I view it as a shared level of baseline knowledge that helps with conversation. If I see someone has it, it at least tells me they understand the words I’m usin

I view it as a shared level of baseline knowledge that helps with conversation. If I see someone has it, it at least tells me they understand the words I’m using and have a basic knowledge of the concepts we are discussing (or should, at least). It also tells me they are good at taking tests. It doesn’t tell me whether they understand how it all works together, or if they understand the organization’s environment, or if they are a good worker. I don’t hold it against people who fail (I’ve seen good people fail the test) or who don’t have it - I just have to ask a few more probing questions to ensure they know the tech I’m discussing. But I don’t outright ask if someone is a CISSP, so typically I ask the clarifying questions anyway so our understanding of the problem is accurate and aligned. And cert or not, I’m still more interested in whether you know what you’re doing than what you put on your resume.