Academic Achievements Support Your Skills and Work Experience

Are you applying for a new job? In addition to providing details about your job history, you need to list the schools you've attended and any degrees you've earned. The goal of a well-written resume is to get the attention of potential employers. Make sure your academic achievements reflect well on you and your experience to help you land the job that's right for you and your family.

Recent Graduates

If you have recently graduated or if you're still in school, you will want to put the "Education" section at the top of your resume. It is the strongest credential for an entry-level position in your field of choice. List the degree, major, date of graduation and the school in block format. If you have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, you can list that as well:

B.A., English, May 2015
DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
GPA: 3.83

If you haven't graduated yet, use the following format:

Bachelor of Arts, degree anticipated May 20XX
DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois
Current GPA: 3.75

If you have little or no relevant experience, you can highlight any coursework specific to the job you're seeking. For example, under the name and location of your school, you might say something like: "Coursework Included Grant Writing and Advanced Expository Writing." By providing potential employers with this information, you demonstrate that you have acquired the skills they're looking for, even though you don't have workplace experience.

Experienced Employees

Unless you're changing fields completely and want to highlight the education that supports your new career, place the "Education" section of your resume below your work history or, if you're writing a functional resume, below the description of your skills and accomplishments. To most employers, where you went to school and what you studied are less important than what you've done recently in the workplace.

If you have been out of school for a while, you do not have to list the year you graduated. You can also omit your grade point average and highlights of coursework.

High School Diploma or GED

If you have a college degree, or even if you have taken some college courses, you do not need to list your high school diploma or GED. It is assumed that you've earned one or the other as a prerequisite to post-secondary education. Say you want to highlight college courses you've taken. You can do it this way:

Introduction to Accounting and Accounting I, 6 semester hours
Desert Community College, Tucson, Arizona

or

90 hours toward a Bachelor of Science in Biology
University of Massachusetts, Amherst

High school graduates can format their education like this:

Diploma, Bayside High School
San Francisco, California

If you have a GED, you can either substitute "Diploma" with "General Educational Development Certificate" or just give the name and location of the school.