Who Should Include Coursework On A Resume
Recent graduates or people changing careers may not have enough related experience. This is the perfect opportunity to list coursework instead of experience. Before you can impress a hiring manager with your skills and talents, you first need to get an interview. Without showing experience on a resume, it might be difficult to reach that first step.
Be sure to include only the courses relevant to the position you are applying to, such as electives in business marketing, child psychology or medical terminology. If you completed a practicum or job shadowing as part of your coursework, be sure to include that also.;
Certifications In Contact Info On Your Resume
The contact info section on your resume is the best place to put required certifications. This section is also the best place to include official credentials. Itâs common practice for lawyers, doctors, dentists, accountants and others to include their credentials next to their name. See how thatâs done in this nurse resume example:
Game The System With Keywords
Its a whole new world where the hiring managers use algorithms to sift through resumes. It helps them to save time and direct their attention to the most relevant job applications. With proper use, your Udemy course can be a source of keywords that pushes your job application to the next stage.
For instance, for a data science job, skills needed would include experience using computer languages such a python, experience creating data architectures, knowledge of machine learning techniques and artificial intelligence, and advanced statistical skills.
The Data Science Machine Learning and Deep Learning with Python course on Udemy list these exact requirements as the course objectives. Highlighting them in your resume, therefore, can be hugely beneficial. These keywords will assure the recruiters that you are the best fit for the job.
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How To List Online Courses On Your Resume The Right Way
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So youve been taking some online courses. Youve learned a ton, and youve even been using your new skills at work or to develop a side project.
But now youre contemplating a career move and wondering how to include your continuing education on your resume. Youre right to approach this task thoughtfully. Online courses are still relatively new, recruiters can be skeptical and in certain cases, listing your online education can actually make your resume worse.
I spoke to several recruiters and hiring managers to gather insight on what they think when they see online courses listed on candidates resumes. So, whether you aced your marketing MOOC , killed it in coding bootcamp, or taught yourself graphic design, here are some of their tips on how to tell that story in your application:
1. Put Them In Their Proper Place
Across the board, the hiring managers and recruiters I spoke with agreed that MOOCs and other online courses can help make the case that you can do the job. However, they also think these classes shouldnt be the star of the show. As Anne Lewis, the Director of Sales and Recruitment for Betts Recruiting, a firm specializing in recruitment for technology companies, told me, In general, MOOCs can help to make candidate profiles stronger, especially junior candidates who dont have as much experience.
2. Keep It Relevant
3. Skip The Intro Classes
4. Show How You Put Your Skills Into Practice
5. Prepared To Be Quizzed
Include The Name Of The Host Organization
In order to verify the validity of your certification, you will need to list the name of the association who awarded it to you. Be sure to spell this out as well and proofread for any typos. If you are submitting your resume digitally, you may be able to insert a link to the organizations website directly into your resume to make your readers research easier.
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Where To Put Certifications On Resume
Recruiters dont spend a lot of time perusing resumesonly a few seconds, in fact. So its crucial to find the right place for your certifications on your resume so they are easily noticed.
Depending on the importance of each qualification, and the job youve applied for, you can decide where on your resume youd like to list all relevant certifications.
#1) Contact Information Section
This is the ideal place for highlighting an essential certification. Including a required certification in the contact information section after ones name is a common practice for professionals such as nurses, doctors, lawyers, and accountants.
In the example below, Certified Public Accountant Jane Does certification is listed by their name.
#2) Resume Summary Section
The resume summary or objective section is a good place to highlight an essential or desired certification. It is uncommon to find more than one certification listed in the resume summary or objective.
In the example below, Certified Public Accountant Jane Does certification is listed in the Resume Summary section.
#3) Education Section
The education section is the place to include your optional certifications. They must still be relevant to the job you have applied to, but they may not be critical to it.
In the example below, the CCNP certification is not an essential requirement for the position this candidate intends to apply for, and so it is listed under education section, in reverse chronological order.
Quality Over Quantity Less Is More
A hiring manager can infer a lot about you from a certificate. She might see you as self-motivated, driven to overcome challenges. She might see you as someone with the initiative to recognizeand fillknowledge and skills gaps.
Any one of these traits can make you a desirable candidate.
Intuition might tell you then to add as many certificates as you can. Unfortunately, too many certificates can quickly detract from your resume.
Say you have the perfect resume, but you’ve listed too many certificates. A forgiving hiring manager or recruiter will overlook this as a minor oversight. But expect most to reach less flattering conclusions about how you:
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Edx Entrepreneurship In Emerging Economies Program
edX is an online course provider that partners with more than 100 institutions to cover a range of professional certification topics, from Python programming to corporate finance and American sign language.
While it’s worth noting many of the edX professional certification programs cost a couple hundred dollars, edX still offers a number of free courses, including Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies.;
The course is led by a Harvard University professor, who will teach you how to identify smart entrepreneurial opportunities and solve problems in societies with emerging economies. The course is about six weeks long, and you can expect to spend three to five hours working on it each week. Once you’ve completed the course, you have the option to order a verified certificate for $125.
Customize Your Cv With A New Section
An online certification shows your ability to embrace change among other things. The job industry is still trying to catch up to this new form of qualification, and so there is no specific way they will expect you to list your course. You can be inventive. Just keep the list of your courses short and confine them to a small area.
Skills and Career Objectives section: If there are skills from your Udemy course that you feel would be relevant for the job, by all means, include them. You can then go ahead to talk about the course accomplishments that earned you those skills.
Personal Advancement section: Employers need all-around candidates. If your Udemy course is not directly related to the particular job position but is relevant to the industry, you can list it in the personal advancement section of your CV. It will help to show that you are versatile and can play any role should need to arise.
Professional Training section: By far, many job candidates prefer to talk about their certifications in this section. Your Udemy course has to be directly relevant to the job position for you to list it here. You can position the course as a higher learning or professional advancement initiative.
In all these cases, please dont overdo it. Only list the courses that you accomplished and a single sentence summarizing the key takeaways in each. Be concise but dont sell yourself short.
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How To List Certifications On Your Resume
Every certification you list on your resume requires the following information:
You can also include certifications that youre currently working on by adding In Progress next to the name of the certification, and including the date youll complete it:
Required Certifications On A Resume
Many professions require its employees to hold certain licenses or certifications. According to the BLS, over 65% of people employed in legal occupations hold licenses and certificates. 76% of Healthcare practitioners hold licenses and certifications.
Some professions may require more than one certificate. For examples, lawyers that have passed the bar need to indicate membership of a stateâs bar. The job description will usually make required certifications clear. These certifications need to be listed on your resume.
Do you work in Nursing, Accounting, or Finance? These industries typically require licenses and certifications.
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Certifications On A Resume Examples
As it can be challenging to know how to list certifications on a resume, weve created some samples for you to use as a guide:
These resume certification examples can help candidates find the best way to include their relevant certificates but to facilitate the task, its also possible to use a resume builder that will have a ready-made certifications section to complete step-by-step.
Types Of Certifications To Include On The Resume
There are different types of certifications that should be included on a resume depending on the type of jobseeker and the industry and position that the resume is for.
An appropriate resume certification could be vocational, technical or academic such as Master degrees or extra courses. Certifications to list on a resume also include any professional licenses, courses and certificates authorized by prestigious organizations, universities, societies etc. which provide evidence to show that the candidate has the relevant training and expertise to take on the responsibilities required of the successful applicant.
Certifications that shouldnt be included as key elements of a resume but could be added in a cover letter or in a different section to provide evidence of other knowledge and to demonstrate enthusiasm and initiative for learning are certificates that you have been awarded for participating in free online courses such as Udemy or Lynda etc. as they are accessible by everyone and do not always provide a professional source.
Certifications in nursing, teaching, IT, driving, accounting, language, project management, hospitality, etc. are considered official and vital for a job seeker whose resume looks to capture the attention of hiring managers in that particular industry.
Some examples of appropriate certifications to list on a resume are the following:
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Using Expired Certifications On A Resume
It is not acceptable to list old or expired certifications on a resume. If you have a certain certificate from a course or license from a degree etc. that has a possible expiry date, it is vital that you renew your certification before this date in order to include it on your resume.
In the case youre taking a course or have not yet completed the necessary requirements to be licensed in a specific area, you can include these certifications, simply by adding in progress to the description and stipulating the anticipated completion date.
Finally, it is very important to not include any certifications that you do not possess, that is to say it is strongly advised not to lie on a resume!
Other Ways To Incorporate Your Online Course Certificates
Adding your certificate onto your resume isn’t the only way to convey its value. Hiring managers care about what you know and what you can do. If you have a valuable skill, chances are no one’s going to press you about where you learned it.
If you’re on the fence about adding a certificate, consider “deconstructing” it.
Online courses can break down into a set of skills. If you already have a section devoted to “skills” or “additional skills,” then this method is easy. Figure out which skills are most relevant and drop them into your resume in place of a certificate.
You can also use the “past experience” section of your resume. This is less common because it assumes a few things. First, you’ll need to have put something you learned to use on the job. Second, that experience should have led to a positive outcome.
Writing a strong bullet here can make a strong impression. To a hiring manager, the knowledge you gained from a course is now practical and applicable. Presumably, you’ll also have added strong keywords to your resume.
If in the end, you still can’t find a good place for your certificates, consider the cover letter. Having one adds a personal touch to your application. You would also be able to explain the value of your certificate in a way you couldn’t on a resume.
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What If I Don’t Expect To Finish The Degree
If you are taking a break from your education you need to consider whether or not the coursework you did complete is relevant. Ask yourself:
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Is this degree related to the job I’m applying for?
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Is this degree more relevant to the job than my other relevant experience including jobs, volunteer work, or certifications?
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Is this in-progress degree recent enough?
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Is having a degree required for this job?
While you should never lie about having a degree you don’t have, including any progress made towards a required degree may help you reach the interview stage. The trick is you have to be qualified for the job in every other aspect. If you don’t have an MBA, but you do have 10+ years in the business field, you may still have a shot at landing the interview.
To accurately represent this on your resume, don’t include a prospective graduation date. Instead, try including the number of credits and the years you attended.
Add Those Skills To The Skills Section
Most traditional resumes only have the Experience and Education sections. Why not add a new one? The Skills section is where you can list all of the skills related to the job you are applying for. It doesnt really matter if youve got the certifications or not for those skills. Some technical skills are developed through profession, while others from education. If youve got the certificate from an online course that could support your power skill, that verification should definitely be included in the Education section!
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Have The Job Description In Front Of You
Read the job description to give yourself a clear idea of what kind of person the company is looking for. This is especially important if youre applying to several jobs at once.
As you go through these other tips, keep referring to the job description as your guide to listing online courses on your resume.
Setting Up Your Certificates In Your Resume
Your certificates should occupy a small section near the end of your resume.
As for the layout, we favor a modified variation of a format suggested by edX. It’s clear, concise, and conveys the right level of detail.
First, create a section titled Professional Development or Professional Training. Under this header, you’ll create some bullets. How many will depend on whether you choose a condensed or expanded layout.
The condensed layout calls for one bullet per certificate. In that bullet, you’ll record the name of the certificate. You’ll also note the name of the school or university issuing it and the month you received it. Usually, this is enough detail for most hiring managers.
If you need to add more details then you should use the expanded format. It follows the condensed layout, but adds a sub-bullet beneath each certificate. The extra real estate gives you room to describe relevant qualifications you learned. It’s particularly useful if your certificate’s name is ambiguous or seems irrelevant.
Like your resume, your LinkedIn profile can also house your certificates. The key difference is your audiencehiring managers vs. recruiters and other professionals. That means you’ll want to add certificates that appeal to your fieldnot a specific employer.
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How To Add Coursera Credentials To Your Resume
Congratulations on completing your Coursera course or program! Its now time to let the world know about your new skills and accomplishments.;
The first thing to remember as you begin the process of determining how best to feature your achievements on your resume, is that a resume is a tool you can use to showcase your unique talents, skills, and experience. It is not some fixed and locked template that you have to figure out how to squeeze yourself into.;
A resume is made up of different sections, each of which can be optimized to present yourself in the best light possible. Adding a new credential is a part of the process, but there are also additional ways that you can highlight your newfound skills and demonstrate the value you can bring to an organization. Here are some key things to consider about your Coursera training as you prepare to update your resume:
Once you know what you want to communicate to employers about your Coursera experience, you can determine which resume sections are best suited to conveying that information. Below is a list of the major resume sections youll want to use, with guidance on how to optimize each section.