Education / Training

This is the 6th in our 8 part series. Follow us on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/2926339?trk=company_search for other recommendations that get your resume seen by the hiring manager.

Resumes – Education – Training

The Training section of your resume is important and should be listed under a separate heading; “Education.” When writing your education section, keep the following suggestions in mind.

• Where you place your education information is generally dependent upon your years of experience. If you are a recent graduate with limited professional experience then place your Education section towards the top of the resume. In this case the education section should come before the experience section.
• If you have career experience, say five (5) or more years of professional experience, then it is best to place your education section toward the bottom of your resume. In this case the experience section should come before the education section. Employers are always going to be more interested in your professional experience and want to see it first.
• We often see GPA included in the education section. This is only appropriate for new graduates. And, you only want to list your GPA if it is above a 3.0 in a 4.0 system. If your GPA is high and you are a recent graduate, then list it. If not, then it is best to omit GPA. Let the interviewer ask the question before revealing a GPA below 3.0 in a 4.0 system. Remember, the interviewer may not ask and it is not necessary to give the interviewer information that may be used to screen your resume out for a potential opportunity.
• For university degrees, the Education section should list in this order, the name and location of the school, degree/major and year received.
• For university education when no degree was received, list the name and location of the school, degree/major, hours earned and years attended.
• For special career training, seminars and conferences, list the course sponsor, course name and year attended.
• Regarding the high school diploma or GED, it is not appropriate to list either when you have a college degree or courses toward a college degree. But, do list high school or GED if you do not have education/training beyond the high school level.
• Regarding the primary/intermediate/grade school education, it is not appropriate to list. You should completely leave off education that occurred prior to high school.

We hope you found these tips useful and that they will get you closer to finding that next career opportunity! Our next part in our 8 part series will be on Professional Recognition, Honors & Awards. I encourage you to provide your comments in the “Leave a Reply” box below.

This is the 6th in our 8 part series. Follow us on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/company/2926339?trk=company_search for other recommendations that get your resume seen by the hiring manager.
Previous articles in this series include:

Resumes That Get Noticed – Part 1 of 8: Introduction
Resumes That Get Noticed – Part 2 of 8: Resume Styles
Resumes That Get Noticed – Part 3 of 8: Identification & Contact Information
Resumes That Get Noticed – Part 4 of 8: Objective, Skills & Summary
Resumes That Get Noticed – Part 5 of 8: Employment History
Resumes That Get Noticed – Part 6 of 8: Education / Training

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Sources & Related Articles:

1. “Tips and Advice on How to Write a Resume” (multiple articles)
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http://jobsearch.about.com/od/resumewriting/qt/writeresume.htm

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http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-target-a-resume-for-a-specific-job0.html

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http://susanireland.com/resume/how-to-write/

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