Displaying Your Education

By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP

The first thing I want you to know about displaying your education on your resume is that it is not the most important part of your resume. Even an advanced degree.

I know that you’re very proud of that MBA and PhD and I know that you worked hard for it. You earned it so that you could move up in your industry. And it will help you! And it’s possible that you will talk about that MBA or PhD during an interview or during an association meeting. But it’s not the most important part of your resume.

If you’re in technology, I know that you’re very proud of all of your certifications—even as far back as the first certification that you ever received. However, as proud as you are of your certifications, and as much work as you put into getting those certifications, they are not the most important of your resume.

I’m sorry to say: push aside your pride, because your education (and all those fantastic credentials) should be relegated to the bottom of the resume. Don’t worry, your education and credentials are just as search-able at the bottom of your resume as they are at the top.

But your real-world experience is much more important – and hopefully more impressive – at this stage in your career. Putting your education at the bottom just helps to “check off” some criteria for a job posting. Most leadership job postings contain some kind of baseline education requirement – usually at minimum an associate or bachelor’s degree. But many job postings now say that they will accept equivalent/relevant job experience in lieu of that degree.

There are also plenty of companies out there, particularly new tech companies, that don’t give a hoot about where you went to school. This is a counter-culture attitude; they are railing against the social construct. The only thing they care about is what your experience offers them – what can do you for them? What have you done lately in your field that will benefit them?

When I help companies with recruiting, sometimes they will put a degree as a requirement, but it’s never the sole requirement, or even the first requirement – it’s always listed in the middle of skills or at the end. They want the degree plus tools, and they always, I mean, always want soft skills. Even for the most technical of positions.

Especially if you’re an executive, your education is actually the least important part of your application. To compensate for this, you can add the acronym for the advanced degree and/or certifications next to your name at the top.

For example:

Soozy Miller, MBA or Soozy Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP

Yes, there are some companies that will only hire alumni of certain schools. That is unavoidable. One advertising executive client of mine was frustrated that she couldn’t apply to some top ad agencies because she didn’t attend one of their required schools. But that just means you can eliminate those companies immediately, thus further focusing your attention where you’d be more successful.

If you’re trying to transition to another career, you might think that the advanced degree is the tool that you should emphasize on your resume to make the transition. But there are other more effective and impactful ways to use the resume to do this. For example, the transferable soft skills and leadership skills are more crucial.

The only exceptions to this education-at-the-bottom recommendation are if you’re looking for a job in academia or you’re applying to be in a management or degree program. In those cases, your education goes up top.

For everyone else, education goes at the bottom of the resume.

So, go ahead, shout about your new (or old) education credentials from the top of the mountain—boast about them on all your social media platforms. Go crazy!

But when it comes to your resume, put aside your pride and add your education, certifications, and training at the bottom of the resume. It will still check off a box, and your real-world experience and expertise will be seen first – which is the best possible way to promote you anyway.

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Better job. More pay. More control.

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