside. It doesn't help one effing bit. :frown:

It helps more in developer-space, not so much in the admin-space. It's also very valuable in the context of consulting. Clients like certifications, they don't care about dogmatic opinions. If you're not certified and the other guy is, guess who gets the contract?

[edit]The example I always cite was the contract I lost a year or so ago due to the fact that I wasn't certified in Microsoft Access. You got that right. Nevermind the fact that the the implementation didn't even include Access, I still lost it because they had existing Access databases. The guy who was MOUS (whatever the hell it is) certified go the contract, despite that fact that he never was able to implement the solution.[/edit]

MOUS? That's microsoft Office user specialist I think. Its like the easiest cert to get.

Yah, I knew what it was, just forgot the exact acronym. It just shows that many clients could care less about what a certification means about the certified individual in the context of their industry, they just like certifications. This isn't always the case, but it largely is.

No certification makes you certifiably competent, and that's the problem most people have with them. The only way to certify competence is to look at past experiences.

 

[40oz]

Originally posted by: FFMCobalt
Who cares? MS Cert is like printing your resume with a small liner around the outside. It doesn't help one effing bit. :frown:

Or better yet "a paper MCSE is as useful as a submarine with screen doors"

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: FFMCobalt
Who cares? MS Cert is like printing your resume with a small liner around the outside. It doesn't help one effing bit. :frown:

Without my certs I'd not have gotten my job.

Thanks all!

 

[alkemyst]

Get them to install a harddrive, if they succeed without breaking anything...they are lying

 

[toekramp]

i've never taken any of the MS certs (nor studied for them). The only certification I have ever bothered with was A+ (if you can call that a certification) is it really that easy to pass those tests?

 

[alkemyst]

with the schools out there that simply 'teach the tests' it's pretty easy for n00bs to get MS certed without even knowing really what the answers entail so much.

 

[Howard]

Ask them what to do when you have BSOD

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: Howard
Ask them what to do when you have BSOD

reboot

 

[dman]

Surprised I didn't see it mentioned, but, perhaps have them furnish the paper with the embossed seal that actually says they are certified at passing tests.

 

[slycat]

seriously though...my hiring VP asked me to show them my certs to prove what i had in my resume.

 

[BillGates]

Did anybody read my post?

 

[sciencetoy]

Did anybody read my post?

Of course we did, oh lord most exalted .

Certs come in handy when the person you're dealing with needs some kind of proof to take to other people, when making a decision. I have dozens of certs framed on the wall behind my desk, and clients love to see that stuff. My office is the "official" place to meet with clients. (It's also usually the only one you don't have to clear old computer parts off the chairs to sit down.)

From what I've heard, the real purpose of the M'soft Certifications is to raise money for M'soft, because you have to take their official training courses in order to pass the tests because they put trick questions on the tests that you only know the answers to if you took the official courses.