In Steve's first article in this series he pointed out that most of the certifications test one's ability to memorize. This hits the nail right on the head. It's a skill I personally stink at. I hold no certifications and yet I've never been unemployed for more than a few weeks during my IT/development career. Knowing the technical aspects of the technology is only one part of a good fit for the candidate. And even with that I've always questioned the value of certification to test the technical aspect.

I've worked with developers and IT people that have had several certifications and they can't think, reason or exercise good judgement or debug their way out of a paper bag. The certifications don't test that. They test memorization. When I interview, I want to know if a person can DO development. So I sit them in front of VS or SSMS with a live internet connection and make them write something. I want to see how they go about solving the problem. Are they reasonably facile with the tools or clicking around aimlessly? I don't care that they go to the internet to look something up. Most of the troublesome problems I face are with some third party's piece of code that doesn't do what it says it should do. Can the candidate research problems and find solutions? What's their temperament like when they struggle with something? Certifications don't test that.

Some of the most intelligent productive people I've worked with didn't have degrees or certifications. They had a passion for creating. That's what I look for in a candidate.