Education of the Resume

As stated in the overview, in general educational information follows the job experience section. However, put your greatest asset first – whether that be education or experience.

Unless education is your only selling point, only include the basic details: name and location of school, graduation date, degree and major area of study, and relevant/noteworthy awards and accomplishments. The order in which you present this material depends upon what you want to emphasize the most. If you graduated from a well known school, place that first, followed by the degree that you attained.

If you didn’t graduate from the program, and aren’t planning on completing it, you can still include what you did complete. Simply state the school and program, duration of attendance, and the total number of credits you completed. However, if you have attended several institutions without completing a program at any of them, then listing all of these will suggest that you do not finish what you start and will work against you.

Include high school only if you haven’t attended a post secondary institution. Include your GPA if it is greater than a B+ average. If you ranked in the top 10% of your class or better or received honours then it may be useful to include that. However, you can also mention awards in a separate "Awards & Honours" section, as detailed in the Accessories section. If you have had unique educational experiences such as a foreign exchange, a seminar with a famous professor, a research assistant position, etc., include them to demonstrate that you go beyond the ordinary and welcome challenges.

You should also include any licenses, special training, or certifications you have received. If you have several of these to list, you may wish to include a separate section called "Training & Certification", "Special Training", or "Professional Licenses", etc. Licenses should include the name and type of license, where it is valid (if appropriate), and date acquired. Special training should include the name of the course, name & location of institution, and completion date.


Examples