Peer to Peer Magazine

38 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | WINTER 2017 Ediscovery hiring managers focus on vocational certification (RCA, Ipro, Nuix, iConect, EnCase, etc) first and foremost when considering applicants because most jobs are in law firms or vendors, and these companies want employees who can plug-and-play into the workflow and begin adding billable hours immediately. Having a product-specific certification used to increase your earning potential in electronically stored information (ESI); now, not having a certification in the tools requested means you may not even get an interview. There are a growing number of professionals geing vocational ESI certifications, making the job market more competitive. Cybersecurity certifications are generally far less product focused and more principle- and practice-oriented. Take, for example, the CISSP, ISC, CISA, CISM, CIPP, and the GIAC certifications. These are some of the most widely accepted certifications in the industry, and none are holistically focused on brands. In ediscovery the only truly accepted educational certification is CEDS. In cyber, the CISSP is considered the gold standard for fundamental industry educational validation. The Relativity Certified Administrator (RCA) is the certification most frequently asked for by hiring managers in ediscovery. TRU has found that candidates without an RCA have a 20% placement rate while individuals with an RCA have a 29% placement rate. There are more jobs posted online requesting CISSP, CISA, and CISM certified professionals than there are people who have them available. Transitioning from ESI to cybersecurity requires patience. Geing these cybercerts may take time, advanced training and self-guided education as well as formal classwork. Making the parlay from one industry to the other is a process, not a jump. Cybersecurity professionals generally do not want to learn or move into ESI, so it is unlikely that these talents will take jobs from ESI pros. However, ediscovery professionals see cybersecurity as where future opportunities exist and are aggressively looking for ways to make the transition. P2P EXTRAS Vocational and Educational Certifications Vocational and Educational Certifications by Jared Michael Coseglia of TRU Staffing Partners There are two types of certification: vocational and educational. Vocational certs are product-specific; educational are more broadly around expertise in a niche discipline, agnostic of tools used. Here are a couple of important market trends to consider when mapping a desired career path and budgeting professional development investments for you or your staff, or hiring in either vertical:

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