Whether you’re fresh out of the university or a certified working professional, there are still some awesome options for you to beef up your resume or to boost your qualifications other than simply cutting your teeth at your regular 9 to 5 if you’re planning to advance up the career ladder or are preparing for a career track change in the near future.
Thank heavens for the Internet; now, schooling can be done right in the comforts of your own room. Here are some free amazing online courses offered by top companies you can sign up for to beef up your resume:
7 Free Online Courses to Sign Up for to Beef up Your Resume
- Microsoft Online Courses
If you think you know everything there is to know about the holy trinity of Microsoft Office (Word, Powerpoint, and Excel) to consider yourself “proficient” in using these applications – check out Microsoft’s free online courses to discover a Pandora of hidden functions which you may not even be aware of.
With Microsoft’s video tutorial lessons, you can easily learn and master useful application functions such as Excel charts and Word doc themes then move on to more challenging stuff like Pivot tables.
Check out their website and catch these free video tutorials which also come with complete lesson summaries and transcripts in case you get lost or distracted in the middle of the lesson.
- Microsoft Virtual Academy
One of the many joys of exploring the Internet is stumbling upon a gold mine of helpful resources such as Microsoft’s very own Virtual Academy which houses a collection of over 800 free tech courses which include coding in C# as well as 2D game development.
All lessons come in user-friendly video tutorials presided by various tech industry experts. Taking up a course also lets users download slides and even join live events to air their questions which will be answered by none other than Microsoft’s group of tech experts.
Whether you’re a newbie or a tech professional looking to gain new and helpful skills, everyone is welcome to join – just head on to their website and filter the courses according to skill level and pick one that matches your interest and you’re good to go!
- Google Digital Garage
There are a few names in the tech industry which are sure to add sparkle to anybody’s resume, and one of which is Google. But if landing an internship at Google is far from your reach as of the moment then signing up with Google’s Digital Garage is a good alternative and a great place to start.
Google’s Digital Garage offers a wide array of useful topics on Digital Marketing from setting up your online shop to the basics of web analytics, all organized in 26 comprehensive lesson topics.
Each topic is discussed and delivered through clear and informative videos that will walk you through key areas of digital marketing together with short exercises to test your knowledge on the given topic.
At the end of each lesson, you are required to take a multiple choice quiz and get a passing score to earn a badge. Collect all 26 badges to unlock the final quiz. Once you pass the final checkpoint, you will receive a personalized and downloadable certificate to acknowledge your skills as a Google-certified digital marketer. Check out their website here.
- Facebook Blueprint
How many times has Facebook rescued us from boring commutes and uncomfortable situations? Perhaps too often. But that’s not all there is to it – did you know that you could use your Facebook account to enrol at Facebook’s Blueprint courses to receive free training on Facebook and Instagram advertising?
If not, then you’re in for a sweet surprise. Facebook Blueprint offers a number of topics from lead generation to learning Facebook-exclusive features such as Facebook Live and Messenger.
All topics are presented in bite-size portions (brief paragraphs) with attractive HD pictures, enough to keep you engaged.
Carrying the Facebook brand, you know that the training you’ll receive from their website is legit since you get a downloadable certificate at the end of each course.
- Udemy Adobe Photoshop
With a huge number of simple photo editing apps available online, let alone in our mobile phones, hearing the word “Photoshop” may bring intimidation to the uninitiated or the less technologically-informed. However, Adobe Photoshop is still arguably one of the best editing programs out there, and with today’s new wave of digital media technology, gaining a certain level of proficiency in Photoshop will certainly give you an edge.
Good thing Udemy offers a complete free course on Adobe Photoshop with everything you need to know when you’re starting out or even if you are looking to upgrade your editing skills. Udemy offers a series of helpful video lessons from blurring an image background to applying overlay effects on your image.
The series is great for people who pay attention to details and take down notes along the way because it has a useful note-taking function which you can easily access. Simply click on the ‘Add Bookmark” option and it will place a note exactly at the point of the lesson where you want it to be.
Whether you’d like to learn a thing or two about photo editing or are interested in becoming a digital media professional, Udemy’s Adobe Photoshop course is a good place to start investing your time. Check out their website and follow their step-by-step tutorial and you’ll be on your way to becoming a Photoshop pro.
- Pixar in a Box
Nowadays, animated movies have grown their audience from little kids to adults. This has become quite natural because production houses such as Pixar have shifted their craft from animation to the art of storytelling. And while we come out of movie houses a little jellier on the inside, especially after watching Pixar’s heart-warming movies, it’s still quite a mystery how the guys in the studio can do it so effectively.
With Pixar’s free online course, Pixar in a Box, people like you and me will get to have an insight into the wonderful world of animation, storytelling, and even hair stimulation, straight from Pixar’s very own team of professional artists in a series of helpful video lessons.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have film background because all lessons are delivered in simple language, backed with relatable math and science concepts for better understanding.
If you’re itching to get a behind-the-scenes look into Pixar’s creative workshop, then head over to their website and join their free course.
- Make a Website by Codecademy
Do you remember the days when setting up, even maintaining your own blogspot was too much of a challenge? Back then, having a nifty blog skin and chat box just wasn’t enough because the only way you could put them all together on your webpage beautifully is by learning a handful of HTML tricks and so you did.
Those days may be well behind you now but you can still put your HTML skills to use and maybe even give them an upgrade through the Make a Website Course by Codecademy where you will receive interactive training on how to create a website from scratch using CSS and HTML, and then glam it up later on with Bootstrap.
All lessons provided will be interactive where you’ll be required to complete several exercises before you could move on to the next lesson. Apart from the resources provided in the course, you can also seek for practical tips and guide in Codecademy’s exclusive community forum.
Ready to test your coding magic? Then head over to their website and sign up for the Make a Website Course right now.
Gift yourself with a new set of practical skills you can use for the coming year. Here’s to a fruitful and more productive new year!