Listing Major and Minor
You may want to list both your major and minor if you believe the minor will also help to sell you. In the case below the person wanted to become a labor relations negotiator and felt the economics minor strengthened her credentials.
EDUCATION
B.A. - Major: Industrial Relations. Minor: Economics Syracuse University 1971
Degrees and Abbreviations
If you hold a B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., or Ph.D., it is best to abbreviate since everyone knows what they stand for. Many people are not familiar, however, with B.F.A. (Bachelor of Fine Arts), so it is better to spell out the term. The same is true of M.P.S, (Master of Professional Studies), B.B.A. (Bachelor of Business Administration), and others. Al most everyone knows A.A stands for Associate of Arts, but many do not know A.S. stands for Associate of Science or that A.T.A. stands for Associate of Technical Arts. If you think some people will not know what your degree stands for, spell it out.
When to Use GPA (Grade Point Average)
Generally GPA is listed only if it is over 3.0. GPA usually is dropped from your resume after you've been out of school for five years. By that time your work record will reveal much more about you than your GPA. It's interesting to note that most follow-up studies have revealed virtually no correlation between a high college GPA and success on the job. Many who were mediocre in school begin to shine only when they enter "the real world."
When to List Honors
If you graduated with honors or with a title like Cum Laude or Summa Cum Laude, you could include it like this:
EDUCATION
B.A. - Cum Laude, History, Brigham Young University 1968-72
City and State of College
The city and state in which your college is located is usually not included in your resume. This is particularly true if your college is well known in the region in which you are conducting your job search. If you think employers might be curious, however, include the city and state.
Fraternities and Sororities
Usually your membership in a Greek organization should not be included in a resume. While mentioning the organization may score points with a member of the same or a similar organization, it can hurt you when your resume is reviewed by a "dormie," or a competitor of your fraternity or sorority. While there are no hard and fast rules, weigh the pros and cons carefully before deciding. Usually you would list membership only if you held an office and you feel the experience will help sell you. This cautionary note does not apply to the many honorary societies such as Phi Beta Kappa.
Order of Schools
Normally schools are listed in reverse chronological order, beginning with your most recent school. Typically this would also mean that your highest level degree would appear first.
Whether to List Major
People should usually include their major, even if that major did not directly prepare them for the field they are now in. There are presidents of Fortune 500 companies who graduated with degrees in history or literature. The best suggestion is to keep your major in, but if you feel strongly about removing it, it might look like this:
B.S. - Southern Illinois University (1982)
Professional Training
It is generally best to separate education from training. Training usually includes seminars and workshops, but can also include college courses taken to help you perform better in your field, but which are not part of a degree program. Seminars include those sponsored by your employer and those offered by outside consulting firms at your place of employment. You should also list seminars and workshops you've attended away from your place of employment, paid for either by yourself or your employer. Even if you have received college credit for such courses, you would normally include them under training rather than education. Glance at the example below and you'll see why it's a good idea to separate training from education.
EDUCATION
Total Quality Control, Rainier Group (24 hours) 1987
Terminating Employees, Human Resources Inc. (8 hours) 1985
B.A. - Business, University of Colorado 1980
Supervising Difficult Employees, Townsend & Assoc.(10 hours) 1979
If you hold a degree, you want the reader to spot that fact instantly. In the example above, the B.A. is hidden by the seminars. It would look better this way:
EDUCATION
B.A. - Business, University of Colorado 1980
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Total Quality Control, Rainier Group (24 hours) 1987
Terminating Employees, Human Resources Inc. (8 hours) 1985
Supervising Difficult Employees, Townsend & Assoc. (10 hours) 1979
Listing workshops and seminars can help demonstrate your professional growth. But as valuable as seminars are, be selective about those you choose to include-be sure they are relevant. If you took a course in estate planning, but that knowledge will be of little or no value for the job you're seeking (restaurant management, say), it's better to leave it out.
Usually you should state the seminar title, the name of the organization that put it on, and the year you attended. If most of your seminars lasted a half day or more, it would be useful to show the number of hours spent in class. If your company sent you to seminars in different cities, it can be beneficial to list those cities. It demonstrates that your company thought highly enough of you to invest in out-of-town workshops.
Some seminars have catchy titles that really don't describe their content. If "Make The Most of Yourself" was really about time management, it should be written as: "Time Management, Simms and Associates (1989)." Feel free to alter seminar titles so the reader will understand their content. Review the following:
MANAGEMENT SEMINARS
Managing People, Harvard Business Workshop, four days (1992)
Motivating Employees, Bob Collins & Associates, two days (1990)
Management and Human Relations, California Institute of
Technology, 124 hours (1987)
SEMINARS
Financial Management for Closely Held Businesses, 40 hours,
Seattle-First National Bank (1992)
Construction Cost Improvement, 20 hours, Nevett & Associates(1991)
Scheduling, CRM, 20 hours, Nevett & Associates (1990)
Real Estate Syndication, 10 hours, NW Professionals (1990)
Construction Estimating, 30 hours. Lake Washington Vo-Tech (1989)
Closing the Sale, 12 hours, Roff & Associates (1987)
Goal Setting/Richer Life, 18 hours, Zig Ziglar (1986)
