Every day I see higher starting salaries being strongly correlated with possessing an APICS certification, particularly with the designation Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM). We all hear the quotes of the differential in starting salary negotiated by APICS-certified job seekers vs. the non-certified.

The kind of individuals who puts forth the effort and sacrifice to attain an APICS certification, typically also do other job related activities with the same relative excellence and professionalism:

• They are more active in APICS and other professional associations, which leads to extra knowledge and stronger personal and professional networks.
• They know ways to get the job done and to make their employer profitable. If they do not have the answer, they know others who do and who are willing to assist them.
• Their accomplishments testify to superior performance and, when asked, professional references may be more enthusiastic.

The continuing dearth of qualified workers in our workforce, and our need to just get the work done, lead us to seek out individuals who can individually get more work done. Therefore, an inflated premium is building for the more promising job seekers.

A recent Professional Development Meeting speaker talked about E-commerce (electronic commerce), to be followed by I-commerce (informational commerce), and leading to C-commerce (collaborative commerce). It will be these extra-effort individuals who find ways to make these concepts work and who will reap the rewards for their companies. It will be the companies that hire certified employees, and encourage and support non-certified employees in seeking certification, that will be the winners in this burgeoning global competition we face.

Just as a diploma, a four year degree or an MBA imply a level of capability and therefore create an expectation of a certain level of performance, a CPIM or CIRM certification raises the bar of expectation. And typically capability and performance follow that expectation. "We expect more and therefore we get more."

Be that exceptional performer. Better yet, create a team of exceptional performers and you will see. The results can be astounding.