Which business or HR certification fits you?
For US human resources jobs, take the SHRM-CP (Society for Human Resource Management Certified Professional); it needs no degree or experience. In October 2026, shrm-cp appeared in 1,066 of the 36,509 US ads with hr in the job title (Adzuna, a job-ad search site). UK CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) qualifications are assessed courses, not exams.
Show the numbers
| Item | Role | Ads | Share of ads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salesforce Administrator | Salesforce administrator | 326 | 7% |
| SHRM-CP | HR specialist | 36,509 | 2.9% |
| SHRM-SCP | HR specialist | 36,509 | 1.8% |
| Six Sigma Green Belt | Project manager | 59,273 | 364 of 59,273 |
| PHR | HR specialist | 36,509 | 162 of 36,509 |
| Six Sigma | Project manager | 59,273 | 233 of 59,273 |
| HubSpot Academy certifications | Digital marketer | 2,542 | 7 of 2,542 |
| Six Sigma Black Belt | Project manager | 59,273 | 58 of 59,273 |
| CIPD | HR specialist | 36,509 | 13 of 36,509 |
| CPTD | HR specialist | 36,509 | 5 of 36,509 |
Which certificates do employers name for your job?
Instant answer from October 2026 job ads. No email needed.
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Certificates named
Source: Adzuna job ads, October 2026.
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Which page should you read first?
| Your situation | Read this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to HR (human resources), US | HR certifications | US HR ads named the SHRM-CP ahead of the PHR (Professional in Human Resources), which needs HR experience |
| Two or more years in an HR role, US | HR certifications | Two professional-level HR years plus a bachelor's degree meet the PHR; the SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional) needs three years of strategic HR work |
| Choosing UK or US HR routes | CIPD vs SHRM-CP | A CIPD Associate Diploma course costs £1,600 to £3,600 in the UK; the SHRM-CP exam, $399 to $499 |
| Six Sigma (a process method graded in belts), no project yet | Six Sigma Green Belt | The IASSC (International Association for Six Sigma Certification) Green Belt has no prerequisites; the ASQ (American Society for Quality) one needs three years of work |
| Leading improvement projects you can document | Six Sigma Black Belt | ASQ's Black Belt needs two documented projects, or one project plus three years of work |
| Unsure which belt | Green Belt vs Black Belt | ASQ's Black Belt asks for documented projects; its Green Belt does not |
| Using Salesforce (customer-records software) at work | Salesforce Admin | The Platform Administrator exam has no prerequisite |
| Moving into UX (user experience) design | UX designer certifications | The Google certificate is a course, not an exam; google ux design appeared in none of the 1,644 US UX-designer ads |
Source: issuer pages, checked October 3, 2026 (Salesforce October 11, 2026); Adzuna, October 2026.
What does each certification require, and what does the first exam cost?
| Credential | Issued by | Entry requirement | First-exam cost | Our page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHRM-CP | SHRM | None | $399 member / $499 non-member, $50 application fee included | CIPD vs SHRM-CP |
| PHR | HRCI (HR Certification Institute) | One to four years in HR, by degree | $495, $100 application fee included | HR certifications |
| CIPD Associate Diploma | CIPD, UK | Not checked: ask the study center | Course, no exam: £1,600 to £3,600 (CIPD quote) | CIPD vs SHRM-CP |
| CSSGB (Certified Six Sigma Green Belt) | ASQ | Three years of work | $383 member / $483 non-member | Green Belt |
| CSSBB (Certified Six Sigma Black Belt) | ASQ | Two documented projects, or one project plus three years of work | $485 member / $585 non-member | Black Belt |
| Salesforce Certified Platform Administrator | Salesforce | None | $200 plus tax | Salesforce Admin |
| Google UX Design Certificate | Google (Coursera) | No degree or experience | Course, no exam: $49 a month (US and Canada) | UX designer |
Source: issuer sites (Coursera for Google), checked October 3, 2026 (Salesforce October 11). SHRM: standard-deadline fees; member prices need a paid membership.
Show the numbers
| Item | United States | United Kingdom | India |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR specialist: SHRM-CP | 2.9% | 0 ads | 16 ads |
| Digital marketer: HubSpot Academy certifications | 7 ads | 1 ad | 4 ads |
| Salesforce administrator: Salesforce Administrator | 7% | – | – |
| UX designer: Google UX Design | 0 ads | – | 0 ads |
What do our job-ad counts not show?
- We count exact phrases, such as
shrm-cp, in one month of Adzuna ads; a mention does not separate "required" from "preferred." salesforce certified administrator(in 24 of the 326 US Salesforce-administrator ads) is an approximate phrase, so we do not rank it.hubspot certificationappeared in 7 of the 2,542 US digital-marketer ads; HubSpot's marketing courses are free (checked October 3, 2026), so we do not rank them.- UK figures rest on 280
hrads, so we give no UK ranking.
Show the numbers
| Level | Certification | Experience | Named first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | SHRM-CP | no work experience required | – |
| Entry | Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce | no work experience required | – |
| Entry | Google UX Design | no work experience required | – |
| Entry | Meta Social Media Marketing | no work experience required | – |
| Professional | PHR | required: 1 year of work experience on the shortest route (1–4 years, depending on your education) | – |
| Professional | SHRM-SCP | required: 3 years of work experience | SHRM-CP |
| Expert | CPTD | required: 4 years of work experience on the shortest route (4–5 years, depending on the route) | – |