Much like the work history section of your resume, the education part of your resume will generally include four key pieces of information. These are:
- Location – Where the school is located. Usually written out as City, State Code (Hollywood, CA)
- Name – The name of the school.
- Degree/Diploma/Certificated Earned – The name of the degree, diploma, or certificate that you earned or are in the process of earning.
- Year – The year you graduated from the school. Some people like to put the years attended as a span (1994-1998) but I prefer the single graduation year.
Some Notes About ‘Year’
If you are in the process of finishing your schooling and haven’t graduated just yet you can ‘Expected Graduation: Month – Year’. If you are a bit earlier in your schooling and the graduation year is relatively far away, I’d advise you to list the number of credits instead of a date.
In combination with listing relevant coursework underneath your education listing, you can make a respectable resume for a relatively low experienced worked just starting out in school.
High School & College On My Resume?
If you have any substantial amount of post-secondary education, I always advise to leave your high school off of your resume. I personally use the halfway point of a traditional degree program as the barometer.
For example, if you’ve earned an associate degree then you would put that information on your resume and leave off your high school diploma. The idea is that employers assume you have a high school education if you have now moved on and gone to college, let alone gotten a degree.
For those of you with a background in technical schools, it may still be advisable to list both as some schools do enroll students without diplomas and you don’t want the employer to have any doubt if you do have a high school diploma.
As always, research the job listing and the required education level. If they ask for specifics, then get specific in your resume.
Externships / Other Educational Opportunities
The education section is a great place to put externships and other opportunities you have had to learn in a job setting. Generally, these listings are understood to be unpaid (or else of course, they would be in the job section of the resume.)
When listing externship or internship information, be specific. These listings should also include location, name of company, title while externing, and dates attended. Often times, your time spent will be measured in hours. List this in such a way to give off the best first impression.
If your externship was for 200 hours, but spanned from January – August, which seems more impressive? You want to give the best impression. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter the length of time – as long as you know the material and can get in for the interview to explain yourself. That’s our goal.
Education Extras
The closer you are in time to your graduation date, the more you will rely on the education section of your resume. If while in school, you were a part of organizations, clubs, or groups that provided some type of community service then you will want to list that on your resume.
If your degree and class intake was particularly relevant to the job you are applying for (and again, you are a relatively recent graduate) then you can list that information as well.
The education section of your resume is always a good place to find something that can set you apart from other candidates so take some time thinking all about what you did back in school!