The job market is constantly changing and it’s up to you to keep up with it. Thus, it’s important that you make an effort to improve and update your skill set to ensure that you remain an attractive candidate for employers in your field.
If you’re among the many people who find themselves with more free time than usual, you might want to consider taking online courses that’ll help your career in the long-run. Here are some affordable courses you can take right now as recommended by career advice expert Amanda Augustine.
Stronger Written Communication Skills
Strong written communication skills are something that would give you an advantage even years from now. Despite the fast pace that technology develops these days, you’d always find yourself needing to write your own cover letters or communicating with colleagues through email.
If you think you could use some improvement in the business writing department, you can remedy that by taking courses.‘The Fundamentals of Business Writing’ on Alison
or ‘High-Impact Business Writing’, which the University of California-Irvine helped develop, on Coursera are great starting points.
Improved Public Speaking
Even though your career has nothing to do with public speaking, it’s still important that you learn how to effectively and comfortably communicate with people through the spoken word.
This will come in handy for the times you need to present your ideas in front of your colleagues. Employers also value people who have the ability to share their thoughts whether it’s during one-on-one discussions or group meetings.
To fine-tune your speaking skills and overcome your fear of speaking in front of people, check out Coursera’s ‘Introduction to Public Speaking’ class or Udemy’s ‘Presentation Skills’ course.
Creating a Personal Brand
These days, having a great resume is no longer enough. You need a little extra something to impress employers and stand out from the many other equally-qualified candidates applying for the same job.
This is where having a clear personal brand comes in handy. Developing one entails you to highlight your most unique abilities and qualities and communicate them in-person or in writing.
Marketing professionals have an edge given their background in the field. However, you can also give yourself an edge by educating yourself on the basics of marketing.
One of the online classes you can take on the topic is the Wharton Shcool’s ‘Introduction to Marketing’ course available on Coursera.