I originally was going to post this in LinkedIn, but I actually need a job, so I came here. Not sure it fits.
TL:DR: “why don't you have a cert?” Because I can't get it unless an employer lets me.
Something that came up in an interview last week that in hindsight seems funny.
During the second (technical) interview, I was asked why I didn't have a certification for the tech platform that I used everyday in one of my previous roles. This was not in the requirements for the role I was given beforehand.
My response was that I was not afforded the opportunity to pursue that cert in my time with the employer, but would be willing to if it were required for the role.
The context: my employer at the time was not interested in providing the time or money for individual contributors to take the instructor lead training required for most certifications, unless you could prove it would be useful for your current role.
The funny part: I discovered two things when doing some research after the interview. 1) the learning path for this platform was not established until after I left that employer and 2) because the courses are instructor lead, I can't take them now because they require employer sponsorship. So I couldn't get that cert even if I wanted to.
My gripe: changing role requirements at all while someone is actively interviewing for a position is a bit shady and then springing the “why don't you have this?” question on the candidate when they couldn't have gotten it anyway is, at a minimum, rude and extremely unprofessional.
I'm pretty sure I'm not getting that role, but I'm totally not sure because there is suddenly some confusion on what the client and the MSP think would be a good fit. I'm pretty sure I'm being strung along.