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Resume/CV Education

Disciplines > Job-finding > Resume / CV > Resume/CV Education

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

In a section titled 'Education' list your educational achievements,. each on a separate line, with the highest achievements first (or those most relevant to the job).

Include:

• The name of the qualification
• The class of the qualification if more than a simple pass (eg. '2.1 Hons', 'merit' or 'distinction').
• The institution that awarded the qualification.
• The date that the award was made.

Separate academic qualifications from vocational and industrial courses, putting the academic qualifications first.

If you have done a number of industrial courses, simply list these within a single paragraph.

If you are currently completing a qualification, indicate this, including the completion date, and possibly add the expected result.

You can add other awards and professional membership to this section or indicate these separately.

Example

PhD Forensic Psychology, Cambridge, 2004
Professional Certificate in Scientific Research, Wilkins Institute, 1999BA Mathematics, Duke, 1996

Relevant industrial courses include: PT400 instrumentation, Crime site analysis and PEACE interviewing.

Member of the National Forensic Association (MNFA).

Discussion

The purpose of the education section is to show the recruiter that you pass basic requirements for the job and have a depth of knowledge that may be useful in the job. It also indicates that you can apply yourself to a difficult task, persisting through to completion.

Recruiters like to see the institution as they will increase or decrease their assessment of the worth of the qualification based on these, for example they will rate a person who went to Yale or Cambridge higher than one who went to a local college.

They like the date as older qualifications are less valued, being assumed to be more out of date. As dates also indicate you age and where age bias is not allowed, you can leave the dates out.

The education section is often near the end of the resume/CV and may not be examined. If you have strong qualifications, you can ensure they are noticed by putting them after your name in the Header.

A danger if you are very well qualified is that you may be turned down because the recruiter sees you as over-qualified or not oriented towards the 'real world'. Take note of the job requirements and research the company if you can to determine whether to tone down your educational declaration. This can be annoying when you have worked hard for these, but modesty can be a virtue here.

If you have few qualifications or do not have qualifications that are being asked for, do not fake these. Companies may well follow up to check your qualifications so ensure they are accurate. You can compensate for lack of qualifications with experience or even a clear passion for your work.

See also

Resume/CV Header and Footer