CertScoreWhy CertScore Exists
Built from the hiring trenches, not a boardroom.
Where This Started
I am Rajat Ravinder Varuni. I serve as a CISO at a SaaS company specializing in AI and machine learning, and every week I deal with the same problem: finding the right person for the right role in DevOps, penetration testing, cloud security, and SecOps.
You would think that in an era of mass layoffs driven by AI and automation, there would be plenty of qualified candidates. There are not. What there is, instead, is noise. Mountains of it.
The Hiring Problem Nobody Talks About
- 1.Resumes are unreliable. A growing number of applications contain falsified credentials or are entirely AI-generated. Candidates list certifications they never earned, skills they never practiced, and job titles they never held.
- 2.Candidates do not show up. We schedule interviews and they ghost. Repeatedly. Across industries. It wastes everyone's time.
- 3.There is a massive mismatch. The candidates who apply rarely match the job posting. A DevOps role gets flooded with applicants who have never touched a CI/CD pipeline. A penetration testing position receives resumes from people who cannot explain what a port scan is.
- 4.The timing gap kills momentum. By the time a recruiter sifts through hundreds of applications, shortlists candidates, and calls them back, the good ones have already moved on. The communication gap between application and outreach is where you lose the people you actually want.
And the worst part? Certifications, the one thing that should help separate signal from noise, are essentially an honor system. Anyone can type "CISSP" or "AWS Solutions Architect" into a LinkedIn text field and nobody checks. There is zero verification. The professionals who actually put in the work look exactly the same as the ones who lied.
What CertScore Does About It
CertScore makes certifications provable. We verify credentials through Credly, Accredible, and other providers using cryptographic proof. A gold badge means the credential is mathematically verified as belonging to that person. A grey badge means self-reported. That distinction is everything.
It turns a resume line item into something a recruiter can trust in seconds, complete with a verification link. No phone calls, no emails to certification bodies, no guesswork.
Cryptographic or API-backed verification through Credly, Accredible, or direct provider APIs. Provably real. Recruiters can click a link and see the proof.
No verification. No proof. The same as typing it into any other profile field. This is what every other platform offers.
Want to understand exactly how this verification works? Read our transparency page.
For Recruiters and Hiring Managers
- ✓Instant verification. Every CertScore profile comes with a verification link. Click it, see the proof. Gold badge means verified. No phone calls to certification bodies, no manual checks.
- ✓Filter by skill and location. The leaderboard ranks professionals by verified credentials within specific skill domains and geographic regions. Need the top Cloud-certified professionals in Virginia? CertScore shows you, with proof.
- ✓Cut through the noise. Stop guessing which resumes are real. If a candidate has a CertScore profile with gold badges, they have already proven their credentials before you even opened their application.
- ✓Reduce time-to-shortlist. Instead of manually verifying each candidate's certifications after an interview, check their CertScore profile upfront. Move faster on the right people before they accept another offer.
For Professionals
Here is the truth: in this market, if you do not actively market yourself, nobody else will do it for you. Your employer will not do it. Your certification provider will not do it. The job board algorithms certainly will not do it.
- ✓Make your effort visible. You spent months studying for the CEH, the CKA, the AWS Solutions Architect. Right now, that looks identical on a resume to someone who just typed the words. CertScore makes the difference visible and provable.
- ✓Rank and compete. Your verified credentials earn points. Your points determine your rank. Your rank proves your standing in your domain, globally, by country, or by state. Filter by Cloud, Security, DevOps, or other skill categories to see exactly where you stand.
- ✓Share your proof. Share your CertScore profile link on LinkedIn, in your email signature, or directly with recruiters. One link, all your verified credentials, no ambiguity.
- ✓Be discoverable. Recruiters can browse the leaderboard by skill and location. A strong CertScore profile puts you in front of hiring managers who are actively looking for exactly your skill set.
The Gap Nobody Else Has Filled
LinkedIn does not verify certifications. Credly only covers credentials issued through its own platform. Job boards do not check anything. CertScore is the aggregator that brings everything together under one verified, scored, shareable profile.
The leaderboard, the points, the social sharing, the skills taxonomy: those are all features that matter. But they only matter because the underlying verification is real. Without trust, a leaderboard is just a list of claims. With trust, it is a competitive ranking that recruiters and employers can actually use to find and validate talent.
Who Built This
CertScore is built and maintained by V2C Inc, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on workforce development and technology accessibility. We have no commercial interest in favoring one credential provider over another. Our verification standards are based solely on what each provider's technology allows us to prove.
We are actively working with credential providers to expand verification coverage. You can read about our efforts, including our open letter to EC-Council requesting API access for their certifications, and our full verification transparency page explaining exactly how every credential is verified.
Coming soon to iOS and Android.