Free, Weird Certifications You Should Consider

Whether you’re a high school student building your personal statement for college applications or a graduate student applying for a dream internship, you’ll want to check out these free learning and certification Websites. Adding certifications to your resume or personal statement will certainly help you stand out among the competition. It’s not uncommon for students to feel like their resume is lacking—this is a great way to enhance it prior to your college graduation. Before enrolling in or completing a free certification program, think about your degree and future career. It’s best if you choose a certification that’s related to the degree program or job/internship you’re seeking. For instance, if you’re a high school student that will be a nursing major, you’d want to look for free certifications related to the healthcare field—like a free CPR course or certificate. Maybe you’re a college marketing student looking to land a Tik Tok marketing internship. In this case, you’d want to begin with certifications related to social media—such as the Hubspot Academy Social Media Certification course.

Four Free Online Courses, Certification Websites

We’ve compiled a list of several free online certifications and/or course Websites that you can use to enhance your personal statement or resume. 1.) Google Digital Garage Google’s Digital Garage offers a variety of courses from several universities and businesses like the Goodwill Community Foundation, Coursera and Google. You can select your courses by length, and difficulty. Two, free online course programs are offered with free certification. These two specific courses include, Fundamentals of Digital Marketing and the G Suite Certification Exam. Using the Google brand to reinforce your resume or personal statements is smart, as most (if not all) people have heard of Google. 2.) Hubspot Academy Hubspot Academy offers 45 free courses (some with certifications) on topics such as blogging, social media, YouTube and Twitter. Most courses are broken into lessons, videos and quizzes. The time it takes to complete courses ranges from 29 minutes to four hours. 3.) Codecademy Codecademy offers free courses ranging from the basics of learning how to code to CSS or JavaScript. According to Codecademy their courses have been taken by employees at Google, NASA, Facebook, IBM and Dropbox. If you’re looking for free courses, you’ll want to avoid those listed as Pro as these require a subscription to access. 4.) Alison Alison is a database of free certificate courses from leading companies, colleges and experts. You can explore their course lists based upon subject categories. With a lot of categories to choose from, this would be a great site to visit if you’re seeking a unique degree or career path. Categories include IT, Business, Language, Health, Humanities, Science, Marketing, Lifestyle and Math. Free certificate courses range from Adobe InDesign CS6 to Yoga Exercises.

Use Your Hobbies Towards a Certification

Using a hobby to enhance professionally and include on your personal statement or resume is also a great idea. This is something you’re passionate about, so there’s no burden to learn or obtain a certificate - It's fun! Below are some weird certifications you could consider: Interested in weather? Use this to your advantage by becoming National Weather Service Skywarn Storm Spotter. According to the National Weather Service Website, “SKYWARN® is a volunteer program with between 350,000 and 400,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.” This type of volunteer service shows you’re willing to learn new things and to serve others. You can sign up for a free, online SKYWARN® Spotter Training. Enjoy lending an ear? If you’re the one your friends seem to go to when they need advice, you may have a hidden talent. You can become a volunteer listener from 7 Cups, an online emotional support platform. According to 7 Cups’ Website you can earn a free certification in active listening. This would be a great certification to add to your personal statement or resume; you're showcasing your communication skills. Love Pokémon? If you’re a Pokémon fan, you can join the Pokémon Trainer Club and become a Pokémon Professor. To do this you'll choose one of three certifications: Organizer, Pokémon Trading Card Game Judge, or a Video Game Judge. It may sound silly, but with these certifications you’ll be using your knowledge and skills to help with large events, nationwide. Now that’s a win-win!

Get Creative

Search and find a certification that fits your degree or interests. Be sure to consider how obtaining that certification will make you a better student, intern or employee! There are thousands of interesting online learning and certification programs available to you. Adding a certification (or two) to your resume or personal statement can help you stand out. It will also showcase your personal drive (something many colleges and employers seek in their students or employees).