The free toolkit

Everything We Use

The free toolkit two high schoolers actually used to land internships, build a network, and get ahead — no paywalls, no trials that charge you in two weeks.

Download PDF Join the Discord

We built this from the inside. Every tool here is genuinely free, checked June 2026. Where "free" has a catch (like a library card) we say so. At the bottom: the "free" tools that are actually traps.

Get real experience (when you have none yet)

  • Forage — free virtual job simulations from real companies; do real intern tasks in a few hours, earn a resume/LinkedIn certificate; 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 actually list)

  • HubSpot Academy — free marketing/sales/content certs, a few hours each, employer-recognized; certs + exams 100% free.

    academy.hubspot.com

  • freeCodeCamp — free no-paywall coding certs (web design, JavaScript, Python), real projects, shareable cert; nonprofit, no card.

    freecodecamp.org

  • Google Skillshop — free Google Ads & Analytics certs straight from Google.

    skillshop.withgoogle.com

Learn any skill (free 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 academics + a careers section; nonprofit.

    khanacademy.org

  • Coursera — audit almost any university course free; cert costs money unless you apply for financial aid.

    coursera.org

Build your resume and portfolio

  • FlowCV — clean ATS-friendly resumes, 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; for the actual resume use FlowCV or Docs (Canva's fancy templates can confuse application scanners).

    canva.com

Find the actual jobs and internships

  • Indeed — biggest job board; filter part-time/entry-level for teen-friendly roles.

    indeed.com

  • Named programs worth knowing — NASA High School Internships (16+), Microsoft High School Discovery Program (paid), and similar run every summer; competitive but real; 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 highest-leverage account a high schooler can make; opportunities come through people, and this is where they are.

    linkedin.com

  • Pair with LinkedIn Learning above, and follow us — we post how to set up a profile that isn't empty, how to message strangers without being awkward, and how to get replies.

⚠️ "Free" tools that are actually traps

  • Zety, Resume Genius, Resume.io — cheap trial that auto-renews to ~$24–26 every four weeks; use FlowCV instead.
  • Rule: if a "free" tool wants a credit card before you've made anything, close the tab.

This is the short list — the full thing lives in our community. New free tool every week in the SkillBridge Discord.

Join the SkillBridge Discord @realskillbridge