In today’s highly competitive job market where most companies have frozen their recruitments or are going through resumes of candidates with a fine toothed comb to hire only the most highly qualified person for the job, completing an online education course is just the thing to give you an edge over the others.

With a slow economy taking a toll on most companies, top industry players have come to realize the importance of continuing education. They prefer hiring candidates who have the foresight and dedication to continue adding to their job skills by taking various education courses available online.

In fact, according to recent statistics, the amount of online education course enrollment in the US doubled from 2007 to 2010. Moreover, if industry experts are to be believed, this trend is only going to get stronger in the coming days. Sites like OnlineDegreeReviews.org offer students an insight into what their peers think about courses so that they can make an informed decision.

Enhance your Employability with Online Education

If you are looking for a job and want your resume to stand out from the pile on the desk of a hiring manager, you need to add to your key job skills and buff up your resume by adding a few relevant online courses under the academic section. It would be even better if you take a licensed exam online and secure an industry recognized certificate for it.

You can choose from a wide variety of certificate courses and diploma programs available online. These cater to diverse verticals of the industry and often include the actual course material used in top colleges in their syllabi. Some of them even list suggested reading material and offer lecture notes for the benefit of students.

While some of these online courses are available free of cost, others charge a nominal amount for enrolment. Choose wisely based on the relevance of a particular course to the industry and job opening that you are looking for; so that you can get the most out of the time and money you spend on taking the course.

Free Online Education Courses

While you can always enroll for one of the top rated online courses offered by the University of Phoenix or the American Public University, you need to consider your budget too. If you want to learn a lot without spending much, you need to check some of the free education courses available online. A simple online search will yield a multitude of results like Coursera and Udacity.

Top Online Education Courses

In the US job market, certain online education courses are more coveted than others. For instance, the top online education programs that hiring managers value are Master’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Information and Technology, Education, and Nursing.

The format of online education courses is similar to that of distance learning programs and offers a unique learning experience to perceptive adults who wish to stand out from the crowd of job applicants. Moreover, these courses not only enhance the employability of a candidate but also help him or her in getting promoted at an accelerated pace.

Author Bio

Stephanie Colaco is a freelance writer, editor and former HR professional. An Honors college graduate, she spends her free time helping students/professionals achieve their academic goals by publishing articles and creating blog posts that answer their many questions on sites like CollegesandUniversities.org. 

Image credit: Adikos on Flickr