Almost half of IT leaders rarely, if at all, verify candidates’ certification, according to a TEKsystems survey. And IT professionals are also lax on accuracy.

Only 26% of IT leaders reported they always/often verify certifications, and just 52% of IT professionals indicated they always/often represent their certifications accurately on their résumés.

“Together, these findings point to a staggeringly high percentage of organizations potentially exposed to ‘certification inflation’” during the vetting process,” the report stated. “Additionally, feedback indicates that IT professionals may embellish, or ‘inflate,’ their certifications in order to sidestep the automated electronic résumé filtering process.”

The survey also found a disconnect between leaders and professionals in regards to which phase of their career certifications provide the most value. Only 16% of professionals pursue certifications based on improving their hiring potential, yet IT leaders view certification as playing the most important role in the hiring stage. Additionally, IT leaders see certifications lessening in importance over time, while professionals see improving long-term career growth as the most important factor in pursuing a certification. A point of concern is that additional certifications may extend current expertise and increase job security in current roles, but not necessarily lend themselves to career advancement opportunities.

The majority of both IT leaders, 65%, and professionals, 74%, believe the organization should pay for certifications, while 19% of IT leaders believe company-sponsored certifications should affect salary. Consistent with this belief is that 31% of leaders factor certifications into salary compensation — a reflection that IT leaders view the value of certification to be interwoven with job performance. Conversely, 50% of professionals believe that the number of individual certifications should be taken into account in overall salary compensation, reflecting a “collectors” mentality.

“This research highlights areas of agreement and disconnect regarding certifications. The perceived value and impact of certifications vary greatly and clearly points out the importance that accreditation and verification can play,” TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman said. “First, organizations need to be more diligent in actually verifying certifications in order to avoid getting trapped in a certification shell game. Additionally, IT professionals need to understand that the value of certifications does not end with the accreditation itself, but in their ability as employees to bring that knowledge and expertise to bear on their job responsibilities. Given that a third of IT professionals surveyed have indicated a willingness to trade compensation for certification, they should also be aware that organizations increasingly consider paying for the certifications of their employees as a cost of doing business and that this is much less of a zero sum scenario than it used to be.”

The survey included more than 300 IT leaders (such as chief information officers, IT vice presidents, IT directors and IT hiring managers) and 900 IT professionals.