Career Development Hub

We've talked a lot about the value of certification, but what's something real you learned in the process? Whether you're just starting your certification journey or have been through it more times than you can count there's always something to learn along the way.

What's one lesson or piece of advice you'd share with someone working toward their certification?

Maybe it's how you prepared for your first audit, what surprised you the most, or something you wish you'd known earlier.

Drop your thoughts below- your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now.

Great question, Jamie! One of the biggest lessons I've learned through certification work is that it's not about the certificate, it's about the discipline you build into your business.

The first time I went through a certification audit, I thought preparation was mostly about making sure the documents were in order and the procedures were written correctly. What surprised me was how much the auditor cared about whether the people in the organization could actually demonstrate understanding and consistency. It taught me quickly that checklists and binders aren't enough-you need alignment, clarity, and daily practice for the system to hold up.

Another lesson: don't treat certification as an add-on to the business plan. When you integrate the management system into your strategy, it becomes a living framework that helps leaders make better decisions, allocate resources more effectively, and identify risks earlier. That's when certification stops being a compliance task and starts being a value driver.

If I had one piece of advice for someone starting out, it would be: don't aim for "perfect" on day one. Aim for transparency, document what you actually do, and commit to improving the system as you go. We use a 1-5 maturity scale. That mindset makes audits and improvement initiatives far less stressful and ensures the certification effort pays dividends long after the certificate is framed on the wall.

We've talked a lot about the value of certification, but what's something real you learned in the process? Whether you're just starting your certification journey or have been through it more times than you can count there's always something to learn along the way.

What's one lesson or piece of advice you'd share with someone working toward their certification?

Maybe it's how you prepared for your first audit, what surprised you the most, or something you wish you'd known earlier.

Drop your thoughts below- your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now.

Great question, Jamie! One of the biggest lessons I've learned through certification work is that it's not about the certificate, it's about the discipline you build into your business.

The first time I went through a certification audit, I thought preparation was mostly about making sure the documents were in order and the procedures were written correctly. What surprised me was how much the auditor cared about whether the people in the organization could actually demonstrate understanding and consistency. It taught me quickly that checklists and binders aren't enough-you need alignment, clarity, and daily practice for the system to hold up.

Another lesson: don't treat certification as an add-on to the business plan. When you integrate the management system into your strategy, it becomes a living framework that helps leaders make better decisions, allocate resources more effectively, and identify risks earlier. That's when certification stops being a compliance task and starts being a value driver.

If I had one piece of advice for someone starting out, it would be: don't aim for "perfect" on day one. Aim for transparency, document what you actually do, and commit to improving the system as you go. We use a 1-5 maturity scale. That mindset makes audits and improvement initiatives far less stressful and ensures the certification effort pays dividends long after the certificate is framed on the wall.

We've talked a lot about the value of certification, but what's something real you learned in the process? Whether you're just starting your certification journey or have been through it more times than you can count there's always something to learn along the way.

What's one lesson or piece of advice you'd share with someone working toward their certification?

Maybe it's how you prepared for your first audit, what surprised you the most, or something you wish you'd known earlier.

Drop your thoughts below- your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now.

@Jamie - After stepping away for a day and circling back on this topic, I realize I answered the question from a perspective of "certification for an organization" vs. personnel or training certification from Exemplar Global. 

Regarding certification as an individual, my ONE lesson to pass along is to put "resourcefulness" ahead of credentials. Like a certified organization, your credentials are only as good as your application of your competencies. To be, it has been extremely beneficial to go through training and certification while also organizing my files, capturing key links (i.e., online resources, associations, social media accounts to follow, etc.), and indexing my files in Dropbox or Google Drive. While you're going through training and certification, it is beneficial to build a digital locker of sorts so you can reference your competency assets when the time comes to actually put them to use.

Stay organized, take good notes (now you can use AI to assist with that), and be a good Secretary. Your future self will thank you. 

Great question, Jamie! One of the biggest lessons I've learned through certification work is that it's not about the certificate, it's about the discipline you build into your business.

The first time I went through a certification audit, I thought preparation was mostly about making sure the documents were in order and the procedures were written correctly. What surprised me was how much the auditor cared about whether the people in the organization could actually demonstrate understanding and consistency. It taught me quickly that checklists and binders aren't enough-you need alignment, clarity, and daily practice for the system to hold up.

Another lesson: don't treat certification as an add-on to the business plan. When you integrate the management system into your strategy, it becomes a living framework that helps leaders make better decisions, allocate resources more effectively, and identify risks earlier. That's when certification stops being a compliance task and starts being a value driver.

If I had one piece of advice for someone starting out, it would be: don't aim for "perfect" on day one. Aim for transparency, document what you actually do, and commit to improving the system as you go. We use a 1-5 maturity scale. That mindset makes audits and improvement initiatives far less stressful and ensures the certification effort pays dividends long after the certificate is framed on the wall.

We've talked a lot about the value of certification, but what's something real you learned in the process? Whether you're just starting your certification journey or have been through it more times than you can count there's always something to learn along the way.

What's one lesson or piece of advice you'd share with someone working toward their certification?

Maybe it's how you prepared for your first audit, what surprised you the most, or something you wish you'd known earlier.

Drop your thoughts below- your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now.

We've talked a lot about the value of certification, but what's something real you learned in the process? Whether you're just starting your certification journey or have been through it more times than you can count there's always something to learn along the way.

What's one lesson or piece of advice you'd share with someone working toward their certification?

Maybe it's how you prepared for your first audit, what surprised you the most, or something you wish you'd known earlier.

Drop your thoughts below- your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now.

We've talked a lot about the value of certification, but what's something real you learned in the process? Whether you're just starting your certification journey or have been through it more times than you can count there's always something to learn along the way.

What's one lesson or piece of advice you'd share with someone working toward their certification?

Maybe it's how you prepared for your first audit, what surprised you the most, or something you wish you'd known earlier.

Drop your thoughts below- your experience might be exactly what someone else needs to hear right now.