Suggestions: free courses, volunteering

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traillius

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I am having a difficult time finding a job. Skipping past complaints and getting practical, does anyone have practical suggestions or advice on free courses or volunteering activities that would add to my marketable skills and be relevant on a resume or in a job search? I am looking for specific ideas. If it helps, I live along the upper half of the Delaware River,on the Jersey side.
 
can volunteering and/or free courses be helpful and appropriate on resumes/cv/linkedin?
 
There is a great coursera course just starting on the Python programming language. I took the course myself and found it top notch. Python is an interpreted language - easy to learn but very powerful.

Any web programming you can learn would be valuable as well. Udemy.com has a few free courses and they run sales all the time. If you have some creative talent, web design always has job opportunities.
 
Become an expert in Excel and VBA. Excel remains one of the most helpful tools in the business world Becoming at least partially bilingual would also add a good boost to your resume.
 
I second the Coursera suggestion. Coursera offers verified certificates if that helps.

Other MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) -
Saylor Academy - has courses arranged into non-credit degree programs, certificates of completion granted. Some courses are credit-aligned with exams & may offer credit pathways.

Udacity - Online project based courses, live feedback available. Verified certificates available.
edX - MIT & Harvard offer some great courses.
Tufts MOOCs - good stuff here too.

There are hundreds of schools offering MOOCs!

Also check your area for MeetUp groups - good networking, plus you might find something to learn. In the Boston area, for example, there’s a Python meet-up for $2/class… Affordable ways to learn new skills & ways to join in on community projects.
 
Pax Christi!

Wow! Following this!

Literacy volunteering can show that you’re a people-person.

God bless.
 
Pax Christi!

Wow! Following this!

Literacy volunteering can show that you’re a people-person.

God bless.
 
traillius said:
can volunteering and/or free courses be helpful and appropriate on resumes/cv/linkedin?
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Sure. traillus. I have my volunteer experience on my resume. Depending on what type of volunteer work you do, it can show leadership skills, for example, or perhaps computer skills, and so on.
 
Learn web design.
Then volunteer to create a website for a church function or charitable group.
Add the site to your LinkedIn profile.

I second the Excel/VBA suggestion. Always lots of Excel work needed. Learn Excel then go work for a temp agency and get some experience.
 
what subjects best lend themselves to portfolio based, rather than credential based, employment qualifications?
 
More for you:

Codecademy - free online coding classes in Java, HTML/CSS, Python, Ruby, more…

GCFLearnFree - Microsoft classes (excel, powerpoint, etc), plus math & reading

Microsoft - more free training videos & materials (excel, powerpoint, etc)

Khan Academy - very good free video/courses on computer subjects, math & more

I did some quick poking around & found writing classes readily available @ Saylor & edX. Coursera has a Computational Photography class in their listings, but not currently running - you’d have to email them for info on the next session.
 
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