5 Ways to Build Your Job Skills Online

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No matter how much work experience you’ve had during your career, it’s always a good idea to strengthen your job opportunities and career potential by learning another skill or two. Many

websites offer free or affordably priced courses that can teach you everything from how to speak Spanish (or any other language) to how to master spreadsheets.

Here are five ways you can build your job skills and websites that will help you do it.

Being fluent in a second language, especially Spanish, is one of the more attractive skills that you can have on your résumé, regardless of your profession. Learning any language takes time

and practice, but it’s never too late to get started.

There are several smartphone apps and websites that can help you master your language of choice. Babbel ($8.95–$13.45 per month or $349 for a lifetime subscription) lets you choose from 13

languages (Danish, Dutch, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish). Most lessons are 10 to 15 minutes long and use snippets

of interactive dialogue and speech-recognition technology to help you learn the language as you would use it in everyday conversations.

Other options for learning a language include Duolingo (free with ads or $7.99 per month) and Rosetta Stone ($47.97 for three months, $126 for a year or $199 for a lifetime, unlimited

membership).

Ever wondered what it feels like to take a course from Stanford or Yale? Coursera (prices vary by course, but many are free) lets you choose from nearly 3,900 online courses from more than

190 influential universities and businesses (including Google) around the world.

Whether you can get college credit or a certificate depends on the course, but the knowledge you gain can enhance your résumé. The range of classes available seems almost endless. For

example, you can take a quick free course on Microsoft’s popular Excel spreadsheet program from Australia’s Macquarie University. Or if you have more time and have taken some college courses

but never earned a degree, you might consider the bachelor’s degree from University of North Texas that is designed with working adults in mind.

Other options for free or affordable college-level courses include edX and FutureLearn. AARP’s Skills Builder for Work also offers online courses designed to help people 50 and older boost

their careers.

Jobs working with the technology that makes websites function are some of the most in demand. They can also offer the opportunity to work from home, flexible hours and great pay — the exact

benefits that many older adults want.