GCSEs on a CV are essential if you want to get a job. At first, listing academic achievement is quite simple – it’s almost like putting your name at the top of your CV. There’s more to the CV education section than meets the eye. What is the right way to list a university degree? What do you put first – formal education or employment history? How do you spell vocational qualifications, and where should they be located? What should school leavers do, and what should you do if you are still studying?
With the help of this guide, you will learn how to interest a prospective employer with a well-written CV education section.
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CV’s education section is of great importance to get a job. Prospective employers want to see detailed information about a candidate’s educational achievements. It means that having a well-thought-out CV education section is one of the most important requirements for any job seeker, no matter what type of position they are applying for. It doesn’t matter whether you are a school leaver, a university graduate or a professional with many years of experience – in any case, this section will show you from a positive side. But in this situation, it is necessary to specify educational qualifications correctly so that they become an advantage.
Undergraduate and postgraduate degrees are important on a CV, but secondary education should not be ignored either. It should also be stated. A hiring manager will often quickly look at the application form and only pick up on the most deserving applications. A school leaver may qualify for a certain position. Still, it is necessary to properly draw up the CV education section to increase their chances of an employer being interested in them. Decent school qualifications can be a great advantage. High grades achieved in certain subjects prove that you are diligent and well-prepared.
It is worth noting that there is no specific rule as to exactly how all sections should be placed on a job candidate’s CV. The decision is most often made depending on where you are in your career. If you know your expected graduation date or have just graduated from school, college, or university, indicate your education data in the first section. It is because you may need more work experience. This way, you can add much detail to the education section and emphasise your interests.
But the further you go in your career, the less important your educational history will be. If you have already been working for a few years and have a lot of experience, you can add a lot of detail and emphasise your interests.
But the further you get in your career, the less important your educational history will be. If you’ve been in the workforce for several years and have a lot of experience in past positions, it’s best to focus on your professional experience. A hiring manager considering hiring you for a position requiring 5 or more years of experience will be much more interested in knowing where you have worked and what you are doing now rather than looking at your school grades.
The Education section is best placed immediately below the qualifications section. The most common structure used by jobseekers is as follows:
Recommendations from past employers, college professors and teachers can also be added at the end but are optional.
The education section should always have an appropriate heading. You should also include your degree. For GCSE exams, it is not a good idea to list school qualifications before the final exams. If you are at the beginning of your working life, you can list your A levels and/or GSCEs in the education section.
Educational qualifications should always be listed in descending order of importance, while further education should be listed first and GSCE at the very end:
It would help if you formatted the qualifications correctly in each block, but do not write huge paragraphs.
Whichever order you choose to list your academic achievements and work experience, there are several options for formatting the section, depending on your qualifications.
In this section, briefly describing your formal education and existing qualifications is a good idea. Please note that this information should always be included in your CV, no matter what education you have received or where you are in your career.
Presenting GCSE exams on a CV is more complicated, with students studying more than 3 subjects most often. But listing all the subjects is difficult if you want to present your CV in a one-page format (which is the most effective way to get an employer’s attention). Also, they’re less important than A levels, so limiting yourself to just a few subjects or the general phrase ‘9 final exams including English and Maths’ is best.
Remember an important rule – always use reverse chronological order in your CV. CV education sections are also written according to this principle. But for your educational qualifications to be of interest to potential employers, they need to be well organised, clear and structured, and you can even include the individual subjects you have taken exams in and the grades you have achieved.
If you are a highly educated person (you have a master’s degree or doctorate), have graduated from a prestigious institution and international baccalaureate, or are a high-ranking professional, you should not include your GCSE results in a separate CV section. The information provided will be considered out of date and irrelevant at this point. Otherwise, it is recommended that you list or only mention your GCSE exams in the education section. Submitted final exams are highly regarded by employers, and many vacancies require a candidate to have a GCSE minimum in maths and English at grade C or above. It is best to submit subjects and grades as a list so that the information submitted is easy to read.
Please note that the education section takes up a lot of space in your CV. In this section, it is best to include the results of exams in only the most important subjects: English language and maths. If you have much other important information besides education, it is best to leave space for it. If you have quite a lot of work experience, you can write one simple sentence in the section of your CV provided:
8 GCSEs, including maths and English, at grades A-C.
This rule is highly relevant for job applicants who are still at college or university or have work experience.
Personal circumstances and other problems can arise during exams. If you have had to retake an exam, missed an exam and retake it after some time, or encountered other difficulties, these should also be mentioned in the section on your CV. But at the same time, there is a set rule – don’t be too descriptive about your failures so that it doesn’t become a reason for an employer to reject you.
You should always list your A-levels and GCSEs if you have left school. In this situation, you should list all the subjects you have studied at A-level, but you should also summarise your GCSEs but only include maths and English. More often than not, potential employers are only interested in the result of the exam you passed and are not so interested in retakes and other nuances.
Most jobs can be obtained even with incomplete qualifications. A college leaver can do workplace training to learn all the necessary skills. As for the issue of listing professional qualifications in the relevant section of your CV, it depends on the format of the document. In some situations, there is a separate section with degree classification. In others, there may not be one at all.
If your CV does not have a qualifications section, you can list your professional training in the education section. At the same time, do not include other qualifications that have nothing to do with the position you are applying for. Also, note that the qualifications section is best written so that it is as clear as possible – avoid using dozens of terms and abbreviations to describe courses and qualifications that may be unknown to a potential employer. If you have specific concerns that they will need help understanding the acronyms, it’s best to discard them.
The education section of your CV is important. But at the same time, you need to remember that your professional experience is always more valuable to employers. That’s why it pays to work hard to make your level grades section interesting, clear, structured and eye-catching.
The education section often comes immediately after the employment section and work experience. It is the option most often used by candidates and most favoured by employers. At the same time, relevant information about education can also come before the employment section in certain situations:
One hard and fast rule is worth remembering – the CV must be relevant to the job. The first thing to do is to research the job in detail and only then revise your CV to ensure it is fully relevant to the job, as this is the only way an employer will be interested in you.
It may seem not easy initially, but adding your education and qualifications to your CV is simple if you follow a set format. It also doesn’t hurt to compare your employment situation and university history with ready-made examples and choose a suitable structure. There are ready-made templates online for school leavers, recently graduated students, and other categories of applicants. Concise and clear professional qualifications, school history, and your best work are crucial for a potential employer to see how qualified you are for an open position.
If you want to list education on your CV correctly, it is best to use the tips below:
In general, writing is simple. You can look at ready-made CV examples or use templates where you need to put in your details.
No matter what career stage, the same rules on writing qualifications rules apply to your CV. Vocational training is important for a graduate. At the same time, list education becomes less and less important as your career progresses. At the same time, the education section should be included on your CV and spelt out correctly so that a potential employer sees you as a highly educated candidate.
Education on your CV is important, but in this situation, you need to avoid the most common mistakes:
To avoid problems with specifying education on your CV, it is best to use ready-made templates for this section or the whole CV. There are many templates on the web for how a CV should look in 2023 among UK job seekers.
