Learn about best practices for listing education on your resume, plus tips for special circumstances.
When contemplating how to list education on a resume, you need to realize that it is an essential component of your job search story. In today’s knowledge-hungry world, it’s common to have diverse educational experiences that could include things like high school, college, graduate school, online certificates, bootcamps, licenses, and beyond.
If you are curious and ambitious, education carries on long after your graduation day. There are so many micro-learning opportunities that do not have to take three years to complete, but are definitely worth mentioning on a resume. Technology is broadening access to education, and when you invest the time to develop your skills it makes sense the share it with a prospective employer.
This guide will teach you:
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In terms of a layout, a resume's education section includes:
When wondering how to list education on resume:
Every resume should contain an element of education. No matter how you did at school or college, include the basics. If education is absent entirely, employers will definitely question your level of intelligence and motivation.
Expert tipDo employers verify education? You might think that no employer has time to check references or verify education, but no matter what the level of hire, it is actually incredibly easy to do a basic check. A quick 5-minute phone call will suffice and every university will have easy access to previous graduate results. While this isn't industry standard, if there is any hint at all that you are bending the truth with your educational claims, it is not hard to verify what you have listed. It is a sackable offence if you lie in such a way on your resume.
Unfinished programs - if you started a degree or some other type of program but didn’t finish, only put it if the experience gained is relevant to the position. For example, if you’re applying for a sales position and you have 40 credits toward a Geology degree, it’s probably not worth mentioning unless it was at a prestigious institution.
How do you add your education on your resume if you are applying to work in a museum, with an unfinished art history program? Include it as you can always discuss the circumstances at interview. Keep in mind anything you add, including education on your resume, is fair game for discussion.
High school - when your highest education is high school, it’s usually a good idea to list your diploma on your resume if you graduated in the last 5 - 10 years or are currently enrolled. If you’re currently enrolled in high school, the education section on your resume is a great place to add information about your extracurriculars, relevant coursework, and academic accomplishments.
If you’re in high school and you’re creating a resume for a part-time job, first good for you - great job, and second you’re likely not getting this job because of your work experience so use this section to highlight the type of student you are, your work ethic, and passions.
Certifications - recent and relevant certifications are usually a good to put in your resume unless they are expired or otherwise assumed by your experiences. Careful not to use too many abbreviations or jargons on your resume to describe your certifications, keep the resume professional and stick with full names of certifications and institutions.
Only share certifications that are directly relevant to the job in question. You might be reluctant to slim down your list of education, but if it isn't relevant then it is just taking up vital space for more of your career story. a 100% relevant resume is a compelling proposition for any hiring manager. Don't let slightly irrelevant education spoil the impression.
Bootcamps & Workshops - recent participation in education outside an academic institution like a code camp, yoga workshop, healthcare certification, or trade school should be considered when wondering how to list education on a resume.
Keep any descriptions short and to the point, or skip elaborating altogether. Adding a hyperlink to the program or organization can help give context if a program is uncommon. You want the hiring manager to be thinking about your application for the maximum time possible, so including a hyperlink to an impressive provider is a great idea.
Internships - if you were an intern, even while in school, instead of adding the internship under education on your resume, consider adding these details under work experience or even a dedicated Internships section. The education section is usually glanced over on a quick skim to cover the requirements. The bullet descriptions outlining your internship experience are a lot more likely to be read in the work history or a custom section closer to the top of your resume.
Internships are different to education as they will have some direct relevance to your ability to carry out the role. Make sure that they match up to the job description as closely as possible. ATS systems may even seek out the internships section for an early-career professional, so make sure that you separate this from your work experience section (especially as internships are often unpaid).
Expert tipWhat is your highest education level? Your most recent educational qualification may not have been your "highest" level, so put your most significant education first in the list. It does not matter if it is not the most recent. Make sure you list the education on your resume that is most relevant and impressive. This includes industry certifications. A recent industry qualification is more relevant than a degree from a decade ago.
Even though content will differ across people, industries, experience levels, there are a few general rules of thumb when buttoning down how to include your education on your resume.
Always be honest. No matter what, never stretch the truth about education on your resume. It’s a small world, and it’s extremely easy for someone to verify your education when necessary.
If formal education isn’t the focus of your resume achievements, there are better ways than lying to demonstrate how education (and more importantly learning!) is woven into your professional life. If you have no education to add, beef up the special skills section to focus on soft and hard skills learned outside of the classroom.
Don’t lose confidence about skipping education on your resume all together. If you are qualified for the job, it should come across in your experience, skills, and the overall presentation of your resume. Education only plays a supporting actor role. It is your work experience and potential for career growth that is of interest.
If you are an older professional, consider listing your education as it was, but leave off the graduation dates if you are concerned about age discrimination. This is a common practice if your education was more than 20 years ago (as the exact years are not relevant anymore). Employers will accept this, in the same way that you may not include some of the roles from your early career.
Keep it clean and consistent. We’ll jump into this a bit more below. When wondering how to put education on your resume, keep it short and sweet and pay close attention to the format and consistency. The right resume template can guide toward a clean design or you can use the examples below for inspiration.
Tailor your info. Always customize your resume for each job application — from the hobbies section to work description to the education on your resume. Though college degrees always make the cut, you don’t want to list that you’re trained as a chef if you’re applying for an office job. If any kind of education is not relevant (apart from your main degree), consider cutting it from the resume. Every line in a resume has to earn its spot.
Note honors and awards. Education on a resume rarely includes long bullet points or descriptions like work experience, but you can include important honors societies, high GPAs, notable mentors, scholarships, or awards in this section. The early-career resume will likely have more - senior professionals will have more important recent achievements that they will want to highlight.
Your GED could be the key to opening a world of opportunities. So once it’s finally in your hands, how do you communicate it in the right way on your resume? This blog will walk you through each step.
Relevant professional development. Certain industries, such as education and the arts, put a lot of weight on who you’ve studied with and on gaining specific training. If you have a large number of classes and workshops, pick out those that could catch the hiring manager’s eye for that specific job.
If you have a high level of academic experiences such as publications , lectures, and studies it’s best to dedicate each of these their own category or section rather than trying to fit everything inside the section for education on your resume.
Listing education where it counts. You’ve just graduated from college and are hitting the intern/job scene for the very first time. In this case, how to include education on a resume is the most critical question. We recommend to list the education section above the work experience section. Don’t stress — hiring managers are thrilled to get people fresh out of college. In this scenario, list it right at the top below your personal statement. Hopefully, you then have some interning or part-time work experience to round off the resume.
In all other cases, write the education section at the bottom of your resume, often below work experience and special skills.
