What is Credly and what does it do? I recently learned about this product while grabbing coffee for my new internship that starts next fall. Luckily enough I got the chance to meet up with Tom, the director of the TIU, to discuss logistics and new technologies being developed and what I will be doing at the TIU as an Instructional Technologist in the fall 2017 semester.
Tom said to me, “Do you know what badges are?” I answered back to him, “you mean like in scouts?” He answered “yes”.
Basically if you never took up scouts you buy a vest or sash that you place badges on that you earn to show your new achievements. Each achievement has certain requirements that you must do in order to get each badge and have a supervisor sign off on it. Not all achievements require a lot of work. Some can be fun and easy, but there are times where you have to put in the extra effort if you want to show off that you did something. I mean when I was in scouts I use to get badges if I went to different clinics like tea parties, ice skating events, zoo trips, going to the movies, learning about the history of buildings, or even craft decorations. What’s great about most of the badges in scouts is that different troops have the option of designing their own badge and creating an activity that goes along with it.
Tom talked about how people like to go into job interviews having their portfolio covering a lot of skills and pieces of work that they have produced. Credly can help you do that. For example, below is my badge that I received credit for by Tom and what other badges will look like that anyone can earn.
Anyone can sign up for a free account through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or create an account with no socail media associates linked to it. It’s pretty simple to use, basically you either earn badges or give out badges. Plus, each badge you earn is already vetted by another user of Credly. So you can’t just make up that you’ve earned all these different badges.
I like this idea of earning badges because it’s a simple concept to grasp and anyone can do it. Going into a job interview knowing that all you have to do is pull up this site to show all your acheivements is a much more visual way to show part of your resume/skill set. An employer hiring for a certain position can know right off the bat if you are qualified or not just by how much you’ve achieved.
From the time I start my internship to the time I graduate in 2018 I plan on continuing my use of Credly and hoping I can get my professors to join in and give me credit for my hardwork. This can prove to be a sure fire way to have access to something that you are passionate about if your resume is not going to sell your next employer.
