20 Free Certifications To Spice Up Your Resume
Education has broken free from the four walls of the physical institutions as well as the mental limitations that held it bound for several years!
With the advent of online certifications, long gone are the days when schooling was regarded as education’s only existing relative.
In recent times, scholars have realized that the blood that ties education to schooling is simply ‘enlightenment’, and as such the process of giving and receiving information cannot be restricted to the four walls of conventional classrooms or schools.
With the many impacts of social media on society, there’s virtually no limit to what you can learn on the internet, starting from a simple task such as how to brush your teeth to more complex activities such as how to build a spaceship or even how to clone a human being! 😆
Online certifications are an aspect of eLearning that is taught to students via the internet with no required face-to-face session or on-campus activity.
Do you seek a flexible learning experience such that you can learn at your own pace?
Are your family responsibilities or work schedule so demanding that a conventional classroom experience feels like putting a square peg in a round hole?
Or are you simply looking for ways to get your knowledge up to international standards without having to travel?
Do you want to gain all the above at absolutely no cost? Then this piece is for you; YES YOU!
Fasten your seat belts as we soar from North America to Asia and all over the world to see those mouth-watering courses that will improve you, and increase your earning power, yet cost you absolutely nothing but discipline, determination, and dedication.
If this isn’t a good deal, I don’t know what is!
Read failure stories of 40 successful people
1. Duolingo Free Language Courses
So, you want to relocate to Paris; the headquarters of your dream job? You possess the requisite skills and relevant experience for the job position you seek but there’s just one thing missing – you do not understand the language of love; French I mean!
There are a lot of free language courses online, but Duolingo’s language courses stand out as a result of its unique game-like curriculum; where you earn virtual coins for correct answers, unlock new levels, and watch your fluency score rise. This ensures that the more you learn, the more tailored your lessons will be.
Also, there are interactive lessons that include listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Multiple choice questions, structured assessment tests, and a mobile app that enables you to learn anytime, anywhere!
Duolingo offers 81 different language courses across 37 languages. An independent study has shown that 34 hours of Duolingo’s self-paced course is equivalent to a full university semester of language courses! Impressive huh?
If this sounds like just the opportunity you have been looking out for, then, Qu’est- ce que tu attends? What are you waiting for? 😉
2. ‘Global History Lab’ offered by Princeton University
According to George Santayana, “Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it”.This course teaches the span of world history from 1300 to the 20th century and current-day globalization.
Are you passionate about history or are you just keen on learning about historical events such as the Seventeenth Century crises, the cold war, European decolonization, how today’s globalization compares with that of the past, and other key historical events that shaped our world of today, then this course is for you.
Amongst other easy certifications, this is very wide, yet past students of the course agree that the course instructor, Professor Jeremy Adelman, did a good job of connecting the world’s history.
Since its inception in 2012, it has been offered every two years on several platforms.
In 2012, Coursera offered it; NovoEd in 2014, and edX in 2016. It is currently being offered on edx. Enrol here
3. ‘Justice’ offered by Harvard University
‘Ignorantia legis neminem excusat’. Holdup, the above Latin maxim has nothing to do with the popular rap Artist, Eminem! It simply means, ‘Ignorance of the law excuses no one!’
In case you think this course is just for ‘our learned colleagues’, I hope you won’t have a rethink after being roped in by a legal suit you could have avoided by taking this course.
Justice, one of the most famous courses taught at Harvard College, examines classical and contemporary theories of Justice as well as their present-day application.
This may sound like a certification you are not interested in but this course will help you understand the intricacies of a social or criminal justice system as well as human and property rights 😎
You will also be able to unravel the philosophy underpinning modern issues such as gender equality, and same-sex marriage among others. Its courseware also exposes you to the wealth of knowledge of classical philosophers such as Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato.
With absolutely no credentials required to commence this course, lauded Harvard professor, Michael Sandel as the course instructor, this course promises to be worth your time. It is available on edx, YouTube, iTunes, and other online platforms.
These 7 Incredible Ways to Love any Course You Find Yourself might be of help.
4. ‘Leadership and Influence’ offered by the University of Maryland
One of the books that changed my life was a book on leadership and influence.
Leadership and influence are two distinct yet overlapping entities as you can’t be a leader without possessing significant influence over your followers.
Also, you can’t be a person of influence without assuming some sort of leadership position.
With 7 Associate Professors and professors as instructors within a duration of 7 weeks requiring only 8 to 10 hours per week, this course will help you develop the skills you need to be an effective and successful leader.
After the completion of this course, you could obtain an optional verified certification for $214 USD.
5. ‘Team Work and Collaboration’ offered by Rochester Institute of Technology
Soft skills are skills that turn hard work into soft work. They include communication, teamwork, public speaking, and critical thinking among others.
Whether as an employer, employee, or even an entrepreneur, one’s ability to work in a group is a key strength for any individual.
‘Teamwork and Collaboration’ teaches the essentials needed to lead, build and motivate teams in the workplace.
It takes an effort of 6 to 8 hours per week, a duration of 3 weeks, and an optional verified certificate for $49 USD. This course promises to help the learner understand ‘the complexities of group dynamics and interactions. Don’t wait to be told about the experience!
6. ‘Finance for Everyone: Smart Tools for Decision Making’ offered by the University of Michigan
Barrett Strong’s hit song of the 60s says ‘money; that’s what I want.’ Well, as a conservative person, I don’t want money, I want to be wealthy! 😀 .
Apart from being a major component of financial intelligence, knowledge of finance is a prerequisite for being wealthy.
‘Finance for everyone’, an asynchronous course, with a required effort of 3 to 7 hours weekly and a course duration of 12 weeks, is guaranteed to help you gain the fundamental knowledge and skills of finance which can be applied in personal and professional situations. Begin your journey to wealth!
7. Diy, MFA
So, you do not have an MFA in writing but possess the zest and innate qualities of a writer.
Don’t worry, Diy MFA is an easy writing course that gives you the experience of a formal MFA all from the comfort of your own home.
With this course, you’ll learn how to take your writing game to the next level, apply writing strategies to both fiction and non-fiction pieces, and most importantly build yourself a network of fellow authors and ardent readers.
Interested? Sign up here!
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Because you are really interested in all these, I will give you this extra 😉
As a passionate writer, I can’t withhold this extra juicy information from my colleagues and future colleagues.
SA Writers College, a reputable college based in South Africa that offers specialized online writing courses, has easy certifications for its online writing resources.
This covers about a hundred materials ranging from ethics and tips, to interview and research techniques. Others include creative writing, scriptwriting, editing skills, short story writing, and business writing.
8. ‘Social Marketing Education 2018’ offered by Hootsuite
Marketing is a skill not limited to any field or profession. In fact, there are many future marketing trends that should not be ignored.
After writing a book, you need good marketing skills to make it a best-seller. To even land your dream job, you need to be able to properly ‘market’ your skillset as well as your ability.
And erm, that persistent voice in your head that has been whispering to you ‘take this course!’ ever since you began reading this article, is my marketing skills working on your medulla! No Jokes!!!
For most marketing departments, social media marketing is a priority probably because popular social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on have a lot of dedicated users.
Still doubting? I bet you haven’t seen these amazing benefits of social media.
To be a marketer in this day and age, you, therefore, have to be abreast with how to develop content that appeals to these social media platforms. This is just the perfect certification to help you achieve this feat.
The ‘Social Marketing Education 2018’, designed in consultation with social media marketing strategists and practitioners, features 97 videos and numerous quizzes.
With this course, you’ll develop foundational social marketing skills to grow followers, engagement, and business results.
The course also teaches the fundamentals of content marketing.
However, if interest lies in content marketing i.e. being able to create relatively longer, higher quality content to help companies build their audience on their own sites rather than social media sites, the “content marketing certification course offered by Hubspot Academy” is for you!
Need I remind you that you can’t talk about content marketing without mentioning Hubspot? Their blog generates over million of website visits per month.
This makes HubSpot the preferred choice for content marketing training.
One of the benefits of this certification is that it offers you the opportunity to add a globally recognized certification to your resume upon successfully passing the 45-question exam at the end of the course.
Over 137,000 people have taken this course!
Don’t be left behind, sign up here!
9. ‘Music for Wellness’ offered by Berkeley College of Music
Music is the language of the soul; irrespective of age, gender, status, nationality, or culture. It appeals as well as unites us all!
Over the years, music expresses emotions deeply seated in the soul. Have you considered that music could actually heal the soul?
In the process of getting a certification in Music for wellness, you’ll learn that you do not need to have musical talent to use music to enhance your well-being and even your health. With this course, you’ll also learn how to unlock your creativity as well as how to live a healthy happy life no matter what.
With a required effort of 6 to 8 hours weekly, a course duration of only 3 weeks, and Suzanne Hanser and Annette Philip as course instructors, this course will teach you simple musical techniques you could apply in your daily life. Don’t give it a second thought, enrol here!
10.‘CS188.1X: Artificial Intelligence
In a few years from today, we will all be singing: “who runs the world? Robots!” match*
Artificial intelligence is not as complicated as it appears to be.
It is all around us; it is the core of video games, web searches, self-driving cars, voice and face recognition devices, industrial robots, and many other modern technologies.
Within a duration of 12 weeks, this course promises to introduce ideas and techniques underlying the design of intelligent systems.
Basic knowledge of python and coding algorithms will give the learner an advantage. If you want to add those skills to your skillset via Bootcamp, check the list of coding boot camps on Career karma.
11. ‘PMP Basics’ Skillup By Simplilearn
If you are interested in project management or you are new and want a better understanding of that role; PMP Basics is for you!
This is a 9 hours course that would take you through the most popular project management methodologies from budgeting to timelines.
And trust me, you don’t want to underestimate the power of living on a budget. PMP basics are free on Skillup at Simplilearn.
12. ‘Trailhead’ Salesforce Certification
For someone that is into CRM (customer relationship management), Salesforce is a popular software used to manage customer relationships, marketing campaigns, and sales data.
It requires no technical knowledge however, trailhead (a learning platform designed by salesforce) is an easy and free way to learn everything you need to know about salesforce.
Read: 5 Features of CRM and their Benefits
13. ‘Freecodecamp.org’ IT Certifications
To further your career in the tech field, there are varieties of information technology (I.T.) certification courses to obtain from freecodecamp, including; Software and hardware computer, electronics, wireless technology, the internet, telephones, etc.
14. Google Ad Certification
Google ad is one of the most popularly used methods of online advertising and as a result, individuals with that skill are highly needed, so getting a certification on this can help boost your resume.
There are so many courses with free certifications on google ads in skillshop.exceedlms, you can take at least two to upgrade your skill and resume.
15. Digital Marketing Certification
This skill is also one of the most popular and demanding skills and jobs. You can partake in the fundamentals of digital marketing course via learndigital.withgoogle.
This will spice up your resume and increase your chances of getting a job in that field.
Read: 7 Smart Ways to Grow Your Digital Marketing Agency
16. Certification in Customer Service
Customer service is another essential job role that is required in almost all businesses and there are lots of skills to learn in the role which can be applied in other different industries and roles.
You can take a course called ‘build your skill in customer service’ via LinkedIn and obtain a certificate for free.
These 16 Best Customer Service Feedback Software might be helpful!
17. Certification in Photoshop
For a graphic designer who wants to upgrade her skill, adding Photoshop to your software is a good way of spicing up your skill and resume.
Below are two courses that offer certificates for free after completion.
‘Photoshop quick tips’ via LinkedIn and ‘Online free course Photoshop certification’ at Educba.
18. Excel Free Online Courses With Certification
Excel is a widely used tool for analyzing, organizing, and presenting data.
It is seen in most requirements for many job roles and knowledge of this skill gives room for ease and makes you more efficient in your job especially if you are in the administrative field.
With a good understanding of this course, there are many financial services business ideas you can start.
You can obtain a free certification by going through this course “Build your Excel Skill” Via LinkedIn Learning.
19. Free Certification In Content Marketing
Content marketing is one aspect of digital marketing building or gathering an audience in different social media by providing them with content that interests them regularly.
You can obtain a certification on this skill by going through the course ‘Content Marketing Basics’ at mygreatlearning.
20. Front-End Developer
This is among the list of most in-demand jobs. Having a certificate in front-end development proves your ability to develop user interfaces and front-end web applications.
To spice up your resume, mygreatlearning offers a free certification after taking their ‘Front End Development-CSS’ online course.
So…
I promised you only 20 easy certifications but gave you a bonus – free writing resource.
You can call me the fairy godmother of free online certifications or something!
Are you still waiting for a conclusion? one conclusion ➡ Start enrolling now!
Glossary of E-learning Terms
Electronic learning – Electronic learning is an umbrella term that refers to education, training, and instruction conducted via electronic media, typically on the internet.
Asynchronous Online courses – Asynchronous courses are self-paced courses. In other words, learners make use of courseware at their chosen pace and time.
Synchronous Online courses – require learners in different locations to participate at a stipulated time. It is also an arrangement that requires the course instructor(s) and learners to go online at a stipulated time.
Synchronous learning, therefore, allows learners to interact with the instructor and other participants through software that creates a virtual classroom. Through it, you can also learn how to ask questions the smart way.
Webinars and Webcasts are mediums that provide access to the online classroom experience. The former however is preferred for the simple reason that they allow learners to interact with the instructor by typing in questions while the latter does not.
Courseware – educational materials designed especially for online learning.
I hope you found a course on the list that excites you.
wow..this is very informative. kudos
Thanks, Joe
Absolutely love this list. You can never stop learning and best of all they’re FREE!! Thanks a million will have to sign up for some real soon.
Thanks, Diane
Lots of great ideas. I already use Duolingo and love it!
Great! Thanks, Hayley
So many great ideas – you really have done some research and spelled everything out so clearly! Can’t wait to read more!
Thanks, Vicki
I’ve used Duolingo before for German & it was great! Love that suggestion. 🙂
Kendra | http://www.helga-marie.com
Thanks, Kendra
This has SUCH great tips! I need to pin this for later! I had duolingo but need to get it back! The hootsuite one sounds great as well!
Thanks, Lauren
I just discovered Duolingo and love it!
Great!
Great blog I read a whole blog such a very informative blog. Marketing is a skill not limited to any field or profession. After writing a book, you need good marketing skills this line is very motivated thanks for sharing this blog
Sure, thanks for reading.