The reality is that most of us are in school so that we can list our degrees, various credentials and certificates on our resume under the "Education" field.  As such it would be a crying shame to spend years and thousands of dollars in order to fill this area in only to screw it up on the resume itself.  So here's a quick how to which, while not exhaustive, should give you a good start.

• 1.) Check your spelling. Nothing looks worse than trying to convince someone of your educational background and skill set only to misspell something in the effort.
• 2.) Pay attention to your format. Don't use unusual or "silly" fonts, colored paper, or anything that would be difficult to read quickly.
• 3.) Keep it concise and to the point. Don't give flowery and wordy degree descriptions. One or two sentences will do. For example "A focused study upon strategic leadership and management strategies within the context of an organization. Summa *** Laude."
• 4.) When you do put something down, do not restate what has been stated already or be too vague. For example if you have an MBA in Leadership do not write "An MBA in Leadership as it applies towards Business Administration". Or be too vague for example if you have an Associate of Science in General Studies do not write "General educational courses such as math, science, etc." Instead try to find something in your degree that offers the employer something. For instance if you are applying with that ASGE degree for an accounting position put "a liberal arts study to include accounting, finance and business law". Give them some reason to want you and don't waste their time by repeating yourself.
• 5.) If you don't finish a degree or drop a course don't list it unless you are still working on it. I seriously have seen where someone placed "half a semester of Biology" or "23 credits taken towards a degree in Criminal Justice" on a resume or application. The first thing I ask is, ‘how do you get half a semester of anything, you either did it or you didn't'. A dropped course shouldn't be listed folks. Secondly if you dropped out of school after 23 hours and have no intention of completing your degree, unless there is a semester hours requirement for the job, put it on the application if you want but leave it off of the resume. Only put things that you have completed on the resume.
• 6.) You can put your GPA if it is somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.5 to 4.0 if you must. Don't put your GPA if it is 2.4 or the like even if you did work your butt off for that 2.4. Usually it is better if not encouraged to list any honors such as Summa *** Laude, Magna *** Laude or *** Laude.
• 7.) Don't list a degree you haven't earned or are not working towards. It is deceptive.
• 8.) Do not list a degree purchased from a degree mill, it is deceptive.
• 9.) Understand that items 7 and 8 can lead to a termination if discovered after the fact and will almost certainly doom your chances if discovered before hand.
• 10.) Last but not least, keep your education portion on your resume to no more than 1/3 of your resume. It is not the only thing good about you and sometimes not even the best thing about you. Experience is generally worth its weight in gold and given just as much if not more influence on a hiring decision than the education portion. Objectives are okay if not over done, a summary of qualifications, skills and achievements is better.

Hope this helps.

---Cajun

Add to: