There are a number of reasons for placing education on the first page of your resume. For one thing employers are curious about education. If education does not appear on the first page they will often flip immediately to the second page. Also, not putting your education on the first page can give the impression that you are "hiding" or "burying" your education. For these reasons, you must rarely place education at the end of the resume, although it can be placed at the end of a one-page resume.
Employers generally like to see education right after qualifications. Most readers will merely glance at education and notice only that a person has a degree. The more curious will note the school, major, and year of graduation. Since employers are curious about education, and since the section takes only 3-6 seconds to read, they believe it belongs at the top. Occasionally education is left off entirely. This most often happens when a person with 20 or more years of experience in his or her field lacks a college degree and simply decides to leave it off. One option is to include an education section which lists professional seminars as well as any college courses taken.
A top-quality resume must be easy to read. The first example be low is easy to read and you obtain the key information almost instantly. The next two education sections are difficult to read. Notice the difference.
Easy to read:
EDUCATION
B.A. - Business Administration, University of Washington (1978)
The above example represents the best way of describing a college degree. "B.A."-instantly a reader can see that you hold a degree.
The next most important fact is your major, then your school, followed by the year of graduation.
The following bad examples show you what not to do:
Hard to read:
EDUCATION
Butler University. Indianapolis, Indiana.
Received a B.A. in Business Administration in
December, 1979. Curriculum emphasized Marketing and Financial
Management, with field of specialization Real Estate. Grade point average 3.21.
Harder to read:
EDUCATION
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
September 1975, Bachelor of Arts. Majored in Sociology with a minor In Psychology June 1980
Both are hard to read. The reader has to look carefully just to learn whether the person has a degree.
How to Best Display Your Education
The following section reveals the best way to show your education, depending on just what your educational background is. High light or place a mark by the one that matches your situation.
High School Graduate, No College
EDUCATION
Graduated - Roosevelt High School, Chicago, Illinois (1976)
Some College, No Degree
If you have attended college, there is rarely a reason to include your high school.
EDUCATION
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Business, 136 credits (1974-1977)
In the example above, credits were included to show that although a degree program has not been completed, the person was at least a serious student, accumulating 136 of 180 quarter credits necessary to graduate. A major is given to show the emphasis of study. When determining what major to include, try to make sure it is related to the type of work you're seeking. If you have 20 or more credits in each of three fields, pick the one which will best sell you.
Certificate from A Technical School
EDUCATION
Certificate - Welding Technology, Davis Technical School (1975)
or
EDUCATION
Certificate - Computer Programming, Sims Business College (1975)
Graduated - Norcross High School, Norcross Pennsylvania (1972)
No Degree, Attended Several Colleges
Some people have acquired credits at four or more schools. If this is your situation, you need not list all schools on your resume; it may give the impression of instability.
EDUCATION
Cheboit Junior College, Castlerock Community College, Riverside Community College, 98 credits.
The person in the above example actually attended three other colleges, which are not mentioned because only a few credits were obtained. The credits are included in the total, however. Attendance was very sporadic over a ten-year period, so no dates are given. There is usually no need to mention the cities and states where the colleges were located.
No Degree, Two Colleges Attended
EDUCATION
Northeastern Illinois University, Business, 70 credits (1974-76)
University of Illinois, Circle Campus, Business, 30 credits (1972)
No Degree, No or Few College Courses Taken
EDUCATION
Total Quality Management, Dreyfuss & Assoc., 24 hours (1991)
Implementing Just in Time, Bob Huston & Assoc., 40 hours (1989)
The Problem Employee, Dreyfuss & Assoc., 8 hours (1988)
Principles of Management, University of Texas, 5 credits (1985)
Motivating Employees, Dreyfuss & Assoc., 16 hours (1984)
Introduction to Marketing, University of Texas, 5 credits (1981)
This person has been taking seminars for years but has little formal education. He has taken college courses for personal benefit, but not with a degree in mind. By combining seminars with a few college courses, this type of education section works well and demonstrates that he is a growth-oriented person.
Degree, Two or More Colleges Attended
Unless you have a special reason for including all of your schools, list only the college you graduated from. If you got an Associate of Arts (A.A.) and then moved to a four-year college, still mention only the four-year college. Everything else is superfluous. Since you did not at tend four years at the college mentioned, state only the year of graduation.
EDUCATION
B.S. - Physics, Rhode Island University (1976)
Will Soon Graduate
If you will graduate in just a few months you might show education like this:
B.A. - Political Science, University of Arizona (June 1993)
In the above example the assumption is that the resume has been written in the spring of 1993, and you are scheduled to graduate in June, 1993.
If you expect to graduate in the coming year, but don't know which quarter, you might express it this way:
B.A. - Chemistry, University of Texas (Expected 1993)
Another possibility would be:
Economics, University of Maryland, B.A. to be completed by June 1993
Bachelor's Degree Plus Graduate Studies, But No Graduate Degree
EDUCATION
Graduate Studies, Public Administration, University of Georgia (1976-78)
B.A. - Political Science, University of Georgia (1971-75) or
M.S. Program, Psychology, UCLA, 30 credits (1977-1979)
B.A. - Psychology, Eastern Washington University (1972-1976)
Recent College Graduate, Little Work Experience
You may want to include some of your coursework to demonstrate the extensiveness of your training. If you are a liberal arts graduate seeking a management trainee position, you could list economics, accounting, and business courses. The person with a technical degree is also often benefited by listing courses. Although the reader knows your major, that information alone is not always adequate. For the person with few summer or part-time jobs, listing coursework will make your resume, and therefore your experience, look fuller.
In the following example, the person was looking for an entry-level position in advertising.
EDUCATION
B.A. - Journalism/Advertising, University of Hawaii - 3.39 GPA (1992)
Coursework included; Advertising Copywriting, Public Relations Writing, Media Planning, Media Representation, Production Graphics, Advertising Layout and Design, Media Aesthetics, Principles of Design, Principles of Color
Graduate Degree(s)
In the first two examples below the people merely listed their degrees. The third is the same except that the person chose to include his thesis. A more elaborate description of the thesis can be very effective. It could be described right after the thesis title, or an entire section could be devoted to it called "THESIS."
EDUCATION
M.A. - Counseling, UCLA (1972-1974)
B.A. - Psychology, Oregon State University (1966-1970)
EDUCATION
Ph.D. - Industrial Psychology, Stanford University (1975-1977)
M.A. - Psychology, Northwestern University (1972-1973)
B.A. - Sociology, Northern Illinois University (1967-1971)
EDUCATION
Ph.D. - Physics, University of Washington (1984-1987)
Thesis: Interlinear Regression Analysis of Wave Length Dichotomy
M.S. - Physics, University of Washington (1979-1982)
B.S. - Physics, University of Manitoba (1975-1979)
All But Dissertation
If you have completed all requirements for a graduate degree, except for the dissertation or thesis, it might read: Master's Program, Physics, Iowa State University, completed all but dissertation (1978-1981) or Master's Program, Physics, Iowa State University, completed all coursework (1978-1981).
