Should I take certification? Only those with strength can succeed in the workplace
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This article was originally published in “Ku Qing Ku Ye @ Cheers”
One day, I suddenly received a message.
“Would you recommend this digital marketing certification exam? Because I want to take it, but I feel like I don’t have enough time.” A young girl who I had met a few times suddenly sent a message about a certification exam held by a certain organization, hoping that I could give her some advice.
“What’s your motivation?” After reading the organization’s website, I didn’t rush to a conclusion, but asked her why she wanted to take this certification.
“Oh, because I didn’t graduate from a marketing-related major, I feel a little anxious. I always feel that I have insufficient experience and I don’t know how to respond to the needs of future society.” From the girl’s Facebook, we can know that she studied at a top university in Taiwan during her college days, but from these questions, it seems that we can understand her hesitation about future development.
In the past, I often traveled between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait due to work, and I also met many entrepreneurs from the other side of the Taiwan Strait. Strictly speaking, Taiwanese college students are not bad at competitiveness, but local college students often lack confidence. Therefore, in addition to pursuing academic qualifications, many young friends also hope to embellish themselves and even arm themselves with one certificate after another.
Through certification, you can indeed increase your confidence. I actually affirm the value of certain license examinations, and I will not arbitrarily support the theory that “certificates are useless.” In fact, in some fields, licenses may have their own value and utility. But if it’s the field of digital marketing like this girl asked about, I would feel that having practical experience and my own works is more critical and important.
The reason behind it is very simple, because even if you successfully obtain certain certificates, it may not necessarily mean anything? Personally, I think it’s better not to rely too much on certificates, because that thin piece of paper is not a talisman that can ensure smooth passage in the workplace. Sometimes, it’s just a psychological comfort.
——Certification does have its meaning and value, but I don’t think that only by obtaining a certificate can one prove one’s strength.
Holding a certificate may enrich your resume, but your supervisor or boss may not necessarily pay for it and will still assess your implementation ability. If you are confused immediately, no matter how many certificates you have, it will be in vain. Therefore, instead of having a lot of flashy certificates in your hands, I would suggest that you put more effort into learning and try to equip yourself with a solid education and professional skills, so that you can build your [personal brand] in the workplace (https://jumpstart.best/courses/vista-personal-branding/).
According to my past work experience, many people who have performed well in the workplace did not necessarily study related subjects in college or junior college. Instead, they relied on their own interests after graduation and continued to study and practice hard, and gradually achieved good results.
For example, when many people talk about marketing, they only remember 4P and 4C. However, today’s society is no longer the ancient times. Although theoretical foundation is important, the industry often pays more attention to practical capabilities. I also found that many powerful marketing masters in the workplace are often self-taught; not because the teachers in school do not teach well, but because the marketing field changes too fast and it is difficult to keep pace with the times. You must rely more on your own exploration and practice.
Therefore, what major you study is not that important now! The reason is simple. This is because the business world needs cross-field integration and innovation talents. If you want to break through the fate of 22K, you must first strengthen yourself. Only with strong practical capabilities can you survive in this competitive society.
The girl seemed to understand, and asked another question, “Well, but how should I practice and increase my practical experience? What I am doing in the company now seems to have nothing to do with these?”
Well, practical experience is indeed important. Just like I often encourage young friends around me to confirm their ambitions early and then try to practice relevant skills. If you want to do product planning in the future, you should study user experience (UX), product development and other related aspects; if you want to join the marketing field, you should be familiar with the strategic use of various digital marketing tools and advertising media.
Nowadays, when many people talk about digital marketing, they talk about the number of fans, ROI and advertising effectiveness. In fact, digital marketing covers a wide range and is definitely not limited to the management of Facebook fan pages.
“If there is no (implementation) opportunity, then try to create the environment yourself!” This is the advice I give girls.
Taking the familiar Facebook fan page management as an example, in addition to encouraging you to observe each fan page, we can also “put yourself in another person’s shoes” - imagine that you are the social manager of a certain brand and try to analyze their social media strategy. Or, if this was a task assigned to you by your supervisor, how would you go about running the community and planning the content?
In addition to observing several successful fan pages, you can also open a fan page of your own to practice. Thinking about theme setting and fan interaction, how to run a unique social media? Only by doing it yourself can you know the secret. Next, you can also write your own blog, set up a website, and then try to operate search engine optimization (SEO), and then test the business results and conversion rate.
What I mentioned above costs almost nothing. You can start practicing at any time and invest a little time every day. I keep in mind the practice of “Ten Thousand Hours”. As long as you do anything with the right method and long-term accumulation, you will make progress and grow.
“Okay, I understand. I think maybe I am too used to taking exams or relying on certifications of certain expertise. When I feel that I don’t have enough information, I will look for information or related information. However, I should be able to learn more by doing it myself.”
I think girls already understand this: whether to take the certification test or not is not the important point, but after successfully passing the certification, you need the assistance of other professional knowledge to maximize the benefits of the certificate.
“If you don’t have a place to practice, then my fan page… would you like to come and practice?”
“Can I? Haha!” The conversation ended with each other’s laughter.
I really hope I can help her build up her confidence and find the right direction in her studies. In fact, it is one thing whether to take the certificate test or not. What is more important is how to use the certificate to help yourself score points? You know, only by practicing your skills can you truly gain a foothold in this society with peace of mind.
If you also want to chat with me, you can send me a message directly to Facebook without adding friends in advance (please remember to briefly introduce yourself first), or you are also welcome to write in.
★ Featured image credit: sean Kong
Further reading
- Are you a potential rookie, or are you ready to compete?
- Being willing to answer is a sign of affection, but not helping you is a duty: please learn to “ask the right questions” first
- How do I develop self-confidence? Don’t just imagine, take action
