Many graduates struggle to effectively showcase their talent to employers, and many of them are consequently unable to find gainful employment. Revamping the resume with digital badges can help graduates showcase their skills and help companies identify talent.
Every year, millions of college graduates enter a highly competitive job market to find that the lion’s share of employers won’t even grant an interview for an entry-level position unless the prospect has a postsecondary degree. These college graduates can breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing that they have done the right thing by taking the time to earn their certificate or degree.
However, recent developments such as the proposed
college ratings framework have created an awareness that merely being able to include a postsecondary credential in the “prior education” section of a resume is no longer enough to catch an employer’s attention. Fortunately, digital badges are emerging on the scene to provide college graduates with an opportunity to revamp their resume and showcase their job-readiness faster and more effectively. Numerous ed tech start-ups have thrown their hats into the ring of digital badging, and a number of veteran higher ed solutions providers have added digital badges to their
offerings.
In the same way that the flipped classroom has made instruction quicker, more affordable, and scalable, these digital badge providers are making the 21st century resume more directed towards hiring goals and easier/faster to verify.
Digital badge providers do this by applying new technologies to the primary tool of the hiring process - the resume. Rather than being somewhat static, resumes have been transformed into a document that readily displays a job candidate’s qualifications in a connected online network. Digital badges significantly increase the ease with which an employer can review an individual’s relevant competencies
and verify the authenticity of them. Candidates and potential employers are empowered to connect in a much more transparent, relevant manner.
In essence, digital badges establish a platform in which the outcomes of higher education can be clearly communicated and integrated for the sake of hiring. Badges within the dynamic, virtual setting of the 21st century resume can give job candidates the competitive edge in a job market where the desired skills and competencies change rapidly.
