You’ve got extra time indoors with the pandemic keeping everyone at home. So how can you continue to grow your career? Everything is turning virtual, and certifications are no exception. Not only are online courses flexible, but many of them can be completed in mere hours.
Demonstrate to employers your commitment to growth even while working from home and get a leg up on your competition with these online certifications.
Table of Contents:
- What is an Online Certification
- Why Get an Online Certification
- Best Certification Courses
- How to Add a Certification to your Resume
What is an Online Certification?
Online certifications are a way to verify knowledge and experience. They can showcase exceptional skills, some of which are necessary for specific industries. These online certs assess proficiency without the necessary time it takes to complete a degree.
Some of the most gratuitous industries to earn certifications include:
- Medical Administrative
- Executive Assistant
- Computer Software Technician
- Web Design
- Early Childhood Education
- Business Administration and Management
- Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching
- Interior Design
- Digital Communication and Media
- Medical Insurance Coding Specialist
- Pharmacy Assistant
- Small Business Operations
- Veterinary Technician
- Airline Pilot
- Flight Crew
- Clinical Assistant
- Legal Assistant
Why Get Online Certifications
Whether you’re starting a new career, working towards a promotion, or starting your own business, online certifications can go a long way. Master your own craft, or work towards learning another to show competency for employers.
These in-demand skills that certifications test can provide:
- Advancement opportunities: Diversity is an integral part of successful management, learning new skills can diversify your portfolio for a leg up on your competition.
- Higher earning potential: With a few certifications under your belt, you’ll be qualified to negotiate a higher pay rate.
Best Online Certifications
Most people engage in online certifications as a career booster. Determine what kind of certificate will help you accelerate your career the most. From management and sales to language and infotech, there’s no shortage of opportunities when it comes to online certifications.
While there are hundreds, if not thousands of online certifications, these respected courses may help you narrow down your search:
- Leadership and Management Certificate
- Sales Certifications (Challenger Sales, Spin Selling, Sandler Training)
- Introduction to Programming in Java
- Certified Professional Sales Person (CPSP)
- Medical Billing or Coding Certificate
- Network Certifications (CCNA, CCNP, CCIE)
- Project Management Certificate (PMP)
- Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certification Course
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certification
- Human Resources Certifications (PHR, SPHR, SHRM)
How to Add a Certification to Your Resume
If you complete a certification course, the first thing you should do is add it to your professional profiles and resume. LinkedIn has a useful feature to add any partner courses directly into your profile once completed. To find all of your certifications listed on LinkedIn, go to the “Licenses and Certifications” section.
When adding the certification to your resume, you’ll want to make sure the most important information stands out.
- Title: List the title of the course, use a font size large enough to catch your attention when scanning the page. Write entire words instead of abbreviations.
- Host: Include the name of the organization that hosted the training so potential employers can validate the information. If it’s a digital resume, include a link.
- Date: Make sure to include the date of the course and when you completed it. You may want to remove or renew certifications that are over ten years old.
- Skills: If you gained tangible skills from the course, list them out so there’s no guesswork for recruiters about why the course is valuable.
If certifications are required in a certain field, include the information by your name, in your executive summary, in a special certifications section, and within your work experience section.
A sample resume could look like the following:
Jerry Bronson, (1) PMP
Phone: 555-123-3456
E-mail: jerry.bronson@gmail.com
Summary
(2) Certified PMP with 7+ years of professional project management experience seeking improved production at International Business Machines Corporation. At Oracle, improved production by 4% in the last 6 months and reduced labor costs by 17%. Trained 142 employees.
(3) Certifications
PMP — Project Management Institute
Leadership and Management Certificate — Cornell University Online
Work Experience
Oracle Corporation
(4) PMP
2013—2020
- Worked with cross-functional teams to improve production by 4%
- Led team of 37…
- …
When used properly, online certifications can improve your career trajectory tenfold, not to mention the real-world application you gain when putting the cert into practice. First, learn the types of online certifications that will boost your career, and consider the time it takes to earn the course cert. Once you’ve weighed the outcome versus the work required, it’s time to start the work so you can share your talents with the world.
About the Author
Jessica is a Content Marketing Specialist developing high-quality content for diverse industries including tech, finance, travel, and lifestyle. Her work can be seen featured on sites like Better Homes and Gardens and wikiHow. Read more of her posts on Resume Now.
