I was researching trade schools in NYC, when I came across NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies. I’m intrigued and interested in some of their certificate programs, such as French, Turkish, Fundraising, Philanthropy, Art Business, etc.
I have a GED and quite a few college credits but no degree. My question is: would a certificate in one of these fields actually make me more employable? Or are these certificate courses intended more as ‘pleasure classes’ for people who have time and money to study a subject at leisure?
Any certification makes you more employable. But with this current job market you have to remember you aren’t only competing with people who usually do the job you want, but you’re competing against people who have more skills and education and are out of work as well.
For instance, I was an asst controller at a hotel. Most of my competition comes from controllers who can’t find work. So I’m probably gonna lose out to them. Why hire an asst controller to do an asst controller’s job, when you can get a controller to do an asst controller’s job.
One way to find out if a certificate would help you is to “fake apply,” to jobs. Just get a Google Voice phone number and make up a resume, under a false name and put your certificate, you’d get on it. Then see how many people call you back.
I’m not suggesting you go on the interviews and further waste people’s time, but that is the best way to see if your job hunting is going in the right direction.
With jobs once you get the call back you’re 95% certain, they think you can do the job. So at that point, it becomes the art of the sale. But these days with such competition for jobs, you not only have to sell yourself, you have to say why you’re better than the next guy, without making it seem like you’re slamming him
Good luck
What I see people using these for most is to “update their credentials.” Like a person who has a degree, or experience in a particular field, but they have been out of the workforce or out of that field for some time. They get a certificate to show that their knowledge is current.
It works well for that, I’m not sure how well it stands on its own. It probably depends on the subject matter. I mean, getting a certificate in “Philanthropy” smacks of the idle rich. While “Court Interpreting: Spanish/English” sounds like something very practical.