These College Alternatives Can Really Help You Get a Job

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For decades, we’ve probably all heard similar messages from our parents and teachers as we were in high school: you need to go to college to get a good job. We wrote long essays and took out loans, and for years college really seemed like the key to a job that provided a living wage without sacrificing health or safety. But times are changing, and college is no longer the silver bullet it seemed ten years ago. College admissions in the US peaked in 2010 , but have been steadily declining since then, with many people delaying or dropping out of college. At the same time, companies have become more aware of the potential for bias (especially when it comes to hiring someone just because you have a shared alma mater) and are placing more emphasis on skills-based hiring: the focus is on whether the candidate can demonstrate skills needed to do the job, not just if they have a piece of paper that says they can.

Today, college is no longer the panacea it once was, which may actually be a good sign: Instead of racking up debt to graduate, candidates can get a much higher return on investment by focusing on the things that build real lives. world-class skills without a big price tag. But like most industries, all alternatives to college are not created equal, and if you’re trying to break into a new job or a new industry, you need to invest your time where it really matters.

Choose Certificates Over Short Online Courses

I love LinkedIn Learning short courses as much as anyone, but adding a completed 30-minute course to your resume won’t do much. One of the great things about online courses like LinkedIn Learning and Udemy is their ability to quickly introduce topics or offer targeted learning in one specific area. They can be good sources when you’re starting to develop a new skill, but it’s not necessary to read on your resume that someone has taken an hour-long “Introduction to Branding” course.

Instead, if you’re looking for something that will add credibility to your resume, look to trusted industry certifications. Getting them will be harder or take longer, but that’s one of the reasons why they’ll shine more on your resume. Most people have the discipline to watch a 30 minute video, but not everyone is willing to dedicate the time it takes to earn that certification or invest those hours of learning.

Every industry is unique and I won’t claim to know ALL of the relevant certifications for every position, but here are a few ideas to get the wheels going:

Create a project or share your skills for free

I know this seems counter-intuitive – obviously we don’t want to work for free and hopefully we won’t need it for long. But if you’re trying to showcase new skills or break into a new industry, one of the best ways to show that you actually have the skills they’re looking for is to put them into practice in some real application. . I once interviewed a designer who didn’t have the years of experience we were hoping for, but who had a great story about how she approached a small app she liked and offered to help redesign their website. She wasn’t paid, but through this experience, she was able to tell me important stories about collaborating and overcoming challenges as a designer and proved to me that she had the skills.

We shouldn’t all start DMing Spotify and ask if they need free help with their business, but finding and creating opportunities for yourself can go a long way. Perhaps there is a church or community center in your area that might need your help running their Instagram account or optimizing their performance, or you could offer to help your uncle design a new logo or update a website for his company.

If you don’t have organizations or uncles you’d like to turn to, you can also start doing things on your own. Grab a friend or go it alone and see what you can put together to demonstrate that you’ll make a great engineer/marketer/designer/salesperson/inventor. Not only will you be able to practice and stay on top of your skill set, but it will also be much more enjoyable to create something and focus on a project, rather than mindlessly going to work all day long. Whether it’s a game, an app, an event, a mural, or something else uninvented, being able to show that you actually created something (and successfully tell exactly how you did it) can be just as valuable as being part of a story. a document that says you understand how to do it in theory.

If you’re considering a tech bootcamp, do your research

There is certainly no shortage of technical training courses these days: you can go for training courses on coding, cybersecurity, design, artificial intelligence, data science, and probably a host of other topics that I haven’t even heard of. . Training courses are generally an attractive option because they are usually cheaper and shorter than two or four years of study, and they usually make promises about your ability to quickly find a job thereafter.

Like most college alternatives, all boot camps are not created equal. In fact, they often vary greatly in quality, price, and industry reputation. If you are considering a bootcamp, be sure to research the issue before making a deposit. Ask the tough questions to your admissions/salesperson: Can you attend the class? Can they share data on graduation rates and employment? Can you talk to current students? Look for graduates and ask their opinion: was it worth the money? Do they have jobs after graduation? How supportive (and qualified) were the instructors? Look for employees at companies you like and find out what training courses they attended, if any. If you’re feeling bold, write to managers or executives to get their opinion on what training courses they like and don’t like.

Like a college degree, bootcamp graduation alone is usually not enough to prove your skills in a new field, it’s still not a silver bullet. Training courses can give you a boost if they suit your personality and you’ve done all the research, but with so many people completing training courses every day, you probably still want to do at least one of the other things on this list to stand out.

Seek internships, apprenticeships, and co-ops

There is no substitute for actual work experience in your field, but if you are trying to break into a new field or if you are younger, you may find it difficult to get that first job. Internships, apprenticeships, and co-ops are great for two reasons: they’re designed specifically for people with limited experience, and they usually serve as a launching pad for your first “real” role. You get more support than a traditional job, but you also get hands-on experience and the opportunity to make mistakes, face challenges, and actually learn the ins and outs of your industry. Some internships turn into full-time job offers, and even if they don’t, they still make you a much more attractive candidate as you will be able to share real stories from your experience.

When companies open more junior positions, they also often look for people who have gone through similar programs because it seems less risky than hiring someone “fresh” after a course or bootcamp. You have already proven that you can work in a team, and you probably already know the basics of the job, even if you haven’t had the opportunity to do everything yet. Some companies have programs or separate apprenticeship/internship offerings, or you can try a program like Year Up or Multiverse that combines boot camps with internships.

Blog (or video blog or post) about your educational journey

One of the best ways to learn new knowledge is to teach it to someone else, and blogging about what you’re learning serves the same purpose. Yes, it will probably help you deepen your knowledge, but it can also help you grab the attention of recruiters and hiring managers who are looking for candidates. By sharing your journey and the specifics of what you are learning, you are demonstrating that you are really absorbing information and gaining new skills. Posting content can also help showcase your personality a bit and better contextualize who you are among a sea of ​​other potential candidates. As with certifications, learning and posting takes more time than just learning, but that can be what sets you apart from other people on the same journey. Posting once a week will require you to put in a bit of time and planning, but it can help you build credibility and make you more memorable in the interviewer’s eyes.

Regular posting online or engaging with an audience isn’t for everyone, but if you find a method that works for you, it can be a great tool to build your personal brand and validate your expertise (or at least your willingness to be a beginner and share with your knowledge).

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