What do employers think of Online Courses that offer certificates of completion?

Sam Mason, HR Manager, IBM
Answered Dec 4, 2019

“Nothing. Most hirers even do not even know the name of the providers.

A certificate of completion from Udemy, Cousera, Pluralsight, Cloudera, Edx or any of the 'course' offering sites (including MOOC / Massive Open Online Courses) is probably of same value as the certificate you get when you complete the in-house computer based training you take on the first day of your new job.

---

Mammen Menon, Hiring Manager, British Petroleum
Answered Jan 28, 2018

As a hiring manger, I ignore the certificates of completion.

In the real-world here’s what we care about is,
Experience
Knowledge
Education – University provided Diploma, Degree program certificates, etc.
Certifications (NOT certificates of completion) – From big orgs like Microsoft, Google, CISCO, etc.

Everything else, leave off your resume. I actually recommend that companies screen out any and all of such certificates, it’s a sure sign you don’t know a lot about the real-world.

---

John Kennedy, HR Manager, Reuters
Answered April 19, 2017

When I have hired people continual learners are a lot higher on my list than people who are not continual learners.

You will look more interesting to HR/Recruiters, but it is just a certificate of completion, it will show you were there, not how well you understand the materials. Having said that, an applicant who shows continual improvement in the field they are applying for jobs are a lot more interesting than someone who doesn’t.

Honestly it is very unlikely recruiters/HR/Managers will know if your certificate of completion and the course was free or paid, it just shows you as proactive and someone who is interested in the field.