SkillBridge Starter Toolkit
These are the free tools two high schoolers used to land internships and build a network, with no paywalls and no trials that start charging you two weeks later.
Every tool here was free when we checked in June 2026. When "free" comes with a catch, like needing a library card, we say so. The "free" tools that turn out to be traps are listed at the bottom.
Get experience (when you have none yet)
-
Forage — free virtual job simulations from real companies; do intern-style tasks in a few hours and earn a certificate for your resume/LinkedIn; no application, 16+.
theforage.com -
Start your own thing — a club, project, or event at your school; "founder" beats "member" on every application; free, ungatekeepable.
-
Your city's Summer Youth Employment Program — many cities run paid teen summer jobs; search "[your city] summer youth employment"; free to apply, usually paid.
Get certified (free certs you can list)
-
HubSpot Academy — employer-recognized marketing/sales/content certs, a few hours each; certs + exams 100% free.
academy.hubspot.com -
freeCodeCamp — free coding certs (web design, JavaScript, Python), built around projects and shareable; nonprofit, no paywall or card.
freecodecamp.org -
Google Skillshop — free Google Ads & Analytics certs from Google.
skillshop.withgoogle.com
Learn new skills (free course libraries)
-
LinkedIn Learning — 16,000+ courses, free with a public library card (free digital card available online in minutes), completion certs.
linkedin.com/learning -
Khan Academy — free academic lessons + a careers section; nonprofit.
khanacademy.org -
Coursera — audit almost any university course free (you get the lessons without a certificate); cert costs money unless you apply for financial aid.
coursera.org
Build your resume and portfolio
-
FlowCV — clean ATS-friendly resumes (they work with automated application screening), unlimited watermark-free PDF downloads, no trial/card/paywall; first resume free forever.
flowcv.com -
Google Docs — simplest free option; free resume templates → PDF.
docs.google.com -
Canva — free for visual portfolios/mockups/graphics; use FlowCV or Docs for your resume (Canva's fancy templates can confuse application scanners).
canva.com
Find jobs and internships
-
Indeed — biggest job board; filter for part-time/entry-level jobs to find teen-friendly roles.
indeed.com -
Named programs worth knowing — NASA High School Internships (16+), Microsoft High School Discovery Program (paid), and similar programs run every summer; competitive, but open to high schoolers; search the program name + "high school."
-
Forage (again) — when you can't land a formal internship yet, a finished simulation is the next best resume line.
Network and LinkedIn (our whole thing)
-
LinkedIn — free, and the most useful account a high schooler can make; opportunities come through people, and this is where they are.
linkedin.com -
Pair it with LinkedIn Learning above, and follow us for posts on setting up a profile that isn't empty, messaging strangers without being awkward, and getting replies.
⚠️ "Free" tools that turn out to be traps
- Zety, Resume Genius, Resume.io — cheap trials that auto-renew to ~$24–26 every four weeks; use FlowCV instead.
- If a "free" tool wants a credit card before you've made anything, close the tab.
This is the shortlist we recommend. New guides go out in The SkillBridge Brief. See the other free guides