Not sure what degree to list? If you should include a GPA? It just so happens that there's a variety of ways to effectively list your eduction.
The education section of a resume may not always be the star of the document but knowing how to properly list your education can be essential for advancing into the next phase of the hiring process.
In this guide, we will cover all the ins and outs of crafting an education section for your resume.
We'll cover the following:
As we've covered, different formats of resumes may require different information to be included within an education section.
In general, there is some basic information that should be included within the education section of a resume:
Here's what that looks like for and university grad:
Georgia Institute of Technology • Atlanta, GA
B.S. in Computer Engineering, 2006 - 2010
GPA: 3.9/4.0
For high-school students, you can do something like the following:
Georgia Institute of Technology • Atlanta, GA
High School Diploma, Graduated in 2010
GPA: 3.9/4.0
Remember, including a GPA is optional. Only add it if it's required by the job listing or it's relatively high. If your GPA is low (under 3.5), it's better to just leave it out.
In resumes that have limited or no work experience, as may be the case with college students or recent graduates, the education section may be a good opportunity to show off educational achievements instead.
Additional information that can be included in longer education sections can include:
As covered, in documents such as CVs the education section could be fairly lengthy.
However, the education section for most resumes will be one of the shortest sections.
This is mostly because standard resumes will be used for entry-level or mid-level positions, while longer-form resumes like the CV will only come into play for more prestigious or hard to obtain positions.
It is much more important to show either a robust work history or detail relevant and transferable skills, using your education as support rather than the main point of interest.
Here are some quick tips for deciding what educational information to include in a resume:
1) When including professional hobbies and extra curricular activities, it is important to keep relevance in mind
Incorrect: Do not include information about sports clubs or other clubs that cannot be connected back to your qualifications for a job.
Correct: If you held leadership positions in clubs or other extra-curricular activities, this can be useful information to include to highlight non-paid leadership or management experience.
Keep your descriptions simple and concise
Incorrect: Including long-winded and wordy paragraphs explaining the relevance of a certain piece of information. If a piece of information is relevant, it should be easily explained in one, simple sentence.
Correct: Use bullet points to separate bits of information to keep your resume easy to read or skim.
The readability of a resume can be the defining factor of whether or not a job recruiter or potential employer moves the candidate into the next phase of the hiring process.
As such, using clear and concise wording and formatting is essential for not just the education section, but for all sections.
Here are a few tips for different formatting options depending on the level and type of education you have completed.
Incomplete education can be tricky to include in a way that sounds positive — as such, if you have incomplete education, be wary of your wording and avoid words such as “incomplete” or “unfinished.”
Instead try to do the following:
However, we've seen this be a common problem that many candidates have. Continue reading below to see how to effectively list education that is left incomplete.
In some cases, a job applicant may have a partially-complete or incomplete educational credential they want to list on their resume.
Incomplete education can result from a variety of circumstances, including:
When listing incomplete education on a resume, it is important to stay highly mindful of how you are wording your limited educational credentials — as words such as “unfinished” or “incomplete” are not ideal to include within a resume.
Here are some quick examples on how to properly list incomplete education in the education section of a resume:
For applicants who are in the process of completing a degree, it is important to note the expected timeframe of completion.
Incorrect:
B.S. in Communications
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Not yet complete
Correct:
B.S. in Communications
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Expected graduation May 2021
For applicants who began a degree, but ultimately did not complete the degree, it is key to be mindful of how you frame the education you did receive.
Incorrect:
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC
Why is this incorrect? Sure, this example indicates you, at some point, attended a university.
However, it provides no insight as to what relevant coursework or studies you may have completed.
Here's the correct way to describe your educational experience instead:
Correct:
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC
Completed 20 credits towards a BS in Communications
Alternatively: This could be a good opportunity to include a bulleted list of relevant coursework.
For applicants who did not complete high school, it is important to note if you either earned a GED or are in the process of earning a GED.
Incorrect:
Watauga County High School
Boone, NC
Incomplete
Correct:
General Educational Development Diploma
Earned May 2021 — OR — Expected to earn May 2021
Generally speaking, the majority of jobs will require applicants to have earned at minimum a GED certification in order to qualify.
In some cases, an applicant may lack a degree but may be certified by a trade school.
For instance, a beautician would want to include any beauty and health related certifications or licenses earned under the education section.
Take a look at this resume example of a college student below to see how to do this.
When it comes to placing your educational credentials on a resume, there are many considerations to make.
Resumes can serve a variety of purposes and, as a general rule of thumb, should be tailored for specific jobs.
It is also important to take into consideration the level of education you have completed, as this will impact how it should be presented as well.
For instance, a job applicant seeking a position in academia would have a much heavier emphasis on education and academic-related achievements — than someone seeking a job in a corporate environment.
Ultimately, not all resumes are the same, so the placement of the education section will differ depending on the type of resume being used and the intention behind its structuring.
There are several different types of resume formats to choose from, but the main ones that are used are as follows:
Emphasis is placed on the most relevant work experience, listing jobs from most recent to oldest.
Education can be placed before or after the work experience section.
However higher degrees that qualify a candidate for the position may be beneficial to mention sooner rather than later.
Functional resumes place a much heavier emphasis on skillsets and areas of expertise.
This format of resume is typically used by job applicants lacking the relevant work experience or educational credentials.
In this format, the education section may lead if the applicant has educational credentials but limited work experience but should follow after the skills section if education is limited.
Hybrid resumes combine the reverse-chronological work experience ordering with the emphasizing of skills.
This can help to supplement resumes of applicants who may have some relevant work experience but still need to beef up their resumes with a skills section.
The placement of the education section will depend on how applicable or high level the credentials are and should generally be kept brief.
CVs are a type of long-form and multi-page resume used most commonly by applicants seeking positions in either academic or scientific fields.
In a CV, the education section will be a prominent component and should appear early in the document.
This type of education section should include all credentials, published works, projects, awards, or other academic achievements — no details should be spared.
The below example of a Physician Assistant's resume is listing education in the bottom-right corner as it's using a reverse-chronological resume format to shine on it's work history.
Employers can gather a variety of information about a job candidate from an education section, including:
Understanding what employers are looking for in an education section included on a resume is key to understand how much or how little information to include.
What an employer is looking for will vary depending on the nature of the job being offered.
For instance, an entry-level communications job at a corporation is likely to require a bachelor’s degree in communications or a related field.
Comparatively, a job in the welding industry may require the completion of a trade school program but not require a four-year degree.
It is of the utmost importance when you are applying to various jobs that you read the job descriptions provided carefully, as this is where you will find the necessary information regarding what educational credentials are required of eligible candidates.
This will also help you to tailor your education section according to what credentials or qualifications you have that meet the requirements of the job.
In general, what an employer is mostly looking for is simply that an education section exists on a resume.
The majority of employers will want candidates who have shown a commitment to their education, reflected through the inclusion of an education section.
For candidates lacking a completed education, it is still considered best practice to include some information regarding what level of education was reached before the point of incompletion, as well as the inclusion of any relevant coursework and knowledge gained from the time the candidate spent pursuing further education.
Here is a quick rundown of a few key factors to consider for applicants who may be unsure how much information to provide in an education section for a specific employer or position:
Unless you are crafting a longer-form resume, such as a CV, the education section will generally be a fairly short summary of your academic credentials and achievements.
Education sections can be longer in some cases where job applicants may have hefty academic backgrounds but limited work experience.
Ultimately, the key to making a strong education section is to include only the most relevant information.
Always avoid deceptive wording, as employers can fairly easily run academic background checks if need be.
Check out our resume templates to get your creativity flowing and get started on your ideal resume today.
Don't worry, we've all been there. Thrown into the job world with little to none work experience and no idea how to start a resume. We're here to help.
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