I get a lot of questions from people who hold certifications and are looking for a job posting that matches their qualifications. There are several ways to do this and searchnig for "JCIP" is not always the most efficient. I have compiled some tips and tricks that I hope will help you find those ever-elusive job listings.
- Pick your Keyword
Keep in mind what kind of job resource you are using. On the larger job sites, like Monster, certifications are not really a prominant criteria. Try entering your cert as a keyword, but with the possible exception of "MCSE", this will not generate many results. You will get better results by being more general:
- Search for SQL rather than MCDBA
- Search for Oracle+DBA rather than OCP
- Search for Cisco rather than CCNA
- Use Initials
With sites such as Techies and Dice, where the focus is on IT, enter the certification using initials (i.e. "CIW" rather than "Certified Internet Webmaster").
- Use quotes around phrases. For example, type in "Microsoft Certified".
- Get Creative
If you are searching for a CompTIA certification (i.e. A+, Network+, etc), get creative. Use quotes ("Network+") and boolean searches (Network AND "+") to get the "+" sign to show results. Some sites, Dice in particular, refused to give useful results for A+ no matter how I entered it.
- Use Search Tools
Save yourself some time and take advantage of the search agents that most sites provide. Save several variations of your search to get the most results.
- Search Certified
If you still have trouble getting results, simply search for "Certified" in your location. You'll get some results you don't need but you should also get a feel for how the employers are posting positions with certification as a criteria and what keywords to use.
Good Sites to Visit:
I entered search criteria into each of these job sites, with all locations (most are restricted to the US) and job types selected and recieved the following results:
- Dice - 1846 results for "certification", 311 results for "mcse"
- Guru - More than 500 results for "certification", 243 for "mcse"
- Techies - 180 results for "certification", 100 results for "mcse"
- CareerBuilder - More than 5000 results for "certification", 481 for "A+"
- Monster - More than 5000 results for "certification", 905 for "A+"
- FlipDog - More than 200 results for "certification" and "mcse"
- Thingamajob - 145 results for "certification"
- ITJobs - 57 results for "certification", 11 results for "mcse"
- ITClassifieds - 28 results for "certification", 4 results for "mcse"
