Your education is almost always a point of interest to a prospective employer. The Education section is usually positioned at or near the end of the resume. In some cases, however, it’s better to place the Education section under the Summary of Qualifications section near the beginning of the resume. You might want to put it here if one or more of the following conditions applies:
- Your education is highly relevant to your new position.
- You’re a new graduate and you want to show off your degree.
- You have no employment experience in the field you are going into, but you have a degree or training in that field.
Education comes in many forms (formal, independent, professional training, and experiential), and there are as many ways to measure its results (degrees, credentials, certifications, equivalencies, years of experience, lists of acquired skills).
You probably fall into one of the following categories:
- You have one or more college degrees.
- You are about to achieve your college degree.
- You have a college degree equivalent.
- You went to college but didn’t complete your degree program.
- You just graduated from high school.
- You graduated from high school some time ago and never went to college.
Job-Hunt Hint
Instead of listing all the classes and workshops you ever attended, list only the ones that support your job objective.
Career Casualty
Don’t feel pressure to have lots of extra sections on your resume. If your resume is complete with your Heading, Job Objective, Summary of Qualifications, Professional Achievements, Work, History, and Education sections, stop right there.
Hot College Degrees
Perhaps the most common listing for the Education section on a resume is a college degree. (Don’t let the lack of a college degree stop you from applying for a job that requires one; life experience often grabs an employer’s attention and lands the applicant a job!) Let’s begin by talking about degrees and related information. If you have one or more college degrees, keep the following points in mind:
- State where each degree (graduate and undergraduate) was received. You don’t have to list all the different schools you attended leading up to achieving your degree, just list the one where you obtained your degree.
- Dates are optional. They sometimes indicate how old you are and how current your knowledge is, so be conscious of that when you decide whether to include dates.
- Majors, minors, theses, dissertations, internships, projects, papers, and coursework should be listed only if they are relevant to your job objective.
- You can spell out a degree (for example, Bachelor of Arts) or use the representative letters (BA or B.A.)
Getting Credit for Your Pending Degree
If you are currently in a relevant educational or training program but have not yet finished, list the program and name of the institution you are attending, followed by the date you intend to finish or one of the following phrases:
- Currently enrolled
- Anticipated completion: Spring 2001
- In progress
- Six months completed
Job-Hunt Hint
If you’ve earned a graduate degree and are applying for an academic or scientific position, you probably want to create a curriculum vitae. If you don’t have a college degree, don’t let that discourage you from applying for jobs that require one. If you have the right life experience and you present it effectively in your resume, you might very well win a chance at the job.
Bonus Check
If you have just one or two version for a section, you might combine two similar sections with a double heading, as in the following examples:
- Education and Training
- Training and Credentials
- Awards and Presentations
Interpreting Degree Equivalents
If you achieved a degree equivalency through a less traditional or non-American system, state your experience in terms of its equivalency, for example, “B.A. equivalent, St. Paul University, Rome, Italy.”
Don’t Have a Degree?
If you went to college, but you do not intend to get your degree in the immediate future, write your area of study and the name of the college, for instance: Liberal Arts, Oberlin College. If you attended several schools without completing your degree requirements, list only one or two schools. Listing more than that might make the reader think you tend to move around a lot without finishing things. Leonora Braun’s resume shows how you can present a partial college education.
Yahoo! Just Got My High School Diploma
If you are a new high school graduate, write the name of your high school and year of graduation. If you have enrolled in a college, say so,for example, “Enrolled in St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA.”
Job-Hunt Hint
If a job posting requires a particular degree that you don’t have,don’t let that stop you from applying. On your resume, emphasize your relevant life experience, education, and training. If you present your case well, the employer may see your qualifications as a degree equivalent.
Career Casualty
Don’t look overqualified for the job. For some positions, your master ’s or doctoral degree might scare the pants off an employer because you look too expensive or intimidating. When in doubt, leave the degree off.
The Not-So-New with School Diploma
If you received demo high school version more than two years ago and have no additional schooling, you do not need to have an Education section on your resume unless the job you are applying for specifically asks for a high school diploma. If it does, put “Graduate” or “Diploma,” followed by the name of your high school. State your graduation date only if it doesn’t blow your cover with regard to your age.If you have a high school diploma but no formal higher education, one option is to create a section titled Professional Development. In this section, you can list any training, workshops, seminars, or classes you have attended. Another option is to simply omit the Education section on your resume.
Career Casualty
If you’re tempted to lie about a degree or certification, resist! Getting caught in a lie could put your job in the can.
Bonus Check
Presenting your material so that it looks appropriate for the company and position you’re applying for is one way of telling the reader that you understand the industry and will fitin. For instance, Frank Jordan’s resume is a very simple one-pager that makes him look like a straightforward, easy-to-approach guy. That’s appropriate for his job objective (bus driver).
Bonus Check
If you don’t have any formal higher education, consider having a section called Training or Professional Development, where you list relevant workshops, seminars, and classes.
