Tips For Listing Degrees
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.
What Employers Look For In An Education Section
Employers can gather a variety of information about a job candidate from an education section, including:
- A job applicantâs work ethic, reflected through GPAs or other grade-related information
- Relevant skills or training an applicant has received through their schooling
- Name recognition of specific universities, such as ivy leagues, that may give a candidate a leg up on the competition
- Insight into a candidateâs interests or talents based on academic-related extracurricular activities included
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 bachelorâs 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.
Resume Education Section Examples
No matter which school you attended or degree you received, one of the following eight resume education section examples should be able to point you in the right direction when updating your resume.
- Bachelor of Applied Sciences , International Business, 2013Illinois State University, Bloomington, IL
- Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business, 2010-2014Bachelor of Arts, Accounting/Finance
- Miami University, Coral Gables, FLBachelor of Arts Social Psychology, 2013
- Doctor of Pharmacy , Magna Cum Laude, 2015Butler University, Indianapolis, IN
- Bachelor of Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, 2009Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- University of Cattolica, Milan, ItalyBachelors Degree, Marketing and Finance, 2011
- Purdue University, West Lafayette, INBachelors Degree, Hospitality Tourism Management, 2012Activities: Intercollegiate Quidditch Association
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How To List A Major And Minor On Your Resume
Some students supplement their education with a minor specialization, and there’s a proper way to include it on a resume. Other students choose to double major or double minor, and their resumes become cluttered if they don’t know how to list them. If an employer can’t follow the information in your resume, they might pass it over.
In this article, we discuss when and how to include majors and minors in your resume, along with a series of steps and examples for properly formatting it.
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Tips For The Education Section Of Your Resume
Consider subsections. If you have a lot of information to include in the education section of your resume, consider breaking this section into subsections. The main section might include your schools and degrees, and then you can have other sections such as Awards and Honors, Certifications, and Professional Development. If you held a leadership role in a school-affiliated organization , you can list that below the Awards and Honors line.
Provide specifics . If the sub-college of your university is well known and relevant you can include that before you include your university name. For example, you could say School of Hospitality, XYZ College.
You can leave out your GPA. If you’re a student or recent graduate and your GPA wasnt great, but you have other accolades, just leave the GPA out and put something else, like XYZ Award Recipient. Once you’re out of school for a couple years, you should take your GPA out of your resume altogether.
You can leave out high school . Once you’ve been in college for a year or so , you can leave your high school degree and GPA out of your resume. However, you should mention your high school diploma if it is your highest degree.
Tell the truth. It’s very easy for an employer to confirm whether or not the education information in your resume is true or not. He or she can simply check your transcript. If you’re not happy with your GPA, leave it out, but dont make it up. Be honest.
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Importance Of Listing Degrees Of Study
Listing degrees of study on your resume gives employers a better idea of your background and general knowledge. Many roles require higher education for proper function and usually ask for specific degree types. Although you may not have the specific degree they list, you may have one in a related area. For example, if a job posting asks for a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, but you have a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with coursework in accounting, you still may be eligible for the position. An employer wouldn’t know how closely qualified you are without the education listing on your resume.
Where To Place Your Resume Education Section
The best placement depends on what employers would value more: your experience or education. Theres no set rule for where to put it, but here are a few guidelines.
Place experience before education if:
- You have several years of experience related to your goal. Hiring managers will likely be more interested in your work-related accomplishments than your education.
Place experience after education if:
- Youre an upcoming or recent graduate or have a couple of years of work history.
- Youre changing careers and continued your education to support your new goal.
- Youre in an academic or scientific professioneducation is usually listed near the top of CVs.
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You Earned Your Degree More Than 15 Years Ago
If you earned a degree or certification more than 15 years ago, place your Education at the bottom of your resume, and remove the graduation date. It’s important to demonstrate you’ve earned the degree, but there’s no need to draw attention to how long ago this occurred.
Doing so will allow you to focus your resume on your skills, accomplishments, and professional history. For those who have many years of professional experience, education becomes less important because you should be moving forward in your career.
The Education Section On The Resume
How to list your studies and where to include them.
The education section on a resume can sometimes be the shortest part but is still a vital addition and required by nearly all employers.
Although it may sometimes seem that the education section on a resume is the simplest part, it still needs proper care and attention. Each jobseeker is different and needs to adapt their whole resume, including the education section, to their personal profile as well as remembering to tailor their resume to the position available.
Failure to adapt your education segment to the position can be costly. In 18% of cases, employers will just throw out your file without any further thought if it doesnt match their needs.
To learn how to write a good education section on a resume, you must first consider what level of professional work experience and academia the candidate has in order to decide how and where to include the education section.
It is additionally important to bear in mind the resume format;the candidate has chosen to use in case it uses a certain structure as standard.
Just like other resume sections, such as the work experience section;or core competencies, the education section is one of the key parts a potential employer will look for, simply to get an understanding of the expertise and background of the candidate.
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What Takes Priority Education Or Work Experience
Whether education or work experience is more important is determined by the job posting and your qualifications.
Generally, experienced candidates should list their previous work experience first, if the experience is relevant for the job.
However, teens, students, recent grads, and candidates with less work experience could list education and relevant qualifications first.
Resume Education Section Format
Many ATS parse the information from an applicants resume into a digital applicant profile. If your education is formatted incorrectly theres a very good chance that information will be parsed incorrectly or left out altogether.
Typically, the degree is listed before the school, but if you went to an impressive, Ivy League university, leading with the name of the school cant hurt.
Remember, a solid education section will include the name of the school, the degree earned , location of the school, and the date of graduation. For example:
Bachelor of Arts: Theater, Shakespearean, 2016Columbia College, Chicago, IL
Masters of Business Administration, 2014University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
You can add societies, activities or relevant coursework if it makes sense to the job for which youre applying. This information can be included at the bottom of your education section, like this:
Bachelors Degree, Elementary Education and Teaching, 2013Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, INSocieties: Delta Delta Delta, Habitat for Humanity, Student Support Group
If you are still completing your degree, you can list your expected graduation date, but be clear that you havent yet graduated. Like the above examples, you dont need to list the start date . For example:
Bachelor of Science: Civil EngineeringWashington University, St. Louis, MO.Expected Graduation Date 2019
University of Miami, Coral Gables, FLEnglish Composition, 65 Credit Hours Obtained
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Items To Include For Education In Resume
The top 4 items are must-haves. The rest will give you an edge over other candidates.
However, if you’ve got X years of experience, mentioning those extra items will look awkward as your experience is what matters to employers .
And, dont weaken your resume education section with these:
Tips Around How To Include Your Education
Even though content will differ across people, industries, experience levels, there are a few general rules of thumb when buttoning down how to include your education on your resume.
Always be honest. No matter what, never stretch the truth about education on your resume. Its a small world, and its extremely easy for someone to verify your education when necessary.
If formal education isnt the focus of your resume achievements, there are better ways than lying to demonstrate how education is woven into your professional life. If you have no education to add, beef up the special skills section to focus on soft and hard skillslearned outside of the classroom. Dont lose confidence about skipping education on your resume all together. If you are qualified for the job, it should come across in your experience, skills, and the overall presentation of your resume.
Keep it clean and consistent. Well jump into this a bit more below. When wondering how to put education on your resume, keep it short and sweet and pay close attention to the format and consistency. The right resume template can guide toward a clean design or you can use the examples below for inspiration.
Tailor your info. Always customize your resume for each job application from the hobbiessection to work description to the education on your resume. Though college degrees always make the cut, you dont want to list that youre trained as a chef if youre applying for an office job.
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When To Use A Functional Resume
If you have one long gap or multiple employment gaps in your resume in the past five years, are a first-time worker or are drastically changing career paths, then consider a functional resume. By highlighting skills that transfer across industries and your most relevant accomplishments, you can emphasize the right qualifications for the position you want. This also prioritizes the information thats most important to a recruiter rather than focusing on a work history that doesnt align with the job.
In some cases, a functional resume might be too limiting. If you have some experience and few or no gaps in your employment history, a combination resume might be the right choice.
Education For A College Student With Some Work Experience
If you are a college student with work experience, place your education section above work. Include the name of the institution, degree type and the expected year of graduation. You can also mention coursework, extracurricular activities, organizations and other academic achievements relevant to the role. Dont include your GPA if it is below 3.5.
Example of the education section for a college student with work experience:
California State University, California
Bachelor of Science in Banking and Finance, September 2017
Minored in Accounting
Relevant Coursework: Accounting Systems, Actuarial Sciences, Anti Money Laundering Protocols
Extracurricular activities: Treasurer for the Association of Accounting Students
GPA: 3.95/4.0
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How To List Your Education On A Resume
For many applicants, the education section is the easiestpart to write on their resume. They just list their alma maters name, degree,and graduation date. Simple.
Its not always that simple though. For instance, what do you write if you switched school three times before completing your bachelors? How do you list your college education if youre still completing your thesis?;What if you dropped out of an MBA?
This tutorial answers those questions, and everything elserelated to listing education on a resume.
First, lets start with the basics:
How To List Education On A Resume With Examples
The education section of your resume provides hiring managers with a detailed insight into your background and how it relates to the role. When written to reflect the job requirements, your education section can give you an advantage over other candidates. The best way to list your education depends on your work and academic achievements.
There are several ways to list education on your resume. Reading and understanding the job description can help identify the perfect location and level of qualification to include when applying to a position. Not all jobs need your full credentials, so you can check the job listing to see what the hiring managers are looking for. In this article, you can learn about how to list your education on a resume.
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What If You Went Back To School To Get A New Degree
Are you changing careers? If you got a new degree becauseyou want to pursue another type of work, then its vital that you include yournew degree on your resume. Put it on top of your previous college degree.
When you switch roles, most of your previous work experiencewill be considered irrelevant. Lets say you want to switch from nursing toselling life insurance or IT to managing a restaurant. In those cases, the majority of yourprevious qualificationseducation, skills, achievementswill be inapplicable.
Thats where your new degree comes in. Youre like a freshgraduate in your new field, but a tad better. Your formal education willsatisfy the job requirements of most employers, and your transferrable skillswill boost your qualifications a bit more, so youre not seen as a totalnewbie.
Education For A College Student With No Work Experience
If you are a college student with no work experience, build your education section with your best academic achievements. Include relevant coursework, extracurricular activities, degree, awards and honors, expected graduation date and GPA where applicable.
You can also mention any college experience that applies to the role. Mention the experiences and skills you gained from your coursework or research and how they apply to the role.
Example of the education section for a college student with no work experience:
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
GPA: 3.65/4.0
Relevant Coursework: Experimental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology
Expected Graduation: September 2019
Awards: Deans List, Autumn 2017
Extracurricular Activities: Assistant Editor of the Purdue Psychology Digest
The best way to make your education section stand out is to keep it honest and relevant. Mention only academic achievements that boost your chances of getting hired. Be strategic and put your credentials where they will attract the hiring managers attention.
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Writing The Education Section Of A Resume
Here are the common guidelines to follow when listingeducation on a resume:
Of course, these guidelines dont apply to all situations. Illdiscuss all of these in more detail in the succeeding sections:
If The Employer Specifically Requires Certification
This is perhaps the most important reason you might choose to include your certification on your resume. If an employer lists a certain certification under the requirements for employees, you may not be considered for employment unless the employer knows you are sufficiently qualified. Before applying for a job, be sure to consult the company website and the job listing to find out if any certifications are necessary.
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List Your Awarded Degree
On the final or main line of an education entry, list your awarded degree. This is your major area of study. For example, if you complete a four-year degree in psychology, you would list it as Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology or Bachelor of Science in Psychology.
Some students opt for a double major. In this case, summarize your degree level and category and follow it with your two majors. For example, if you earn a bachelor’s degree in education and another in mathematics, you might list it as:Bachelor of Science: Education and Mathematics