(2016-01-22) What Employers Think Of Badges Nanodegrees From Online Programs

What Employers Think of Badges, Nanodegrees from Online Programs

A College Degree or certificate may tell an employer about your education, but it won't necessarily highlight your specific skills. Online education, however, has facilitated the rise of "microcredentials," namely digital badges, and nanodegrees, that aim to do just ​that

In general, Griffin, of Adecco Staffing, says more employers and recruiters she works with are on board with the idea of microcredentials than aren't. She says a badge might not be valued as much as a degree, "but it's absolutely valued."

"From the hiring manager perspective, they want to see skill sets, they want to see endorsements, they want to see the complete profile of that candidate, and that now does include these microcredentials," says Jason Weingarten, co-founder and CEO of Yello, which provides software to help with recruitment

For some employers, it's the skills themselves rather the type of credential or certification that matters most. This was the case for Sheryl Lun, an event-planner-turned-Web​-developer​ who earned a nanodegree from Udacity. "It didn't really matter to them that I had a nanodegree, but just the fact that I had these projects that were working was a selling point for them," Lun says.