Certifications from Microsoft and Bloomberg: Helpful?

Is it helpful for a resume to show Microsoft certification in Excel and Bloomberg product certification? Is it worth my time to prepare and take the tests?

Is a Bloomberg certification worth putting on your resume?

The Microsoft certifications are largely useless and a waste of space on a resume. You are already expected to have a working proficiency in the Microsoft Office suite.

A Bloomberg certification is slightly more useful and shows some interest. You should only add this if you need to fill in some empty spaces in your resume.

Key Takeaways

  • Only add a bloomberg certification if you need to fill up space.

from certified user @jrad

I agree with the Microsoft certification being useless on your resume. But if you are really looking for some fillers, the Bloomberg certification is the way to go.

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13 Comments
 

I assumed they were pretty stupid, but hadn't explored them. Guess it isn't worth my time. Anybody out there think they're actually worthwhile on a recent grad's resume?

 

The material for the MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) test for Excel 2003 is really basic and for $100 and 1 hour of your time it validates that you at least know your way around Excel. I took it on a lunch break, I figured it could only help.

 

I agree with the Microsoft cert. being useless on your resume, but if you are really looking for some fillers, the Bloomberg cert. can't hurt. It shows that you have experience using it and know your way around, but that's about it. I definitely wouldn't drop something else from the resume to put that in, but if you are in need to fill up some room - why not?

 

funny but true story... some guy put bloomberg certified on his resume his interviewer asked him what code pulled up the corporate action calendar he said i dont know and his interviewer responded "i thought you were certified?"

id avoid putting it on even if you know bloomberg

 

UUUUUUUUSSSSSSSEEEEELLLLLLLLLEEEEESSSSSSS.

Anybody who's worked in banking can pick up bloomberg and MSFT programs in less than a week. It's not hard and, if you actually got the certificates, should know and admit that they are jokes. You think your interviewers never heard of these things before? They know exactly what the certification entails.

Omit them. That is all.

 

at my old job, we once called in a technician to retrieve some data on hard disks we couldn't access. he told us that since he was Microsoft Certified, it would be the same as Bill Gates working on our hard drive. he charged $150 and returned saying he couldn't get our data.

 

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