10 FREE Online Courses to Take to Boost Your Resume
The job market is uber-competitive right now.
If you’ve ever applied for a job or internship you know the list of qualifications is often mile high and the bar is constantly being raised. In order to compete in this job market for almost anything, you need to be a self-starter who has their shit down to a science.
This can be daunting because let’s be real, you’re one person and theirs only so much time (and finance) that you can spare to constantly be outperforming your peers.
This was me.
In my first year of college, I applied to over 20 internships and got NOTHING.
But I went back to the drawing board, instead of looking at my summer as a failure I committed myself to add a few skills and experiences to my resume. I did this in two ways:
I volunteered. This was a quick and simple way to get my foot in the door for some of the companies I was looking to work for (but more on this another blog post)
I decided to use the trusty old internet to use learn some skills for FREE
And this is where we get to the good part. With over 15 hours dedicated to online courses and tutorials per week, when I applied to internships in the fall I got 2 internship offers at the top institutions that I wasn’t competitive enough for just three months prior.
Are you in a similar situation?
Well, there’s hope!
Here is a list of ten free online courses or tutorial that could transform your life & your resume :
Web design
This is course is a FULL course and tutorial on how to design your own website using HTML & CSS. These skills can cost hundreds sometimes thousands to learn and he has a beginner course online for free.
I’ve taken a few of his online courses in Adobe photoshop and he’s great at explaining every little detail and his courses are very beginner-friendly. If you’ve ever had even the smallest interest in web design this is a great starting point that could have you monetizing this new skill in no time!
Wordpress
I used this class to create my online Portfolio, which I cannot recommend enough! Not only does having an online portfolio showcase your work but it also showcases your digital proficiency. It’s not a step a lot of people take and it can really set you apart from other applicants in your field.
I used this tutorial to create a beautiful website. After I created the website I put in on my LinkedIn and added the link on my resume. I constantly get traffic on it to this day and after creating just one 3 people reached out to me to help them build their student portfolios!
Copywriting
Copywriting is a much-needed skill in almost any industry.
If you’ve ever wanted to write a promotional email, write for a website or even something as simple as writing the label for a product that’s all copywriting and people get paid to do it. Why do you ask? because it’s about knowing how to use the right words to drive action or inspire customers.
If you can master this skill you will be able to drive traffic and interest to your own projects but you’ll also be able to monetize your skills.
In John Careltons course he goes over the basics of copywriting but he also has valuable advice that will have you looking like a pro in no time. His course has rave reviews and his knowledge is super valuable but he’s offering his course for free.
Photo Editing
Adobe Photoshop is a more and more common editing software yet to so many of us it feels like it’s above our paygrade. So many people get paid to edit photos and create graphics simply because we all think it’s so hard to learn.
The irony of it is, there are SO MANY photoshop tutorials online that you can learn at any time. If you dedicated an hour or two to learn each night you could be a photoshop pro in 3 months from now.
This skill could add serious dollars to your paycheck. If you want to make more money in your career or build a side hustle learning adobe photoshop is a sure-fire way to do that.
Marketing
This course is offered by Udemy and it goes over everything you need to know to get started with social media marketing. Marketing is a skill that EVERY business needs and social media is one of the most popular and efficient ways to do that.
Social media marketing isn’t just uploading a photo and hoping it gets likes, there’s an art to it.
This course will give you the working knowledge of Instagram SEO, creating captivating visuals, and how to connect with your audience on social media. If you ever thought of learning social media marketing the time is now.
Graphic Design
Ever been scrolling online and then you can’t help but notice that ad at the side that has 50% sale on that store you were just looking at?
I’m sure its all happened to us at some point but what is it about that ad that captures your attention (ahem, the algorithm) but maybe its the bold flashy font and the way the text is titled slightly to the left and makes you focus on the fact that its freaking 50% off today.
In a busy world, it’s harder and harder to capture people’s attention but graphic designers are constantly learning and evolving to create graphics that grab people’s attention and drives and end result. This skill can be invaluable in the digital age.
If you're interested in learning graphic design principles to build your business or skill, try this course.
Quickbooks
Quickbooks is a software that almost every business uses for their accounting.
It allows a business to manage their finances and like many things not everyone knows how to use. That’s where you could come in.
By using this full length and detailed tuturial you could add this skill to use resume and show your potential employer what an asset you could be.
While traditional accounting can take forever to learn this is slightly more intuitive and you can learn it on your own time and prove your proficiency more easily. This skill is becoming more and more needed and now is the perfect time to spice up your resume by getting this under your belt.
Spanish
This site gives you lesson plans for Spanish that range all the way from beginner-friendly to advanced.
There tons of sites and apps where you can learn Spanish for free but this site is unique because it provides actual grammar lesson plans that you can go over and not just vocab words.
You can use this site to get the foundational language and Spanish grammar skills you need and you can use other resources like butterfly Spanish and Duolingo to practice your vocab and further your speaking skills.
Google Suite
This channel has over 100 hundred videos going over EVERYTHING you need to know in google suite. You might think you know how to use google suite but do you have professional proficiency to use everything from google slides to google sheets?
This channel will have you looking like a pro in almost any professional setting and because most people assume they know all there is to know about google suite they are pleasantly surprised when you bust out a handy feature that no one even knows existed.
Scheduling (Acuity)
Acuity is a popular scheduling app that businesses use to manage their clients and facilitate bookings. Acuity deals with everything from payment to blocking off time and inputting notes. Not every business uses Acuity but it is one of the most popular scheduling software out there and I’ve had to use it in multiple capacities.
Learning how to use professional scheduling software can be just the push you need to get you into an administrative role.
If you can dedicate time to learning the ins and outs you can put that on your resume to show that you already have some knowledge of how to schedule clients and it will also speak to your organizational skills
Isn’t it great how we have this (kinda) free resource at our fingertips?!
There’s never an excuse to not invest in yourself,the only thing you’ll need is wifi. There are so many more skills you could learn that are not on this list by simply taking the initiative and doing the research.
If you want this to be the year you take control of your career and start adding value so you can start making more money then you have to start investing your skills and knowledge.