4 Reasons Online Courses Make You More Attractive To An Employer
But what does this mean for you?
This means that for now, work is scarce and obtaining or holding on to a job is competitive.
It means that if you can bring more skills to an organisation than the other person, you are more likely to win the job. If you are more applied to developing your skills and keeping current with the latest practices in your industry, you’re more likely to keep your job. This is competitive common sense.
Here’s 4 ways that short online courses can increase the power of your resumé and make you more employable.
1. Show employers your motivation and commitment
By electing to undertake an online course, you demonstrate initiative. You show that you are self-motivated, driven, committed to upskilling and being at the forefront of your field. This self-motivation suggests you are likely to be more productive and are more likely to be a supportive team member. These are characteristics employers want!
As much as online courses are a lot more convenient and flexible than traditional courses, it is somewhat more difficult to stay motivated without the support of a tutor and/or classmates who can coach and motivate you. Studies have shown a link between self-determination and online learning. Your drive to complete the course shows self-motivation, a vital characteristic in a challenging environment on an understaffed job out in the field!
2. You’ll be more highly trained
More than ever, businesses want more value for their dollar. They want more done, in less time and using less resources. Companies want people to take on more responsibilities and to work smarter, so you need to be smarter! Online courses offer one of the easiest ways to achieve this greater capacity.
The self-set pace of online learning also allows you to take in the information at a pace that is comfortable for you. If you can better absorb the knowledge, you can better apply it on the job.
3. Your knowledge will be current
Let us imagine that you have to hire someone for a job and you are looking at two candidates.
Candidate A has 12 years’ experience in the field on 7 sites and has completed one classroom based course since they qualified. Candidate B has only 7 years’ experience on 4 projects, but has completed 2 classroom based courses and 3 online courses in the same time.
Candidate A is more experienced, but they haven’t updated their knowledge of standards and practices for years. Would you have to spend time and money to update & educate them before they could start? Would they even be open to learning? Might they be closed to change? How would they fit in with your team?
Candidate B is obviously less experienced, but once you look into the courses they’ve done, you see their knowledge is current. They might actually be more job ready than the more experienced candidate. They appear to be proactive and adaptable. They’d probably be a productive and supportive member of your team.
Who would you hire?
Experience is great, but it cannot be the only basis for hiring. Good hiring managers know this and look out for those proactive people who work on their professional development.
4. Show that you’re passionate about your industry
By undertaking a course to increase your job skills and knowledge, you show that you are genuinely interested in what you do. It is common sense that those who are interested in what they do are likely to make a better job of it. This isn’t to say that you can’t do something well if you’re not particularly interested, but people are more inclined to put their best effort into activities they’re passionate about.
Employers want passionate and motivated members in their team because it usually leads to higher quality results as well as fitting with their organisation’s culture and values.
Takeaways
In conclusion, the convenience, flexibility, comfort and reduced cost offered by online courses makes professional development more accessible. People who are serious about their careers and development should be looking to regularly undertake even short online courses relevant to their field of work.
While online learning cannot replace the supportive classroom learning environment with a perhaps experienced and knowledgeable trainer, online courses should be seen as a complement and extension of traditional training methods and can be used in certain situations to fill knowledge gaps efficiently and minimise cost.
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MOXI Skill & Learning offers over 40 online courses covering EEHA, Safety, Process & Production and Technical topics related to the Oil & Gas, mining and related industries.
Go to http://www.moxi.com.au/e-learning to browse the range.