Benefits to earning a professional certification

Want to stand out among a pool of candidates? Although there is not a clear cut answer to this question (the answer depends on the industry and specific job) gaining a professional certification is a valuable asset to have.  Working toward a professional certification will help your resume.  Work experience is a great indicator that separates candidates, but it doesn’t always showcase a person’s expertise and skills.

Getting a relevant professional certification carries credibility

When you earn a professional certification, it establishes credibility to your skills. Employers appreciate the extensive coursework and testing behind the professional certification. Earning a certification provides proof that you are a highly qualified individual for the job.

A certification is an indicator of a dedicated professional

When you work toward receiving a relevant certification, you distinguish yourself as a person who possesses a strong work ethic and a desire to enhance your skills.  The fact that you were willing to spend extra time and money to invest in your career says a lot to recruiters, employers and colleagues. Certifications indicate that an individual keeps up with new developments in one’s area of expertise and furthermore is determined to reach new heights in his or her career development.  

Having a professional certification next to your name, is a great recognition to have whether you want to establish more credibility in your career, are seeking a promotion, or looking to land the job of your dreams.

 

 

Leveraging your Internal connections

Recent studies have led many companies to seek out their well-connected employees.  These employees are the ones who seem to know and talk to everyone in the office. That person you go to when you’re having a tough day at work, or have questions.  Research has shown that these employees hold a significant amount of influence on employee buy in and morale in the work place.  Firms are using these “influencers” to lead teams in product development, get employees' buy in on new initiatives, and to spread news throughout the organization. During the search for these employees, many employees that often go unnoticed by management are being identified as influencers in the firm. Recently, many respectable corporate giants have not only gone to great lengths to identify these influencers, but also are beginning to recognize them. Recognition ranges from promotions to invitations to exclusive executive management meetings in their prospective companies.

How do firms identify these influencers? They conduct surveys asking employees to identify who their go to person is at work. Some may dig deeper and analyze employees' email, calendar recipients, and social media connections.  One may be asking, what are the traits companies are looking for when determining who their influencers are. According to the Wall Street Journal, these employees are outgoing, empathetic, approachable, positive and energizing.  Influencers have been identified as potentially a firm’s most valuable internal assets.  By making relationships between people in a company visible, you can capitalize on the strengths, close gaps in collaborations and most importantly strengthen employee morale. This kind of information can prove crucial to a firm’s efficiency and a great tool when wanting to initiate real change in a company.

Paladin Advice:

Paladin sees many of our employees who fit the role of “influencers”.  We have observed that these employees gain the highest satisfaction marks from our clients and they have the most career growth and longest employment tenure.  We encourage all of our employees to develop the traits of an influencer…be outgoing, empathetic, approachable, positive, and energizing.

 

The Good, the Bad and the…

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a second straight month of a slowdown in job creation with an increase of 113,000 jobs added in the month of January.  This number is much lower than the monthly average 194,000 jobs added in 2013. Companies hired less people in December than any other month over the last six months. Of course this report is troublesome considering we were experiencing momentum in the recovery efforts before the past two months. But is now the time to panic?

We all can agree that the economy has been less than impressive, however; according to economists the payroll results will perk up in the near future. According to the BLS, the national unemployment rate has decreased by 1.3 percent over last year. In addition, the private sector has experienced exponential growth over the last four years. It is also important to take note that jobless claims decreased to 336,000 in the week end of February 15. Though it was more than originally forecasted, it is still substantially lower than last year’s average of 344,000 jobless claims.

Although the employment rates have not been the most promising, economists believe that we are still in an economic recovery and not a contraction. If the economy continues to grow as predicted, we can look forward to more job creation and less layoffs. With our help, we will get talent placed and more importantly help America get back to work.

But Paladin has Good news...

Paladin is happy to report that we have had 20% business growth in the last seven months.  Furthermore, the better news is that we have record levels of new customers and job opportunities.  We are here to help you and your network grow their career and get that next job opportunity.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics “The Employment Situation” report