Ronda Suder 
Free certifications online are an excellent way to get noticed.
If you're searching for a job, listing certifications on your resume is one way to bump up your credentials and get noticed by employers. Certifications are also evidence of the experience and skills listed on your resume, verifying them for hiring managers. They basically say, “Hey, I know how to do this, and here's proof.” So, if you have time and want to give your resume an impressive boost, it's worth exploring free certifications online.
Why do certifications matter?
Depending on your industry and level, some jobs will require specific certifications. If that's the case, you'll want to make sure you've completed those. For other jobs, certifications are a nice bonus that could give you an advantage over other applicants.
Certifications have additional benefits outside the job search, as well. They can help you negotiate your salary, enhance your credibility and personal brand, and network with professionals in your field. You can even learn some new skills along the way.
And if you're wondering whether free courses hold as much weight as courses you pay a lot of money for, the answer is “yes, they do.” Several free certifications online provide highly sought-after skills for a variety of industries, as you'll see in the next section.
9 free certifications online to boost your resume
While some certifications you can get online can be costly, there are a number of free options that'll help strengthen your resume. Keeping your field in mind, consider these free certifications online:
1. HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification
HubSpot, a growth platform used by big-name companies including Doordash, Subaru, and SurveyMonkey, offers a number of free certifications online through Hubspot Academy. These courses range from content marketing to social media to growth-driven design.
However, its Inbound Marketing Certification is one of the most popular offerings. It includes 11 lessons and takes about four and a half hours to complete. With this course, you'll solidify your skills as an inbound marketer, gaining additional knowledge around content strategy, social media promotion, and conversion optimization strategy.
2. Alison's Certification in Supervision Skills
Alison is an online learning website that offers free certification courses from top experts. It offers more than 1,300 free certifications in a range of topics — everything from software development to law. You can even search course options by “life stages” depending on where you are in your career.
Are you a manager, or looking to be promoted to one? Then, Alison's certification in supervision skills is for you. Whether you're a newer manager or have years of experience, this course will help you navigate tricky situations at work. In a span of three to four hours, it will cover several different topics to help you become a better team leader and cover strategies to help you resolve team conflict. To get started, create a free account.
3. Advanced Google Analytics course
The Google brand offers several free certifications online. If you rely on Google Analytics to do your job, you might consider taking some of its free online courses. Options include Google Analytics for Beginners, Advanced Google Analytics, and Google Analytics for Power Users.
The Advanced Google Analytics course, for example, is made up of four units that cover a variety of topics, from creating custom metrics to understanding user behavior with event tracking. The idea is to help you analyze website traffic and find ways to continue to grow your audience using new marketing strategies.
If you don't use Google Analytics, look into certifications for other tools you use. For instance, Tableau, Salesforce, and Asana offer certification programs — though they may not all be free.
4. FEMA certifications
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers free online courses for those who have emergency-management responsibilities in the workplace. This is a great resume addition for anyone who might have to handle emergencies as part of their job.
In order to enroll in the certification course, you'll need to create a FEMA student identification number (SID). This is free and simply helps FEMA prevent identity theft as you move forward.
5. Coursera IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
Coursera is an online learning platform that pairs professionals up with a number of top-ranked schools, including Yale, Duke, and Stanford, and big-name companies, like Google and IBM. You can join the website for free, and tap into thousands of courses and more than 13 professional certificate programs, including its professional certificate in data science from IBM.
This course has more than 71,000 ratings and averages 4.6 stars. You'll learn how to create and access a database instance on cloud and write basic SQL statements, as well as pick up additional data science, machine learning, Python programming, and data visualization skills.
Although you can join Coursera for free with a seven-day trial, after that you'll have to pay a subscription fee for some courses, which usually runs from $39 a month to $79 a month. This will give you unlimited access to all the site's courses and certifications. If you're hesitant about making the commitment, you can cancel before the end of your trial.
6. edX Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies program
edX is an online course provider that partners with more than 100 institutions to cover a range of professional certification topics, from Python programming to corporate finance and American sign language.
While it's worth noting many of the edX professional certification programs cost a couple hundred dollars, edX still offers a number of free courses, including Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies.
The course is led by a Harvard University professor, who will teach you how to identify smart entrepreneurial opportunities and solve problems in societies with emerging economies. The course is about six weeks long, and you can expect to spend three to five hours working on it each week. Once you've completed the course, you have the option to order a verified certificate for $125.
7. Google Ads Search Certification
Skillshop is a training platform owned by Google to help you master any Google tool. To utilize certification courses through Skillshop, you'll have to have or set up a Google account.
If you use Google Ads as a part of your job, then you could get one of several Google Ads certifications in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), search, display, and measurement. The Google Ads Search Certification, for example, is built for beginners and will help you showcase your ability to build a digital marketing and Google Search strategy.
To earn your certifications, you'll need to answer a set of questions within a specified time limit and earn a minimum score to pass. If you fail, you have the option to retake it.
8. Child Nutrition and Cooking
If you work with children or hold a position in childcare, like a Daycare Worker, Babysitter, Nanny, or School Cook, having a Child Nutrition and Cooking certification could be helpful to grab the attention of those hiring for such positions.
Stanford Online offers several free courses, including its Child Nutrition and Cooking certification course. The course is taught through the Coursera platform as an 11-hour, learn-at-your-own-pace course. Enrolling is free, and you can pay $39 at the time of enrollment to purchase the course and receive the certification at the end.
9. The Science of Wellbeing
Yale Online offers the Science of Wellbeing certification course through the Coursera platform. The course includes 10 modules that cover everything from misconceptions about happiness and how to overcome biases to strategies for practicing and building healthier habits.
This is a course that virtually anyone could benefit from to boost their wellbeing and productivity at work. As a resume booster, it could be ideal for those in helping professions that work with others, like Nurses, Therapists, Coaches, and Teachers. It's free to enroll in the course, or you can purchase the course by paying $49 at the time of enrollment and receive the certification at the end.
How many certifications should I have on my resume?
When it comes to certifications on your resume, quality is more important than quantity. There's no limit to the number of certifications you can include, as long as each one is relevant to the job and adds value to your resume. Also, even though certifications are a great way to enhance your resume, there are plenty of candidates that get hired without certifications on their resume when they're not a requirement for the job.
How to list your certifications on your resumes
Ready to add your certifications on your resume? TopResume's career advice experts suggest adding them toward the bottom of your resume in your “Education” section or in a standalone section called “Certifications.”
Remember to only include the certifications that support your career goals and are most relevant to your job search. If the certification is required for the job or particularly impressive, you could also mention it in your professional summary at the top of your resume and add the acronym after your name with your contact information.
Also add your certifications to your LinkedIn profile and personal website. Certifications are not only a great way to enhance your resume but can also boost your personal brand and credibility.
Free certifications online boost your employability
As you can see, if you don't currently have any certifications to list on your resume, there are a number of websites, organizations, and companies that offer free certifications online to remedy that. Determine which free certifications online align with your career goals and enroll!
Does your resume list your certifications to stand out? If you're not sure, submit it for a free resume review to find out. And in the meantime, why waste your time Googling? Get expert career advice delivered straight to your inbox.
This article was originally written by Carson Kohler. It has been updated by Ronda Suder.