Understanding Managers' Intent to Use IT Certification as a Selection Tool in the Hiring Process

A growing number of IT professionals believe that being certified will give them advantages when looking for jobs and many managers use IT certification as a selection tool when hiring. However, some managers have questioned the value of certifications or of some certifications in particular. The purpose of this research is to determine the factors that predict managers’ intentions to use IT certification as a selection tool when hiring to fill IT positions. The theory of planned behavior is used as the theoretical underpinning to test the hypotheses. This is research in progress and hence the purpose of the paper is to share the ideas regarding it and get preliminary feedback. Findings will be important to multiple stakeholder groups, including IT workers, hiring managers, designers and sponsors of IT certification, and third-party training and testing centers.