Here’s a staggering realization: freshmen entering college this fall were born in or around 2003. By then, we already had camera phones, Bluetooth, iPods, and LinkedIn. That means these students were raised at a time when the technology we rely on today was in its infancy. It also means they can probably navigate new apps and devices just using natural instinct.
Can you?
According to the World Economic Forum, 50% of all employees will need new skills in the next five years to keep up with the pace of technology. Whether you’re a student yourself, a faculty member, or staff, keeping up with changing technology not only keeps you functional in your daily work, but increases your career marketability and advancement potential. And there’s an easier way to learn the top business tech apps than reading through wikis or pouring over YouTube videos: certification programs.
Let’s take a look at four certification programs that will help you uplevel your college experience and/or career with higher ed technology.
1. Salesforce: Tech Skills, Business Skills, and Soft Skills
With a library of more than 1,000+ badges of learning content that spans tech, business, and soft skills, Salesforce Trailhead helps people further their careers across roles like:
- Salesforce Administrator
- Salesforce Consultant
- Salesforce Architect
- Salesforce Designer
- Business Analyst
- Sales careers
- Marketing careers
- Service careers
Once you’ve gained the appropriate education for your chosen field, take a test to get certified. Or, earn a credential by verifying the skills you already have.
Price: Free for courses. Prices vary for certifications.
How to Get Started: Sign up for a Trailhead account or schedule an exam
2. Marketo: Marketing Automation
Marketo Certification allows professionals to increase their Marketo product knowledge, while joining an elite group of marketers who are in high demand across industries. Certification seekers can become credentialed in one of three ways:
- Marketo Certified Associate — Demonstrate your knowledge of general marketing concepts, marketing automation fundamentals, and basic email marketing.
- Marketo Certified Expert — Achieve Marketo expertise with in-depth product knowledge, skills, and proficiency to take the next step in your career.
- Marketo Specializations — Specializations demonstrate your proficiency with key functional areas of Marketo, such as web personalization, account-based marketing, email deliverability, and more.
Plus, get access to Marketo Career Connect, a database of employers looking to hire Marketo experts.
Price: Online exam guides are free. Exam prices range from $95 to $225.
How to Get Started: Choose your certification track.
3. HubSpot: Inbound Marketing
HubSpot is a wealth of marketing knowledge, and now you can take it with you. HubSpot Academy offers free certifications to grow your career and add industry-recognized badges to your LinkedIn profile. While HubSpot offers a number of courses across topics and learning levels, certifications are available in:
- Marketing: Digital Marketing, Digital Advertising, Platform Consulting, HubSpot Reporting, Service Hub Software, Hubspot CMS for Marketers, Social Media Marketing, SEO, Inbound Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Contextual Marketing, HubSpot Marketing Software
- Sales: Frictionless Sales, Sales Management Training, Inbound Sales, Sales Enablement, HubSpot Sales Software
- Development & Design: HubSpot CMS for Developers, Growth-Driven Design, Growth-Driven Design Agency
HubSpot uses a simple process to certify professionals, from watching videos and taking small quizzes to completing practical exercises and passing the assessment.
Price: Free!
How to Get Started: Sign Up
4. Formstack: Workplace Productivity
Formstack certification courses (called Tracks) provide hands-on experience and education across five solutions:
- Formstack Forms — Learn to build online forms, collect data, and automate business processes in a no-code builder. In three courses, discover the basics of Formstack Forms and progress through to the more advanced aspects and features of the application.
- Formstack Sign — In these three courses, learn how to use Formstack Sign to take form and document users from start to finish, whether on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
- Formstack Documents — Learn how to generate countless custom higher education documents like certificates, acceptance letters, and loan documents. Start with the basics of Formstack Documents and work your way up across three courses.
- Formstack Platform — This course will teach you how to use Formstack Forms, Documents, and Sign together in harmony to automate your processes. You’ll be able to quickly create online forms, digital documents, and eSignatures that eliminate paper and simplify your daily work without sacrificing security.
- Forms for Salesforce — Formstack goes hand-in-hand with your Salesforce data. Learn how to eliminate data silos, save time, and improve customer experiences with dynamically pre-filled forms, automated document generation, and streamlined digital signature capture in just three courses.
Plus, you’ll be able to learn at your own pace and add certification badges to your LinkedIn profile once completed.
Price: Free!
How to Get Started: Sign Up
The marketing and work productivity applications across higher education are many — from gathering data to create custom documents to experimenting with no-code tools and analyzing usage reports. How will you level up your skills to prepare for an ever-changing technology landscape?
Get started earning new credentials by enrolling in a certification program today.
