How To put your Education on a Resume

Your education is a crucial part of your resume and can make or break your chances of landing an interview. With so much riding on how you present your academic achievements, it's important to know exactly how to highlight your education effectively on your resume.

Use best resume building apps to build your Resumes.

In this article, we'll walk through the key steps for showcasing your education in the best possible light. From choosing which degrees to include to formatting and styling your education section, we've got you covered. Follow along and you'll have an education section that stands out.

Should You Include Your Education on Your Resume?

The short answer is yes, you should include your education on your resume in most cases. Here are the key reasons why your academic achievements deserve a spot on your resume:

• Demonstrates your knowledge base. The degrees and certifications you've earned show you have mastered a specific subject area or skillset relevant to the job. This gives hiring managers confidence you have the knowledge needed to succeed in the role.

• Highlights your commitment to learning. By listing your education, you show you are curious and willing to work hard to expand your knowledge over time through ongoing formal education. These are attractive qualities in a candidate.

• Helps you meet job requirements. Many jobs require candidates to have a certain degree or level of education. Including yours shows you meet the basics to be considered.

• Speaks to your credibility. Higher levels of education like advanced degrees can lend you credibility and authority, making you seem like an expert job seekers will trust.

The only instances where you may want to forgo listing your education are if you have extensive work experience in your field or if your school or degree program is not relevant to the job. For example, listing your associate's degree in nursing may not be useful when applying for a marketing manager position.

Which Degrees, Certificates, and Coursework Should You List?

Be selective about what makes it on your actual resume. As a rule of thumb, include:

• Degrees you've earned that pertain directly to the job you want. Focus on bachelor’s degrees and beyond; associate's degrees may be left off in most cases.

• Coursework and training programs that provided specialized skills or knowledge for the industry and position. For instance, an accounting certificate is worthwhile if you’re pursuing accounting roles.

• Impressive honors such as cum laude designations and dean's list achievements.

You generally want to leave off:

• Unfinished degrees or degrees in progress. Only include completed credentials.

• Irrelevant degrees or certifications not related to the job.

• Coursework from degree programs unless notably impressive. Individual classes aren’t necessary to list.

• High school diplomas once you have higher degrees.

Order and Format Your Education Section

Where should you put education on your resume? The most common approach is to list your education section after your introduction/objective and before your work experience section.

Format your education using this structure:

1. School Name
2. Location (City, State)
3. Degree Earned (spelled out: Bachelor of Arts)
4. Field of Study/Major
5. Graduation Date or Expected Graduation (Month and Year)
6. Honors/Awards (optional)
7. Use reverse chronological order with your most recently earned credential first.
8. Bold the degree and university name for quick scanning.
9. Right justify the graduation dates so they align evenly on the page.
10. Use abbreviations for states instead of writing out the full name. For example, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
11. Leave GPA off unless notably high; 3.5 and above is a good benchmark to include it.

Here is an example education section using proper resume format:

Make Your Education Descriptions Stand Out

It’s not enough to just list where and when you studied. To really make your education pop, describe what you gained from your academic programs using strong action verbs and meaningful details.

Here are some examples:

• Earned a Bachelor’s degree developing expertise in statistical analysis and data modeling.

• Completed Type A Teaching Credential program providing classroom management and curriculum development skills.

• Received PMP certification acquiring extensive knowledge of project management best practices.

• Mastered JavaScript fundamentals including DOM manipulation, AJAX, and RESTful API integration.

• Led group capstone project around optimizing supply chains and logistics, refining team leadership abilities.

Being more specific about what you actually learned and can do because of your education gives hiring managers more insights into your strengths as a candidate.

FAQs About Putting Education on Your Resume

Let's run through some quick answers to common questions on featuring your academic chops on resumes:

• How far back should I go with my education history?

In most cases, list degrees earned in the last 10-15 years. Anything older than that is unlikely to be relevant unless directly related to the job.

• What if I didn’t graduate?

You can list the years you attended and credits earned towards a degree you didn't complete, but be sure to not actually state that you earned the degree itself if you didn't graduate.

• What if I went back to school later in life?

Additional degrees and certifications obtained later in your career timeline can absolutely be included on your resume. Returners to education tend to be highly motivated so it's worth featuring.

• Should I include online degrees or courses?

Yes, include online degrees and credentials similarly to campus-based programs. Many legitimate education programs are delivered online now. Just list the degree as you would any other.

• What if I don't have any higher education?

Highlight any high school accomplishments or coursework/training programs related to the job. Quality of experience becomes more important in this case so focus on that.

Put It All Together: Your Complete Education Section

With these tips in mind, you should be ready to create a polished education section for your resume. Pull together the pieces we've covered:

• Carefully select which degrees and credentials to include based on the target job.

• Format your education neatly following standard resume conventions.

• Elaborate on your academic achievements with strong action verbs and concrete details.

• Answer key questions hiring managers may have about any gaps or unique aspects of your education history.

Your education is incredibly valuable. Give it the space and detail it deserves on your resume with an education section tailored to the job you want. When crafted thoughtfully, your education can catch a hiring manager's eye, spurring them to bring you in for an interview. So be proud of your academic accomplishments and make sure they shine bright on your resume.