In 2017, OpenClassrooms launched the Job Guarantee worldwide. The idea is quite simple: as an OpenClassrooms graduate, we will guarantee you a job within 6 months after graduation or we will refund your tuition fees. It’s that simple.
At OpenClassrooms, helping you find a job is our number one mission. We are a mission-driven company and our main objective is for our graduates to land a job within their field of study. With this in mind, we have to (and will) do everything we can in order to fulfill this mission.
How do we guarantee a job at OpenClassrooms?
Needless to say that when we mention the Job Guarantee, many of our prospective students are skeptical. The most common (and legitimate) question we get asked is:
How can you guarantee a job? Nobody can guarantee a job.
The people who ask this question are not wrong… but they’re not totally right either. Before even designing our diploma programs, our team of instructional engineers conducts market research.
This market research consists of evaluating the job market and identifying the current demand and the current offer. We will ONLY create programs when the offer is greater than the demand. In other words, we will ONLY create programs when we know there are more jobs available than people currently applying for them.
From this observation, the logic of the Job Guarantee is easy to understand: if we train our students the right way and provide them with the right skills, it will be impossible for them not to find a job. We can, therefore, guarantee them a job without taking any risks (from our perspective as a mission-driven company and from their perspective as a student investing in a product).
How many jobs are ‘out there’?
One million computer programming jobs are estimated to be created in the U.S. by 2020 – as well as 700,000 in Europe – thanks to unprecedented growth in the tech sector.
If you want to read extensive research regarding the tech industry, we encourage you to read the latest version of the Stack Overflow survey.
In their work section, they provide detailed numbers on employment, company types, job priorities, and even salaries. A great way to have an idea of what the job market is like.
If you want to research jobs in your home country, we encourage you to look at LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed, Reed.co.uk or Monster. You’ll get an idea of how many open positions there are and you’ll realize that there is nothing to worry about.
Be aware that salaries vary based on location. A web developer will not earn the same whether they’re based in Europe, the US or Asia. If earning more is what matters to you the most (and we won’t blame you for that!), you can look at relocating to places where working in tech pays really well. You can also look into freelancing which often ends up being more profitable in certain areas and for big projects. Finally, if you do not wish to relocate, you may decide to work remotely.
How can OpenClassrooms help you find a job?
There are two ways OpenClassrooms helps you land a job and start a successful career: mentorship and career coaching.
What is mentorship?
We couldn’t be prouder of our mentorship program at OpenClassrooms as it is unique and cannot be found on any other online training platform.
Each student that starts studying with us is assigned a dedicated mentor. This mentor will follow the student from the moment they sign up to the moment they graduate. More than just an ‘assessor’, the mentor is here to guide, motivate, encourage, challenge and praise. An OpenClassrooms mentor is also an expert in their field and has got extensive work experience. In that respect, they are also able to prepare the student for the realities of the job market. Through the project-based approach of the programs, the student and mentor are together building a portfolio that the student will be able to show in interviews. This portfolio of projects acts as a CV or resume that is the proof of some kind of work experience… and we all know it, the lack of experience is often one of the reasons why we get turned down for a job!
Want to know who our mentors are? Check out Josh Fluke and Rohan Taneja’s stories.
Want to know what our students think of mentorship? Watch Stephanie’s video or read this blog post.
What is career coaching?
On top of the educational mentor, each student is assigned a Career Coach during their studies. A Career Coach is someone who has extensive knowledge of the job market and the hiring process in general. A Career Coach is, therefore, someone who is going to help you with your job search towards the end of your path on OpenClassrooms. They will give you tips on:
- How to create an attractive CV or resume
- How to showcase your portfolio of projects
- Where to look for job offers
- What sort of jobs you can do
- How to prepare for an interview
- What to do before starting at your new job
The mission of the Career Coach goes hand in hand with the overall OpenClassrooms mission: help you land a job and start a successful career
And remember: we will give you as many FREE coaching sessions as you deem necessary in order for you to find a job and for us to fulfill our mission. We currently have a 100% employment rate after graduation (basically, we haven’t had to refund anyone) and we want to keep it that way.
Career Coaching the way we do it is also completely unique to OpenClassrooms and will not be offered by any other online training programs. Fact.
What to do next?
There are actually two next steps:
- Think about your career goals
Before you embark on any project, you need to ask yourself why you’re doing it. You need to set a goal for you to achieve. So we advise you to take the time to think about your professional project and answer this short yet often complex question: what am I doing this for?
Once you have the answer to this, you’ll have a clearer idea of the different steps need to get there.
- Believe in us and believe in yourself
The Job Guarantee is simple to explain but not often simple to believe in. We’re often skeptical about companies selling us the ‘perfect package’ and it’s not a bad thing to be a bit cautious. But OpenClassrooms’ mission is at the heart of what we do and everyone here is dedicated to helping you succeed. That’s why our Student Advisor team is the biggest team within the company!
Once you believe in us, you’ll need to believe in yourself. It’s not going to be a walk in the park, we won’t lie about this, but if you’re committed, there’s no reason why you would fail.
Want some inspiration? Listen to Debbie’s life-changing story
Want to discuss your future career? Talk to one of our advisors at OpenClassrooms by booking a call here or email us at hello@openclassrooms.com
I completed Build Your First Web Pages with HTML and CSS course but I failed to get a certificate at the last test
Can I re-test? Or can I count the number of course hours without a certificate?
Hi Duha! It sounds like your activity needs to be reset. To get this handled for you, please send an email to hello@openclassrooms.com and one of our student advisors will get things sorted for you, asap.
Sounds good!
Very Informative!! Curious to get more post like this.Keep it up and best of luck for your future blogs and posts
I found so many interesting stuff in your blog especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the enjoyment here! keep up the good work…
HEY….. am loving this open-classroom and am real gaining a lot from it .but all in all am happy that perhaps am one of the youngest learners and i hope i will get the best from it
nice blog .
I just finished a course on Building your first Web Page with HTML and CSS and would like to know more of it to become a certified web designer
Hello Jonathan, that is wonderful to hear! Have you taken a look at our programs? Come take a look here. Wishing you the best of luck in your endeavors. If you have any further questions or if you would like to chat with someone, do get in touch here!