CV writing – Education

Thursday, January 15th, 2009 - Article, How to Write a CV, cv writing, education, tutorial

CV Writing

There is no need to include the full address of institutions/schools, just the name and location - e.g:

• Bramhall High School, Stockwell
• The University of Glasgow
• International School, Paris

Use reverse chronology (most recent first). Give more room to your most recent qualifications (degree), and less room to earlier education.

Dates of education:

Because of various pieces of UK age discrimination legislation, recruiters and HR professionals will not ask for these. But, think carefully before removing these dates from your CV as there are many good reasons why they are useful, both to you and recruiters. For example they could be used to show that you juggled work with study, or that your studies were recent and incoporated the latest academic research or technological advances.

Degrees:

You only need to list modules that are relevant to the job application being made. Avoid obvious generalisations, such as “Degree gave a good foundation in Chemical Engineering.” Think of more specific details.

• Mention honours project and/or dissertation. These could emphasise technical ability and the development of “soft” skills, such as team work, communication skills, etc.
• Give expected grade and/or indication of previous results - e.g. “Expected 2:1/1st (second year result 70%).”

For those who have been educated in one field, but are now moving to new field, you could list three degrees (Bachelor, Masters, Phd), under one line. As many employers now use CV checking services, leaving them out is not an option

Pre-University – colleges and schools:

For exams taken just before university, give subjects and grades - e.g: 

• A levels: Maths B, Physics B, Chemistry C 
• AS: Art B

For earlier exams, summarise - e.g:

• 10 GCSEs (5A, 4B, 1C), including Maths A and English B

If you have equivalent qualifications from outside the UK, state these and give your results. It may be helpful to place your result in context - e.g. top 10% for that year. You can use NARIC (the National Recognition Information Centre) to check how your qualifications compare with those from the UK.

You don’t ever need mention primary or junior school education – unless you are a school leaver, and you won a national-level prize

Good Luck!

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