Stop Paying for Certifications Companies Should Fund: The Professional Development Strategy You're Missing

You're scrolling through job postings again. "Must have PMP certification." You sigh, open another tab, and start researching how much it'll cost and how many months it'll take. Meanwhile, you're already qualified for the role—you just don't have that specific credential yet. So you shell out thousands of dollars and countless hours, finally earn the certification, interview again, and hear: "Great, but we really need someone with Scrum Master too."

Sound familiar? You're trapped in the certification hamster wheel, spending your own money to check boxes that may not even be the real reason you're not landing roles. But here's what most people don't know: companies have budgets specifically set aside for professional development—and you can access them before or after you're hired.

In this conversation with Kim Nicol, host of The New Manager Podcast, we expose the invisible benefit that most employees never ask for and unpack why that's costing them thousands of dollars and years of their career. Kim shares how one of her clients turned a few-hundred-dollar course request into a company-wide $1,000-per-employee professional development policy—simply by asking strategically and thinking beyond herself.

The revelation? Asking for professional development isn't about admitting you're deficient—it's about signaling that you're proactive, self-motivated, and thinking strategically about how to deliver better results. When you identify a training need, research the solution, and present it with clear ROI, you're acting like a leader. And when organizations can't give you raises, they can often approve development budgets that directly increase your skills and market value.

The breakthrough comes when you realize asking for professional development is low-stakes self-advocacy practice. You're building the muscle you'll need when you negotiate for raises, promotions, and bonuses—except this time, it's easier because it's genuinely win-win for both you and your employer.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• Why getting certifications before job offers keeps you stuck in an expensive, endless loop
• How to pitch professional development by connecting it to what leadership actually cares about (time and money)
• The framework for making strategic asks: what, who, when, and how to follow through
• Why "no" isn't failure—it's data that helps you understand your organization and plan your next move
• How to turn a personal development win into organizational policy that benefits everyone

Ready to discover if you're unknowingly undervaluing yourself by paying for development you could negotiate? Take the Value Vision Quiz to see where you might be leaving money on the table -  link here. 

Listen to the Full Episode: 

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