How To Put Certifications And Licenses On A Resume
If you have one certification or license thatâs required or relevant to the position, you can list it either next to your name or in the title as we showed you above. If you have numerous certifications you want to list, those could be included at the bottom of your resume.
Here are the possible headers you could use for the certifications section if you have other “professional development” to list:
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Professional Development & Certifications
We wrote a good post on including a professional development section on a resume here.
Which Certifications To List
The most important thing to remember about listing certifications is that it must be relevant to the post you are applying to. Certifications may be essential, desired, or optional.
- Essential certifications include qualifications and licenses that are required of professionals in certain fields, such as accountants or nurses.
- Desired certifications are ones that a potential employer might recommend as a way to narrow down the contenders for a particular position.
- Optional certifications are simply a way to enhance your application and help you stand out from the crowd.
Lets say your list of certifications includes:
- A course in Japanese
- A qualification in Digital Marketing
- A certificate in Reiki
How do you decide which certifications are relevant and worth including?
The logical thing to do is to include only those certifications that serve to strengthen your application to the specific job.
So in the example above, if you were applying for the role of Marketing Executive, a credential in digital marketing would enhance your application. But there would be little value in adding the certificates in Reiki, or even Japanese unless you were applying for the post of Marketing Executive in a Japanese company.
Save Resume Space For The Most Important Information
Listing online courses doesnât take up valuable space on your resume that could instead be filled with actual relevant experience. Letâs get to that in a bit.
Online courses, such as those taken on Coursera or Udemy, should be carefully assessed using the above checklist. In addition, itâs more important to surface the backing institution than the actual platform the course was taken on .
Taking an online course that doesnât necessarily yield official certifications may still be useful for advancing your career. Although not required, taking courses can show interest in a particular field. This can be especially useful to candidates targeting a job that requires skills not highlighted by the rest of your resume.
Some online courses only help demonstrate part of the required proficiency. These can be left out of your resume along with any others that arenât taught by a well known institution. Lessons taught by the less official online courses can still be useful. For example, they would be great talking points with prospective employers. Save the valuable space on your resume!
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Listing Certifications On Your Resume In The Other Section
An additional information section is the perfect choice to avoid clutter on your resume. If you choose to include more than one or two certifications, list them on their own line alongside things like technical skills, awards, and language fluency.
Let’s run through a few examples.
Here’s an example of combining your certifications with other skill sets.
Here’s another simple example of listing a certification, which mentioning who awarded it. Use this only if your certification is not widely known and the context of your certification could help.
Listing the source of your certifications can help add legitimacy.
When to list a certifications in an additional section: If you have more relevant work experience to emphasize first or you’re running out of space on your resume.
In The Education Section Of Your Resume
The education section of your resume is probably the most intuitive spot to include certifications, especially if theyre particularly significant. List your entries in reverse chronological order, with the most recent qualifications first. If youre changing careers and dont have any other relevant experience, you may even want to include your education section at the top of your resume.
List certifications alongside your education in reverse chronological order.
When to list a certifications in your education section: If you completed the certification very recently or it was part of an official degree program.
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Which Licenses And Certifications To Include On Your Resume
Include any licenses and certifications relevant to your target job. Typically, compatible credentials will include your most recently obtained ones, but they could also include an old or expired one. Consider keeping a master document of every license and certification youve earned in your career to date. Then for each resume you draft going forward, you can refer to this list and copy only those credentials that speak to your target job.
Required Licensure Or Certification
Say, for example, you are applying for a Registered Nurse position in a hospital.
They require that you have your RN license and possibly some other certifications like Basic Life Support, CPR, etc.
You want to make itobvious to the ATS or recruiter that you have active licenses or certifications in the state you are applying for a job in. Pay special attention to adding anything else you have that is listed as required on the job description.
As a corporate healthcare recruiter, I have reviewed hundreds of thousands of healthcare resumes. I really appreciate when a job seeker saves me time by clearly listing out their license information.
This includes the license or certification name, number, organization the license or certification was received through, and the expiration date.
Of course, the recruiter can and will verify all this information on the appropriate state board website, but you can make it a lot easier by providing the information up front.
There are times where I get a common name and I cannot figure out which license belongs to the applicant without talking with them.
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List License In Education Section
Even if you’ve listed your license earlier in your resume, you can list it again in the Education section. This ensures that human resources personnel don’t overlook any of your qualifications. If your license isnt a requirement for the position, you can still include it here, but make certain it relates to the job. You should also include the state where youre licensed.
Example:
Best West University, Chicago, IL
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, May 2012
Master of Science in Social Work, May 2015
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Illinois, 2015
If you have more than one license, you can create a separate section after the Education section.
Example:
Best West University, Chicago, IL
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, May 2012
Master of Science in Social Work, May 2015
Licensure
Licensed Social Worker, Illinois, 2015
Licensed Master Social Worker, Illinois, 2018
Although most license numbers are public record, its still not a good idea to include them on your resume.
Dont include any licenses that are expired, suspended or not relevant to the position. Including these doesnt boost your qualifying attributes and some human resource managers may see them as a waste of their time.
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Format To Use For Listing Certifications
There are certain conventions that you should keep in mind when listing certifications.
- Chronology:List your certifications in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent certification or any that are underway.
- Validity: Dont list certifications that have expired or lapsed. Be vigilant about your certification renewals so theyre always current.
- Acronyms: Write the full forms of any certification acronyms at least once, so that even recruiters, unfamiliar with your area of expertise will not miss them.
- Format: Here is an efficient format for presenting the details of any certification:
- Name of Certification
Cisco Certified Network Professional Cisco Systems2008
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Introduction To Resume Certifications
Itâs more obvious that resumes need to include work experience and education. But listing certifications on your resume correctly can be a bit fuzzy.
Getting certified in something normally involves completing an accredited institutionâs course and passing its requirements. The types of certificates vary across industries, from technical jobs to healthcare jobs.
In this article, weâll show you step by step how to correctly put certifications on your resume to make your candidacy stand out. Specifically, weâll take a look at a few resume examples to learn:
- What types of certifications you have?
- Which certifications to include on your resume?
- Where to put those certifications on your resume?
Listing Education On Your Resume
While certain degrees and training programs may be required for certain roles, they are not skills and should be listed sperate from your licensure and certifications.
With the Registered Nurse example, you would need an associate degree in nursing or a bachelors in nursing to be considered for a role.
Make sure that you clearly list your degree, major, and school.
If you are expecting to complete a program in the future but are currently working on it, just list Expected 2021 or whatever year you plan on completing your program. This helps the recruiter understand your goals.
Keep in mind that listing a license and certification on a clinical resume is a necessary step that you need to pay attention to.
You cant assume the recruiter will know you are licensed just because you have education information on your resume.
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How To List Certifications On Your Resume
The format of a certification on your resume is relatively straightforward. Generally, there are five key parts of a certification on your resume. They are:
1. Title: the official name of the certification.
2. Awarding institution: the name of the professional or educational organization through which you acquired your certification or license.
3. The date it was awarded: the date that you completed the requirements to achieve the certification. If the certification is in progress, then you simply put âIn progress.â
4. The certificationâs expiration date: the date that the certification stops being recognized. Many awarding institutions offer the opportunity to extend your certification through additional training.
5. Relevant skills: the skills you honed and acquired through the certification program. The skills you emphasize should be those relevant to the position you are applying to.
How To Include A License On Your Cv
Related
Competition for jobs is intense, and your resume is one of the first looks a potential employer has of you. This means that your resume needs to stand out among all other applicants. Including critical information on your resume in a professional manner is one way to get your resume noticed. Pertinent information includes any licenses you might hold that qualify you for the job.
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Certifications In The Resume Objective
The resume summary, or resume objective, section is a great place to include required as well as recommended certifications. Itâs best practice to only include only one certification in this section. The majority of this space should be used to describe your resume objective.
Take a look at this tax accountant resume example to see how she talks about her credentials in her resume objective.
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Excel is a powerful tool that can help you organize, analyze, and present data.
Excel can be used for a variety of purposes from creating charts and graphs to tracking expenses so learning how to use it effectively can make you a more well-rounded and versatile job candidate.
Here are two Excel courses that come with a certificate. The LinkedIn Learning course can be accessed for free by signing up for LinkedIn Learnings one-month free trial:
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Free Certification Courses To Enhance Your Resume
Want to give your resume a boost? Free online certifications are a great, affordable way to help get you noticed.
If you’re searching for a job, listing certifications on your resume is a great way to help bump up your credentials and get you noticed by hiring managers. In many ways, certifications act as evidence of the experience and skills listed on your resume, verifying them for the hiring manager. They basically say, Hey, I know how to do this, and here’s proof.
Don’t have any certifications to list? There are a number of websites, organizations, and companies that offer online certification programs for free.
So, if you have some time on your hands, and you want to give your resume an impressive boost, it’s worth exploring these free online certification programs.
Why Include Certifications On Your Resume
Professional certifications can help you progress more quickly in your career.
There are three major reasons to include certifications on your resume. These are:
- First, obtaining a professional certification shows your passion for your chosen field. The fact that you put in the time and effort to get certified speaks volumes about your commitment to continuing professional development.
- Second, it is a verification of your particular expertise or skill. It is proof that you possess the necessary training, information, and knowledge to undertake a certain job.
- Third, and this is a benefit you can reap almost instantly, obtaining certifications can lead to an increment in your pay.
Finally, many recruiters manage and track applicants with the help of Application Tracking Systems, which analyze and sort the information on resumes into categories, and then scan this data for keywords to determine whether the application should be selected for the recruiters perusal.
Certifications could help you beat the Application Tracking System, and distinguish your resume from that of your peers.
But which certifications are worth including?And how many certifications are enough?
Lets find out!
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How To List Certifications On Your Resume Summary
If you have a very job-critical certification, you can also include it in your resume summary section.
For example, if you’re an accountant w/ a CPA, you mention it in your summary as follows:
Just add one line and you’re already one step ahead! You don’t even need to rework your existing summary, just start or end the sentence with the certifications title.
For example:
- Certified CPR sports teacher with 15+ years of experience and solid organizational skills, seeking to preserve and improve the quality of sports education at Amigos Children’s Academy. At Jefferson Elementary, raised sports team national results by 12% and led an exhibition team at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships. Trained more than 400 children for the school’s official sports teams.
- Certified teacher with 15+ years of experience working in Jefferson Elementary. Seeking to preserve and improve the quality of sports education at Amigos Children’s Academy.
- Data analyst with 7+ years of experience analyzing business processes. Enthusiastic to handle big data interpreting and visualizing skills at 7EDGE. CCA certificated in 2013.
Not sure what kind of job-critical certifications you should mention in your resume summary?
Here are some essentials for different industries:
Business
- Certified Business Analysis Professional
- APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional
- Certified Information Security Manager
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional
Healthcare
How To Write Certifications On Your Resume
How you write a certification on your resume is key to making sure the hiring manager can find the most important pieces of information in the first few seconds of scanning your resume.
In general, each certification should include:
- The name of the certification, along with the most common abbreviation
- The issuing body or location where the training was completed
- The date issued
- The expiration and/or renewal date
Each of these pieces of information helps a hiring manager learn more about your career story and interest in the profession. It also gives them practical information about how far back you might have learned the relevant skills. By adding the date completed, you allow the hiring manager to verify your certification with the governing body.
Can I list a certification in progress on my resume?
Not only can you, you probably should! Certifications in progress show employers that youve invested your time into the field because youre passionate about the possibilities. If the certification is part of a larger education program, then you may want to include it underneath your degree in progress. If not, it can go in a separate certification section with all the usual identifying information plus your anticipated completion date.
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Include The Name Of The Host Organization
In order to verify the validity of your certification, you will need to list the name of the association who awarded it to you. Be sure to spell this out as well and proofread for any typos. If you are submitting your resume digitally, you may be able to insert a link to the organizations website directly into your resume to make your readers research easier.
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In Your Summary Or Header
If you want to draw attention to a particularly prestigious qualification or one thats essential to your role, you can mention it in your resume summary. This isnt the case for most certifications, so first make sure that its actually a crucial job requirement and that its a well-known and easily recognizable acronym, like PMP or HIPAA.
If youre applying for project management positions, you can mention PMP certification in your resume summary.
If your certification is part of the job title you are applying to, you can consider including it directly in your header. Here’s an example of a Certified Nursing Assistant’s resume.
When to list a certifications in your resume summary: If you want to emphasize an essential and/or particularly well-known qualification .
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