Can anyone recommend skills courses to beef up the CV?

Vag

As the title suggests, I am interested in doing any courses (not degrees, postgrads etc. but more short-term ones) to try and fill in some skills gaps on my CV.

For example, I have the ECDL, so when an employer asks, 'Do you have computer skills?' I can basically tell them, I have the standard computer qualification.

Can anyone recommend other such standard, universally recognised courses to obtain what seem to be common skills sought by employers i.e. management/organisational/leadership/web-design/time management/project management skills etc.

Any input appreciated. :cool:

Mr. Loverman

What area do you work in?
What are do you want to work in?

Don't hate me for this, but I think courses like ECDL or other beginner type things should not be put on a CV. It immediately drops you into the "maybe unskilled" category.

Vag

Hey, thanks for the reply, but I don't really understand what you mean when you say this?

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

It immediately drops you into the "maybe unskilled" category.

Mantis Toboggan

Have you tried coursera?

Mr. Loverman

Vag wrote: »

Hey, thanks for the reply, but I don't really understand what you mean when you say this?

Well, when I see ECDL on a CV, I know that means they are uncomfortable with computers or find computers a bit difficult/confusing.

If I was advising someone on their CV, I'd tell them to leave the ECDL qualification off it, and instead when asked about their IT skills in the interview to say "yeah yeah I've been using computers for years and I'm comfortable with Windows, Office, using Google to do basic troubleshooting, etc., no problem".

I see no point in doing courses for the sake of it. What's the point in doing a project management course if you work and want to work in accounts receivable?

Your courses should be targeted. Set a goal, and start taking steps to reach that goal. For example, if you want to work in sales, you should do sales courses, presentation courses, public speaking courses, positive thinking courses. There would be no benefit in doing a web development course unless you specifically want to sell stuff for a web development company, but even then I think it's not necessary at all.

Vag

I actually have stumbled across coursera before. While it seems legit (if I remember it correctly), I am still a bit skeptical of how much weight it actually holds (along with the likes of alison.com etc). I would love to hear of peoples experiences of it, and especially if an interviewer commented on it and knew what it was. Maybe it's worth another look. However, some of the courses, while interesting, seem a little useless due to their random obscurity.

Vag

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Well, when I see ECDL on a CV, I know that means they are uncomfortable with computers or find computers a bit difficult/confusing.

If I was advising someone on their CV, I'd tell them to leave the ECDL qualification off it, and instead when asked about their IT skills in the interview to say "yeah yeah I've been using computers for years and I'm comfortable with Windows, Office, using Google to do basic troubleshooting, etc., no problem".

This is interesting because I would interpret it completely differently! I am not sure how having an ECDL means a person is uncomfortable with computers or finds them confusing....??? Surely by virtue of the fact that they have this standard, universal computer qualification, it means the exact opposite - that they are comfortable and competent with basic computer skills?? That's just how I would see it.

Also, I would be inclined to disagree with your suggested response of being asked that question in an interview. While your response may very well be true, surely an interviewer would prefer tangible proof of your skills than just saying ''Yeah I can do that". If I were an interviewer, my immediate follow-up question would always be to ask for proof/example of such a claim.

But yes I do agree with targeting the courses. I give the example of web design as I have seen a lot of job descriptions requiring basic website maintenance skills etc. Not hardcore computer programming or anything!

thehouses

Some employers do not know how basic ECDL is and will not call you to an interview if it's not there. Depending on the job of course.

Mr. Loverman

Vag wrote: »

This is interesting because I would interpret it completely differently! I am not sure how having an ECDL means a person is uncomfortable with computers or finds them confusing....??? Surely by virtue of the fact that they have this standard, universal computer qualification, it means the exact opposite - that they are comfortable and competent with basic computer skills?? That's just how I would see it.

We don't have to agree, but I really believe ECDL qualifications portray the opposite of what you think. If you were comfortable with computers or found them intuitive or knew how to use Google properly, you would not need an ECDL qualification. I hope that doesn't sound offensive, I'm just trying to give straight up advice which is always my goal here. Note my advice tends to be a bit different than everyone else's as I have more of an employer's perspective on things.

Mr. Loverman

thehouses wrote: »

Some employers do not know how basic ECDL is and will not call you to an interview if it's not there. Depending on the job of course.

I remember in one interview the person interviewing me asked me why I don't know how to use Windows. (Note she didn't mean Windows Administration or an advanced Windows topic -- she literally meant using Windows). I replied, in a nice tone, that I have a degree in computer science so I didn't think it was necessary to put something like Windows on my CV. She looked extremely pissed off with that answer and I knew I wasn't going to get the job. (I didn't get the job.)

So yeah, who knows what the interviewer will think.

Vag

Like I said at the start, any input appreciated! Also, it takes a lot to offend me man so don't worry about that!

I suppose my thinking would be that while most people are relatively comfortable with computers and find them intuitive (me included), there are one or two programmes that I may not ever really use that often but may be required in certain jobs in the future - Excel for example. So, in order to get a grounding in them, I do the ECDL to get that knowledge and happen to pick up this qualification on the way. Two birds, one stone.

I would have thought that for an employer, (and this is probably how I would play it in an interview situation), this shows someone who is actively engaging in self-monitoring and is able to identify deficits in their skill set and have taken necessary steps to correct this?

Agent_99

Try http://www.mooc-list.com

For a list of open courses that are available online. Generally free and 6-12 weeks long.

Mr. Loverman

I know what you mean. And what you've said is reasonable. I would worry though that you'll be lumped in with the grannies who did ECDL because they didn't know how to use a mouse.

Stheno

Firstly, what area do you want to work in? This is important as it can helpp us point you to courses.

Secondly no course will beat experience, but can indicate you are serious about a certain area and "may" give you an advantage.

Vag wrote: »

This is interesting because I would interpret it completely differently! I am not sure how having an ECDL means a person is uncomfortable with computers or finds them confusing....??? Surely by virtue of the fact that they have this standard, universal computer qualification, it means the exact opposite - that they are comfortable and competent with basic computer skills??

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

We don't have to agree, but I really believe ECDL qualifications portray the opposite of what you think. If you were comfortable with computers or found them intuitive or knew how to use Google properly, you would not need an ECDL qualification. I hope that doesn't sound offensive, I'm just trying to give straight up advice which is always my goal here. Note my advice tends to be a bit different than everyone else's as I have more of an employer's perspective on things.

Vag wrote: »

Like I said at the start, any input appreciated! Also, it takes a lot to offend me man so don't worry about that!

I suppose my thinking would be that while most people are relatively comfortable with computers and find them intuitive (me included), there are one or two programmes that I may not ever really use that often but may be required in certain jobs in the future - Excel for example. So, in order to

The ECDL is an incredibly basic qualification, I work in IT and e.g. regularly use pivot tables and macros in Excel, which are part of the advanced ecdl qualification, but are a base requirement in my job, so it wouldn't add any value to have the ECDL as most people would be expected to have it.

So knowing what area you want to work in would be beneficial, someone working in office admin will likely not need such skills, but someone in certain areas of IT might.

Vag

I get what you're saying. But I reckon I would be safe enough to not be categorised with the blue rinse crew!

Vag

I agree, experience is incredibly valuable and I have a fair bit of it. And yes the ECDL is very basic. My field is mental health, but I would like to get into research. I am really just looking for anything that I think I could add to the CV in the meantime. Unemployment, is mind-numbing to say the least.

Stheno

Vag wrote: »

I agree, experience is incredibly valuable and I have a fair bit of it. And yes the ECDL is very basic. My field is mental health, but I would like to get into research. I am really just looking for anything that I think I could add to the CV in the meantime. Unemployment, is mind-numbing to say the least.

Ok so a very different skill set from IT

ECDL is fine in that regard, it does show that you have skills that may enhance your c.v.

Given you want to get into research I'd have a few suggestions (I'm currently doing a masters):

1. Volunteer with a charity associated with mental health issues, Aware, Samaritans, Age Action, Alone.
2. Do some research and submit the articles for review/on a blog with appropriate citations.
3. Put both of these details on your c.v.?

Vag

Done and done. Emigration is looking more and more appealing!

Stheno

Vag wrote: »

Done and done. Emigration is looking more and more appealing!

Sorry I couldn't suggest more.

best of luck!

Vag

No worries, cheers!!

Faith

I'm quite late to this thread, but for mental health, I'd look at doing:

Non-violent crisis intervention training
SAFEtalk suicide prevention, followed by the ASIST course (both run for free by the HSE)
First Aid (do a proper course with a qualification)

There's a couple of other, but I can't think of them right now.