Standing out from the crowd: free online courses to boost your cv

​Getting a job, apprenticeship or a place at your dream uni might seem like pretty terrifying concepts right now, but they don’t have to be.

You might think you have no skills and a dire CV or personal statement, but you’re completely wrong.
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Everyone’s got something that will wow employers and admissions tutors, whether it’s dedication, time management and people skills earned from a weekend shop job or paper round, or sacrifice, compassion and maturity from being a carer to younger siblings or family members. 

​We know you’re great, it’s just the way you get the decision makers to pay attention that’s the hard part.
So if you’re worried your CV or personal statement is a little thin on the ground, how about taking a little time this summer to do an online course?

Loads of places offer them, from the Open University to Vision2Learn, edX and High Speed Training. Just Google around and find the organisation that offers what suits your needs.
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Online course providers run qualifications on everything from administrative office skills, to software training, mental health to decoding Shakespearean lingo.

Niche topic-specific courses on subjects you’re interested in pursuing at a higher level are particularly great for uni personal statements.

They prove to admissions tutors that you’re dedicated and passionate about your subject area, as well as showing you can go above and beyond the curriculum to further your particular interest.

Office skills, software learning and administration training are great not only for boosting your life skills but also for landing an office job when you’ve got no previous experience.

Maybe the best part of taking an online course is that it’ll keep your head in the learning game over summer without the stakes being too high.

They give you a serious sense of achievement when completed and often they come with certificates for you to stick on your wall (or not…) but they’re low pressure, the deadlines are relaxed and you can work at your own pace on something that’ll either be really beneficial in the long run, or just something you’re genuinely interested in.

Author

LUCY HARDING is the Editorial manager for Push. She is an English Literature grad and an MA Publishing student at UCL. She is passionate about international relations and cultural diversity, having worked closely with her university’s Erasmus society to support European students. She also spent a year abroad studying at California State University: Long Beach