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JasonALang

Jason's Lean Resume Guide - Education

Jason's Lean Resume Guide - Education

(Work in progress, please have patience!)

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The Education section is one that lots of people get right-ish, but few really nail it. Most tend to be super-minimal:

Harvard University - Associates of Alchemy 2000-2002

...others pack too much in there.

Yale University

Doctorate of Knowing Absolutely Everything

Classes: Math 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203. Writing 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, 301, 302, 303. Spanish 101. Was on the football team. 3rd Chair cello in the jazz orchistra. Wrote a poem that was published in the school paper.

There is a happy medium. And one that (hopefully) will appease everyone. It also (not coincidentally) makes things more compact and useful for those over-pressed resume reviewers.

Start with this format:

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EDUCATION

Bachelors Degree, University of State __________ [Award date, not range]

  • Minor(s): Not always helpful, but usually can't hurt.
  • Honors: Dean's List, graduated with distinction, graduated Magna Cum Laude, prestigious grant/scholarship, honor societies, awards...
  • Activities: Any RELEVANT extracurriculars, programs, projects.

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CERTIFICATIONS

Certificate, Certification Agency __________ [Award date]

  • Expiration date (if any)

​

LANGUAGES

Language - [Conversational, Proficient, Fluent, Native] (Alternately, you can use the CEFR system. It's better but isn't common outside Europe. Even better is to use both.)

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...And that's your education section. Fill in the details as needed. Remove any sections that don't apply.

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Let's disassemble that a bit.

DEGREES -

ALWAYS put your degree first, and bold it! You are selling that, not the school (with very rare exceptions for extremely elite schools. Harvard, Oxford, Yale, etc. Even then, you probably want to put the degree first). Reviewers are looking for a specific degree, and only have seconds. Don't make them go looking. Put that degree front and center.

You are awarded a degree on one day... not a range of dates. Put only the award date, not how long you were at school.

Any kind of honors help embellish your degree. I like to quip: "Who would you hire... the janitor who came in every day, mopped the floors, emptied the trash, and went home, or the guy who got the coveted Golden Bucket award?"

Some people say don't put a GPA down unless it's over a certain point. I say, don't put it down at all. Nobody cares after school, and it's redundant as usually if you have one high enough, you get the "Dean's List" or "Distinction" (or whatever your school equivalent is).

School extracurriculars really need to be chosen by relevancy. Played on the sportsball team? Great, if you are applying for something related to athletics. Otherwise, it's a tough pitch to say that your time as Team Captain is relevant to managing a store. Take them one by one. If they aren't a real fit for the job, then don't list them.

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CERTIFICATIONS (and licenses) -

Quick digression - There is a massive difference between a Certification and a Certificate of Completion. A certification is kind of like a single-subject mini-degree. They are usually given out by universities, government agencies, or increasingly, by companies that make that product.

Certificates of Completion are usually given out by online universities like EdX or Udemy. They... aren't worth much, to be honest.

Professional Licenses are similar to Certifications. They are usually issued by government agencies and are required to practice certain professions, typically trades.

You want to list your *RELEVANT* Certifications and Licenses. With the agencies that issued them (not all issuers are the same), and the date issued (and expiration, if there is one). These really depend on the jobs you are applying for, and what state. In all cases you want them to be making the case that you are better than the other people applying. Someone with a Microsoft 365 Certification is presumably better than someone who used Word to write their Nana a letter every Christmas.

In some fields, Certifications become quite important. Programming typically, but other fields are increasingly interested in things like Project Management, Google Analytics, Salesforce, Supply Chain, even First Aid can be good things to add.

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LANGUAGES -

Mandatory point: If you can't handle a reasonably technical conversation, don't list the language! I know a little Polish. Moj jona jest Polka. I would not list it because I can't have a conversation.

Estimate your skill level.

  • Conversational: indicates that you can carry on a conversation, although not fluently. You may still express uncertainty in your choice of words. If someone came up to your desk asking where the boss was, and who would be at the meeting at 3:00, you could handle it.
  • Proficient: indicates a high level of comfort with the use of a language in spoken or written form but isn't yet at the level of a native speaker. Proficient speakers are more comfortable with a language than conversational speakers. You can help them fill out the forms needed for the... whatever you have forms for.
  • Fluent: indicates a high level of comfort using the language and can converse in the same manner as a native speaker. If the boss says "We want to move you to this country to head the new branch office", you'd better be at this level of fluency.
  • Native: means you were born there or grew up in a household where that was the primary language.

Alternately the Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) is becoming more known in the US, and is the standard (duh!) in Europe.

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I hope this helps you with your education section. Please feel free to comment or reach out to me with any corrections or comments!

TL;DR -

DO: Put in awards, honors, and relevant extracurriculars. List your certifications and licenses. List your languages.

DON'T: Put in your GPA. List your classes, put the school first, put a range of dates. Don't list irrelevant things.

Posted Mar 9, 2021, 6:54 AM UTC · edited

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