How to Write the Education Section of Your Resume

Your education is one of the most important aspects of your job application. It demonstrates your core credentials and areas of expertise. If you want to learn how to write education in your resume, you’ll need to understand how to apply it to the job you’re applying for. Here are seven simple ideas that can help you get the most out of your resume’s education section. Keep in mind that your resume’s education section usually provides clues and insights into your attitude toward hard work, commitment, and lifelong learning.

Be proud of your accomplishments

Now is not the time to decide that you should have spent the last four years in a better college, or that you should have studied harder and added a few more points to your GPA, or that you should have continued after your bachelor’s and earned a graduate degree. You can regret, revise, and recover from those decisions later. As you type your resume, embrace and own your education exactly as it is.

List your GPA only if you recently graduated

If you’re proud of your GPA, include it in your education section. A strong GPA can demonstrate that you’re ready for a wide variety of jobs even if you don’t have much on-the-job experience. If not, leave it off. Leave it off in both cases if you completed your degree or diploma more than two years ago.

List each data point in order

Each entry of your education section should be organized as follows: List the name of a given institution, then your course of study and the degree you earned, and finally your graduation or completion date. Start with your most recent degree.

Go beyond your formal degrees

You don’t need to limit this section to formal degrees and diplomas. If you’ve completed any complex or challenging training program or gained a license, certification or other impressive distinction based on classes and formal study, list this accomplishment as well. You can even include programs you haven’t yet completed, as long as you’re enrolled in them. Just make sure you include your expected completion dates.

These tips will help you understand how to write your education in your resume. If you can connect your educational qualifications to the job you’re applying for, it may not matter how much on-the-job experience you have, especially if you’re in a specialized field. Be sure to leverage the experiential aspects of your educational background when crafting your application, and ensure hiring managers and recruiters can easily understand how your knowledge translates to the job.