How To Format Your Education On Your Resume

By MARVIN WALBERG
Scripps Howard News Service

Here are some pointers for formatting your education history on your resume.

Start with your most recent entry, as follows:

• Name of school, city/state, followed by major course of study, and degree if earned.
  
• Do not include dates attended unless it was a relevant seminar, workshop, or course to achieve accreditation or licensing.
  
• If you did not achieve a degree, simply state course of study and any honors or extra accomplishments.
  
• Include GPA if high, and any other honors or scholastic awards, including membership in honor societies and any school-related community activities.
  
• Do not list high school unless you are a recent high school graduate, or a college student seeking part time or summer employment. If so, include honors, organizations that denote leadership, summer activities, volunteerism, and any community activities. Do not include membership in a social sorority or fraternity unless you are positive that your affiliation would not work against you with a specific employer.
  
• If you are entering the workplace from school with little or no full-time employment history, you can flip-flop the positioning of your education category, placing it before your employment history.

Robin Ryan, author of Winning Resumes offers the following resume tips:

• Be complete. Do not abbreviate or use acronyms. Spell out names of schools, cities, business terms, and titles completely.
  
• Use the correct tense. In all sentences, use past tense words since they imply that you "have done it" before.
  
• Don't advertise negative information. The resume is the wrong place to advertise that you were laid off, fired, or had an extended illness. Never state why you left a position; simply list dates of employment. Never, ever, mention what salary you were paid or seek in your resume.
  
• Limit resume to two pages. Keep within the last five to seven years and be a skillful editor. Delete anything not relevant or helpful to securing a position at the level you seek.

Although Robin Ryan suggests no tag lines like "References furnished on request" at the end of your resume, I like it from a format point of view. It tells the reader that the resume is over and you didn't forget to include the next page.