What’s The Purpose Of A Resume
If you are wondering whether you should include in your resume an MA degree you are still working on, or one you started working on some time ago and discontinued, it helps to think of a resume’s purpose.
Your resume should put your best foot forward by presenting a concise summary of skills you have and things that you have accomplished that may be of value to your employer. The idea is not to provide a minibiography but to help your employer understand why it is in her best interests to hire you for the available job.
You surely want to avoid claiming a degree you don’t have the news accounts of various high-profile individuals who have been caught out doing that make clear why that’s a terrible idea. So be sure, when you list your degree in progress that you make clear it is something you are working on or worked on some time ago but have not yet received_._
On the other hand, you are trying to put your best foot forward. If you are presently working on an MA, you have already gained knowledge and skills that can benefit your employer. Even if you started an MA sometime in the past and quit before earning the degree, the coursework you completed or the work you began on your thesis gives you a knowledge-and-skills advantage over another applicant without any graduate-student credentials at all_._ You should include that graduate work in your resume.
You Recently Graduated From College
Once you graduate from college and start searching for your first entry-level position, it’s assumed that you’ll remove any information that refers to your high school activities and focus on your new undergrad degree.
If you’re new to the workforce and your new degree is your best selling point, the Education section should appear toward the top of your resume. This is because you most likely have limited professional experience to list on your resume and your education is the core competency that you wish to highlight for an employer. After you have a few years of relevant experience under your belt, the education section gets shifted to the bottom of your resume, and your work history will get pushed farther up on the page.
Tailoring Your Resume For Each Application
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Yes Your Mba Needs To Be Included
Your MBA is an important achievement, and one that you worked hard to obtain. Employers canât help but be impressed by the degree, and they recognize the level of dedication it represents.
When you know how to list an MBA on your resume, you can use it to enhance your credibility and increase employer interest. So, if youâve ever had anyone tell you that you shouldnât include your MBA in your resume, feel free to ignore that advice!
Why You Should Include Your Education On Your Resume
A resume is most effective when it includes a synopsis of your work experience, academic background, and explanation of your skills and competencies that help you be successful in the position you’re applying for. Including your academic achievements on your resume allows the hiring company an opportunity to assess your learned technical knowledge that qualifies you for the job. Many companies have educational requirements to qualify candidates for their open positions. This helps the company screen out less qualified applicants from candidates who have the training needed to perform the position’s duties.
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How To List High School Education & Geds On Your Resume
If youre a student in high school, the chance is you probably have some volunteer work and extracurriculars under your belt. If these aspects are relevant to the job you are applying for, you can put them before the education section.
In all other cases, the education section would take the upper hand, and would look something like this:
EDUCATION
2015 – 2017
Dissertation: Leveraging User-Generated Content for Advertising Purposes Through Information Systems
Theres a lot more to creating a good resume than just the education section. Become an expert with our complete guide on how to write a resume.
How To Put Study Abroad On Your Resume
Adding a study abroad semester or year to your resume can show employers that youre a go-getter. This information doesnt need to take up much space and should be included in the education section as well.
The correct place to put study abroad on your resume is just below the university you graduated from. You can format it the same way as you format the other institutions attended. For example:
DePaul University, Chicago, IL, December 2009-March 2013
Bachelor of Arts, Major English Composition, Minor Journalism
Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy September 2010-December 2010
- Completed coursework in journalism and international affairs.
- Became fluent in the Italian language
Everything you include in your resume should relate back to the job youre applying for. Its good to mention coursework and other activities that apply to that job when including your study abroad experience.
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What If You Attended Multiple Schools To Finish One Degree
Only list the school where you graduated or finished yourdegree. Educational institutions require transferring students to submit theirtranscript, along with a detailed list of the subjects they completed withtheir previous school.
Your school records will be consolidated where you graduate,so thats what you should list on your resume. If you put the wrong school, youmay get a negative result from an employers pre-employment background check.
Highlight Skills You Learned As An Undergraduate
You dont need formal work experience to show admissions committees you have a strong set of skills. Use your resume skills section to highlight the hard and soft skills you acquired as an undergrad that seem applicable to graduate school.
Through your coursework, part-time work, and extracurricular activities, youve likely acquired a variety of transferable skills, such as:
Hard Skills
- Proficiency in one or more foreign language
Most Recent Title or Project Name
Employer or School Name / Location / Start Date End Date
- Include a bulleted list of your accomplishments
- Make sure you quantify these bullet points
Most Recent Title or Project Name
Employer or School Name / Location / Start Date End Date
- List key accomplishments from an earlier position, internship, or project
- Assuming you no longer actively perform this job or project, make sure you use past tense verbs to describe your experience
5. Skills
Highlight your relevant professional skills. If you dont know what the hiring manager is looking for, try reading through the job requirements and pairing your own abilities with ones in the description.
6. Additional Resume Section
Heres where you can add any other information relevant to your background.
This section could highlight publications, languages, volunteer experience, community service, professional associations you belong to, or any training or certifications.
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Where To Put The Education Section Of Your Resume
Current students, recent college graduates, or career changers may want to put the education section towards the top of their resume. This is because students typically have limited work experience and want to highlight academic success.
If you have been out of school for at least a couple of years, you can move this section to the bottom of your resume. By this time, you have enough work experience to highlight that you dont need to rely on your education.
How To List An Mba On A Resume
ZipJob Team
5 min read
Many job seekers struggle with the education section of their resumes, and for good reason. To gain a competitive advantage in any job search, you need your resume to stand out from the crowd. To accomplish that feat, you need to ensure that the entire presentation properly depicts the value you can add to any position. Educational details can help to establish your credentials and suitability for the job.
What if you have an advanced degree like a Masterâs in Business Administration? To properly include this graduate information, you need to know how to list an MBA on your resume.
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How To List Education In Progress On Resume
Perhaps youre still in school now, looking for a job to make ends meet.
This means that you should add high school below, like so:
Townsend Harris High School, Flushing, NY
Graduated 2017
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How To List An Mba In Progress On A Resume
Finally, you may need to know how to list an MBA in progress on your resume. If you are currently pursuing your MBA and have a good idea about when it will be finished, note that fact. You can use the same format that you use for any other MBA listing, with one adjustment: an anticipated completion date.
ABC University, Anytown, Anystate
Master of Business Administration , Marketing, Expected Completion: 2019
As you can see, learning how to list an MBA on your resume is easier than most people think. By following the simple guideline and tips in this post, you can easily add that impressive information to your resume. And that should help to bolster your credibility and increase the likelihood that youâll get that coveted job interview you need.
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Education On Resumegeneral Example
New York University, New York, NY
Thats for a completed university span, but it would also work for a high school graduate resume.
Expert Hint: If youve earned more than one degree, list them separately, even if theyre from the same university.
Now, lets look at some academic resume examples which include our recommended additions.
If You Are A Recent Graduate
If you’re a recent graduate, consider moving your educational section above your work experience, as most of your resume will comprise your academic training. This will allow you to highlight what you learned in school and how it can benefit the position. In contrast, if you’ve been working for some time, you can move your education section below your work history. Hiring managers are more interested in your relevant professional experience and the skills you’ve honed in real world situations.
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Example Of How To List An Mba On A Resume
In addition to those basic guidelines, there are some other tips that can help you properly list your MBA information. For example, you should always list educational achievements in a chronological resume format, in reverse order :
ABC University, Anytown, Anystate
Master of Business Administration , Marketing, 2012
XYZ College, Yourtown, Yourstate
Business & Marketing, 2009
And so on. If you achieved high marks, you can include your grade point average details as well â but only if you maintained a GPA of 3.5 or higher. If you choose to include a GPA, place it at the end of each listing, right after the year.
You can even include coursework in your description â but only the most relevant courses. Never include courses that donât have direct relevance to the desired job. That holds true for your thesis as well. Only include information about your chosen thesis if it involved a topic relevant to the position.
You also want to ensure that you list both “Master of Business Administration” and the acronym “MBA” on your resume. This is because most companies use an ATS which is software that automatically screens your professional resume to see if you’re qualified for the position.
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Formatting Your Education Section
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Start With A Simple Template
Although it may be tempting to try out a creative format in hopes of standing out in the crowd, resist the urge to make your resume overly designed. For the purpose of this document, the content is much more important than fancy graphics or an elaborate layout. Reviewers want to see a resume thats proofed, easy to read, well-organized and full of relevant information.
You can access dozens of free downloadable resume templates in Microsoft Word. Dont stress if you dont find one thats perfect, you can always customize it to accommodate other sections or information as needed. Whichever template you choose, it should include:
- 11- or 12-point font size
- Bold headlines
- A serif font
How To Write A Resume Education Section If You’re A Student
As a student, you should place your education section at the beginning of your resume. Whether you already have some experience or not, employers will be interested to know that youre still a student.
Include information about your extracurricular activities, relevant coursework or studying abroad.
Is your final thesis related to the job youre pursuing? Then you should mention it! Explain how it pertains to the job opening.
Internships. Paid or unpaid, it doesnt matter. The most important thing is that you can show youre motivated and willing to work.
If you havent done any internships yet, its high time you applied. In most cases you dont need any previous experience to get one and it can help you acquire many valuable skills. Moreover, its something that will distinguish you from your peers once you start looking for a job after graduation.
Finally, if youve already got your first degree, you can leave your high school degree out.
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How To List Completed Education
Recent Graduate If youve recently graduated, place your education section before or in line with your work experience. Your schooling is likely the most prominent piece of your resume, so it is acceptable to make this one of the first sections for employers to see. You can also include your attendance dates, any honors received and GPA if above 3.4. If you attended multiple schools, include the most prominent one where you were most involved. Heres an example:
University of Hawaii, 20112016Bachelor of Arts in PsychologyBusiness Essentials CertificateTerry Scholar
Experienced Professional If youve been in the workforce for several years, move your education section below your professional experience. Your interviewers will be more interested in what youve achieved in recent years rather than in your academic career. You can also remove more specific details of your education section like attendance dates and GPA if youd like. The more you can create interest around your work experience, the better. If you have advanced degrees like your masters or PhD, include those in rank order of level . In this example, the candidate included two diplomas:
Atlanta Graduate School of Management | Atlanta, GAMasters of Business Administration Masters of Science in Information Systems
University of Georgia | Athens, GABachelors of Accountancy
If appropriate, consider adding these pieces of optional information:
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You Started College At One Place But Finished Somewhere Else
If you attended college at one institution perhaps a community college and then completed your education in another place, you only need to list the university where you completed your degree. All the employer wants to know is which college supplied you with your degree at the end of your education they don’t necessarily care or need to know how you arrived at this place. Save that resume space for more important information.
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