How Useful Are Online Courses?

How useful are online courses?
Can an online, unregulated course help you get a job?
Should they be on your CV? Accredited courses - are they for real?Well, if you go by certain people they are very important and should be shown in your CV or resume. Here is what one website says about listing an online course in your CV and how to do it:

Should you list your online courses on your CV or resume?

There are plenty of other websites that say you should list relevant online learning but note that it must be relevant. It`s no good listing an online course in garden plant recognition if your application is for an accounts assistant job!

Something to talk about

When at the interview you will need something to talk about and that`s where your online course comes in. The employer is looking for someone who can add value to their business so if you have studied an online course in animal behaviour and the job is involved with animal care you can tell them what you have learned. Be prepared to answer questions such as: "What do you do if a dog is growling?".

Use your online learning in whatever way you can from actual knowledge gained to what the experience was like. You may even be asked to set up information pages by the new employer!

Demonstrating a willingness to learn and develop skills

Doing an online home study course shows a dedication to self-development and exploring alternative ways to learn and improve. You must have completed the course and have evidence to show the employer. Additionally, it will show the employer you are computer-savvy and can find your way around the internet.

The value of an online course

Perhaps the most important thing though is to find out if the course is any good to start with. Check that the provider is responsible and professional by way of their education and don`t go for providers that sell mass-produced courses. Look at the provider`s course list: do they have courses in just about everything?

If so, they will not have tutors for each discipline - it`s impossible. Also, providers that sell courses for next-to-nothing: it`s unlikely you will get a course of any value whatsoever. Whatever you do get is likely to have been copied from the internet and other people`s work.

Don`t fall for providers who say you can show letters after your name when the course is finished. Only professional bodies, universities and similar nationally-recognised organisations can do courses that provide post-nominal letters.

Quality of a course

How good is the course and will you be learning properly? One way of finding out is to see if a course is accredited by an outside body. This means that other people have gone through the course in some way and found it to be to a satisfactory standard. If a provider shows courses are accredited by so-and-so check out this organisation. Make sure it is a independent organisation from the learning provider themselves.

It doesn`t matter if the course isn`t accredited though, as you can trawl through all the courses to see if the provider is allowed to deliver nationally recognised qualifications (regulated courses from exam boards in the UK) as that is an indicator of their standards. The provider should have all their courses to a set standard that would be approved of by the exam board.

Finally.......

ASK the provider this: 'Do your courses having learning outcomes and assessment criteria?" "Can I see a sample of the course I`d like to do?'