The educational qualification in resume and other contents like work experience and additional credentials of the education section resume seem simple at first glimpse, but a lot more goes into it. E.g., Do you present your school degrees before work experience if you are still in school and have worked a bit? Figuring this out is essential because precision and certainty are what most employers look out for in resumes. In addition, there are various factors upon which your education qualifications resume, such as age, career success, circumstance, etc.
In this article, you will get all the help you need to figure out how to write educational resume in an appropriate way and add the credentials required for the job wherever necessary so that you stand out from the other applicants.
Information to include in the education section of the resume:
- Name of your school
- Location of the same
- The degree obtained
- Your field of study
- Year of Graduation (if applicable)
- Your GPA (only if applicable)
- Other credentials which will enhance your resume, honours of academic recognition, coursework, activities, or other accomplishments obtained during the course of education
It’s crucial to format your educational and work experience (if any) to match the wants of the work you’re applying for. For example, a fresh graduate will wish to include more details about their education more prominently on the resume and also add work credentials (if any) in a slightly short manner. Revolutionarily, A person who has years of experience in the workforce who is willing to change their job will like to highlight their professional experience and keep the educational section to a minimum because the interviewers will be more interested in the work they have done in their previous employment.
Method To Properly Present Your Education In Your Resume
Now that we have a basic idea of what is to be written majorly depending upon different circumstances, let us go a little deeper and look into it more precisely
Regarding framing your education qualification in resume, the usual practice is to follow a reverse chronology, i.e., list your latest educational degree at the top and then go backward from there. But if you have a relevant graduate degree, opt for the job, you need to mention your high school education in detail.
You can list something similar and it gets the job done:
- Name of the degree (Major to Minor): E.g. B.A. Finance Human Resource Development and Marketing, Minor in Leadership
- Name of the University: e.g. BHU, Varanasi
- Years attended: e.g. 2017-2020
- Location of the problem (if required): e.g. Varanasi, India
- GPA (only if applicable) : Only include the score, if it’s higher than the usual 3.5. This will showcase your hard work and determination, but you might want to avoid it if it’s lower.
- Other credentials which will enhance the portfolio (if required)
What Do Employers Look For In The Education Section Of Your Resume
Each recruiter focuses upon different things in your education which depends upon the job you’re applying for. At an entry-level job, the employer looks at your education degree but if it is a higher position, the recruiter focuses upon your business and marketing training, like an MBA or PGDM.
There are certain professions like finance, business management or healthcare where specific certifications are required for getting the aspired position. In that case, your possible employer would expect the right credentials before your other experiences, so it is apt to place your educational qualifications in resume just below your professional summary.
And the most important thing to remember is honesty. Because your potential employers might do a background check before you receive your offer letter and in case they find any differences between your resume and the information they gather, there are chances that this could hamper your chances of getting that job.
What to avoid:
- Over sharing of your educational qualifications in resume, unless it’s a CV (Curriculum Vitae). Keep it short and precise
- Avoid fake data or exaggeration. Not all employers or hiring managers have a double-check on the applicants’ background, some still do and dishonesty and embarrassment can cost you the job in the long run. So, avoid it at all costs.
Listing Complete Education
Fresh Graduate
As mentioned earlier, it is recommended to present your recent educational qualifications in resume first. If you are a recent graduate, your schoolwork would be the essential part of your resume; the employer would want to give more time to this. You can mention your attendance percentage, other minors or honors, requisite job credentials, and GPA only above 3.4. These will enhance your educational qualification in resume and if you have attended multiple schools during your graduate years, highlight the ones you have heard for the most part.
Experienced Professional
If you have completed your graduation and have been in the workforce for 4-5 years now, mention your educational qualification in resume. The interviewer will be keener in knowing more about your projects and experiences in your previous jobs, so it is suggested to highlight all the projects you were a part of in your previous job. You can also cut down your academic details like your attendance, honours and GPA. And if you have studied your masters while you were at your previous job, mention that to showcase your determination and the skill to balance two things at once and mention the bachelor’s degree after the master degree.
For example:
- Oxademy Business school | Mumbai India
- Masters in Management and Strategic Leadership
- Banaras Hindu University | Varanasi India
- Bachelors in Business and Management
- Bachelors in Finance
Listing Incomplete Education In the Educational Section Of your Resume
In-progress Education
If you have not yet completed your graduation, you can still mention the work you have done and mention the academic year in which you are expected to graduate. The hiring managers will be interested in knowing about your education as well as any other specific coursework relevant to the job. Place your educational qualifications in resume just below your basic details.
Be certain to include the following information
- Name of the institution
- Degree
- Expected year of graduation
If required, include additional information
- Honours or other academic achievements
- Relevant coursework
- Extracurricular achievements or other job requisites
- GPA, if only it is above 3.4
For Example:
Amity University| Ghaziabad India
Expected Diploma, 2023 (GPA 3.7)
National Honour Society, Secretariat
Chess club, Organiser
Incomplete Education
If you have dropped out and your degree is incomplete, you can still list your coursework in your educational qualification in resume. You can highlight this section with certificates and other professional developing achievements. You can also have a separate section highlighting your educational qualifications in resume relevant to the said job. This is important because the employers will know about your resume’s academic qualifications, which directly impacts the job.
For Example
Amity University | Ghaziabad India
Professional development: Online course work in photography, Advanced Photography. Photography in Wildlife.
Writing the educational qualification in resume if you are changing careers:
Though education is essential, since you have already accomplished a little more than a graduate or a master’s degree, It is better to give those special skills and professional expertise the limelight and mention your educational background in a sentence or two. But if your education is not related to the job you are aspiring for, draw attention to the Institution you have graduated from to exhibit the fact that you have attended the most prestigious one.
But if you want to have the extra edge to impress your employer, think about the coursework you have achieved that are related to your new career. You can mention here about your academic and non-academic awards.
For example: If you are a Business Major and have worked as a Business Analyst and now wants to get into teaching, you can create a CV based on your teaching interests where you opted your minor in teaching and personality development and other school clubs you were in which required skills like organising, communicating, critical thinking etc.
There are different types of resume formats and choose what is right for you:
1.Reverse-Chronology
As mentioned earlier, prominence is given to the tasks or degrees you have recently obtained. So could you do it for recent to oldest?
2. Functional
In this type, the education section may take the upper hand if you have more educational credentials suiting the job than you have work experience related to the same. But, again, this is because this area heavily focuses on your skills.
3. Hybrid
This is applicable when you have more relevant work experience than the educational qualifications in resume but if you still want to highlight or enhance your skill section. This also depends on how high the credentials are and should be brief.
4. Curriculum Vitae
CV means different things in different parts of the world. For example, in Europe, CV is an equivalent resume. Still, in the US and most parts of the world, a CV is a detailed educational section including your characteristically explained educational experience, publication, and pretty much every other detail of your scholarly career, and no party should be spared.
While deciding the content of your educational qualification in resume, key factors to remember are honesty, transparency and being strategic. And while you get to the interview, plan to discuss your background. Be open to any sort of discussions or constructive criticism thrown your way. Give a more detailed explanation about your educational qualifications in resume because your hiring manager may ask you to. So please be prepared to answer this and any other additional follow-up queries based on your qualifications and skills.
Unless you are casting a detailed longer-form resume, such as a CV (Curriculum Vitae), you need to provide a clear, educational diary including your experience, publications, and more. The educational qualification in resume is a summary consisting of your academic credentials and achievements. The education section may be longer if one is a fresh graduate with limited work experience. Irrespective of your circumstances, you should always avoid deceptive writing and proofread your resume once before attending an interview to get the work done.
Here are some tips for proofreading your resume in order to avoid silly errors and make a great first impression:
1. Schedule and Proofread with a fresh mind
Proofreading needs time and a pleasant mind to spot errors, which is impossible with a tired or stressed mind. So if you have created a resume at night, proofread it first thing in the morning.2
2. Check your font
A clear font also plays a role; use a neat, easily readable yet stylish font for a lucid representation. Some fonts which fall under this category are Calibri, Cambria, Garamond, and Helvetica. Overly cursive or modern fonts are not recommended because they look shabby for a professional meeting.3
3. Be Conscientious
Once you write your CV or resume while proofreading, you must be very sure of the content and the grammar and spelling. Use a spell-check whenever necessary, and in case of doubt in sentence formation or anything related, ask for guidance.
4. Check hyperlinks
Click on the links you have included in your resume (articles, emails etc) to make sure they work.
5. Double check basic information
This part is easy to overlook so double-checking wouldn’t hurt.
Some frequently asked questions about educational qualification and it’s section in resume:
Here, listed are most commonly asked questions regarding educational qualification in resume
1. How long should my education section of my resume be?
Answer: Though many say that a typical resume is one page or so, sometimes one page doesn’t give sufficient space to fully demonstrate your achievements and skills. One can opt for a two-page resume, in which you create your educational section up to your satisfaction in which it is neat and precise in a particular order. If you are a senior-level employee with more than ten years of experience, your educational qualifications in resume may take up to half a page unapologetically.
2. Should I Specialize my educational qualification in resume or keep it general?
Answer: If you are applying for a position which requires a specific skill or a relevant previous experience, you will definitely have to specialise this particular section to show that you are the one for this position, you can also mention, how a particular skill of yours or the training you underwent in your previous job has helped you become the right one for the asked job.
3. What resume format should I choose?
Answer: As mentioned before, there are various formats to choose from, ranging from reverse chronology to a Curriculum Vitae (CV). Most employers expect reverse chronology or resume where you have to list your most recent accomplishments first, but you have to choose which resume format is suitable according to the field. For example, a CV is usually used in the education sector like Professors, teachers, researchers, etc. So, it is better to do a bit of research before handing out the resume.
4. What are the resume keywords and why should I use them?
Answer: After computerization, many employers use automated software to scan resumes for meticulous keywords that signify if that particular candidate is opt or not. This way, the scanner filters out the better ones. But unless you know the keywords it is difficult to get filtered , to ensure that doesn’t happen, you should be well aware of the specific keywords pertaining to the particular field to pass the scanning tests done by the processor. They are called ATS keywords, short for Applicant Tracking System.
5. Why are ATS keywords important in a resume?
Answer: ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is a customised automated software used by most hiring managers to filter the applicants. It is important to pass the scanning tests performed by this processor because it showcases that you are well suited for the job since you have used the keywords specific to that particular field.
6. How do I make my education qualification in resume stand out all while keeping it short?
Answer: You can create an impressive education section in your resume by neatly presenting your qualifications in a particular format, by creating subsections, keeping ATS in mind and by being honest. In case your educational data is not efficient enough, you can do some courses pertaining to the job and get the certificates which will amplify your educational qualification in resume.
This is brief information about how to write the education section in a resume.
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