Find the certifications employers value the most

Ready to boost your career? Earning a certification is a great place to start.

Getting certified in your field can show your current or future employer that you have the skills and knowledge needed to excel, that you’re motivated, and that you’re wiling to apply yourself to meet a goal.

You can get certified in hundreds of career fields—and within many fields, there are hundreds of certification options.  So how do you decide which one is best for your career?  One answer is to choose the certifications that many employers want.   And one way of identifying those in-demand certifications is to review job listings for the ones they mention the most.

CareerOneStop did just that, analyzing thousands of job listings to see which certifications are mentioned most often. In CareerOneStop’s Certification Finder, you’ll now see a chili pepper icon flagging those certifications considered most in-demand.

You can search for a certification by name, industry, or occupation.

There are three main types of certifications:

• Skill certifications: these cover basic skills, and can often be applied in several career fields. Examples include a CPR certification or a desktop publishing certification. Some skill certifications are specific to a product, such as a software program.
• Specialty certifications: these relate to specialties within certain fields. For example, an Oncology Nurse certification and a Pediatric Nurse certification are both nursing certifications.
• Advanced certifications: these require an Associate’s degree or higher, as well as more than two years of work experience. Sometimes they require that you hold a ‘core’ level certification from the same organization.

The in-demand “chili pepper” designation isn’t the only way to compare certifications—you should also research the certification and the certifying organization. But when your goal is to show an employer that you’re qualified for the job, it helps to know which certifications employers value enough to ask for it in job postings.