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How to create a proper Education section
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.