Marketing your Accredited Online Degree

Anyone with the self-discipline and determination it takes to earn an accredited online degree also has what it takes to market that degree in the workplace. However, just like it wasn’t an easy task to earn that degree, it won’t be an easy task to get hired in today’s economy where, as of September 2009, the nation’s unemployment rate sits at 9.5 percent.

Don’t let that percentage discourage you, though. Simply by having a degree, you have made yourself more attractive in the workforce, and online degrees are gaining a greater respect in the workforce. The key is knowing how to compete with other qualified, degreed individuals by making your accredited online degree stand out. After all, no one wants their resume to get lost in an employer’s slush pile.

Highlighting your Online Degree

  • The first thing you’ll want to do on your resume is name the courses that you’ve taken that specifically relate to your job. Are you applying for a job as an accountant? After showing on your resume that your degree itself qualifies you for the position, name some of the specific courses you took, and in your cover letter, explain how you excelled at them and how they helped you develop a keen analytical nature. Are you after a job that requires a lot of interaction with the public? Highlight the communication courses you took.
  • In your cover letter, promote yourself by writing about how you were able to successfully multi-task by working while going to school. The ability to multi-task and balance several projects at once is an in-demand skill in today’s demanding work environment. It shows that you are deadline-driven and can meet the expectations set for you.
  • Discuss how your online degree taught you to work independently. When you earned your degree online, you did not have a professor physically present to explain to you how to do your work. You had to read written instructions and complete them, learning to figure out complex assignments on your own. This is a desirable trait to market in the working world because employers want new hires to be able to hit the ground running, rather than having to hold their hand through a lot of training.
  • In cover letters and interviews, highlight how your online degree taught you how to budget your time to reach a goal. Employers want to know that you are a worker that won’t waste their resources by procrastinating on your work responsibilities. Time management is a key trait of successful workers.
  • When you sit for interviews, be prepared to discuss the legitimacy of your online degree. Don’t be intimidated if you are asked to explain why you decided to pursue an accredited online degree. Explain the value of your degree by showing how your online college was accredited in the same way a traditional college would have been. For example, discuss how it was more important that you gain essential work experience while attending college than taking a less demanding part-time opportunity to attend a campus-based college. Chances are, your employer will take notice of both your dedication to your education and your time management skills.