The education path in the curriculum vitae
Alongside work experience, education is the most important element of your CV. Here you can find out how to display it correctly and what information should be included.
The CV offers a clear summary of your previous career and is therefore the most important document in your application. It not only contains your personal data and provides information about your professional experience, but also reveals your educational background. This gives your potential employer an overview of your education and your knowledge and skills. In the following you will find out how to present your educational background correctly in your CV and what information you should include.
The correct placement of the educational path in the CV
The clear structure of your CV is just as important as the content. After all, it should provide the HR manager with all the important information about your previous career at a glance. For this reason, your information should be arranged in a specific order. Usually it looks like this:
- Personal data
- work experience
- educational path
- knowledge and skills
- hobbies/volunteer activities
Your school, professional and academic training is usually the third item on your CV.
Correctly present the educational path in the CV
First you should give the section a suitable title – in this case the title “Education” or “Training” is a good choice. Here you can enter your school education, your professional training as well as your studies. However, you also have the option of dividing these into three individual categories, depending on how extensive your information is.
An anti-chronological listing has prevailed in the German CV : This means that you start with your most recent training – usually with your highest educational qualification. The HR manager sees the most important information first.
The educational path is given in tabular form in the CV and divided into two columns. Enter the period of your training on the left-hand side. It is enough if you name the month and the year, i.e.: MM/YYYY – MM/YYYY. If you have not yet completed your current apprenticeship, title it with the start date and the note “- today”.
In the right column you then enter the exact name and location of your training. It then looks like this.
If you have a good final grade or this information is required for the position, you can also note it in the right-hand column. In this case, you should state your final grade for all stages of your educational path – for example your Abitur average and your bachelor’s grade.
You also have the option of naming the focal points of your various stations. This could be the title of your thesis or certain majors that you have taken. This is particularly useful if the topic of your work or the subjects perfectly match the desired position:
The correct and clear structure of a CV can be quite complicated – if you have trouble presenting your educational background correctly, take a look at our CV templates.
What information belongs in your educational path
Your school, professional and academic training is part of your educational path – but do not list all your previous training in a blunt manner. It is better to fill your CV with selected information that is really interesting for your future employer or trainer. Your CV, like your cover letter , should always be individually tailored to the position you are applying for.
When describing your educational path, it makes sense to first make an important distinction: Do you have professional experience or are you just starting out?
The educational path for experienced applicants
For most recruiters, your professional experience is the most important piece of information on your CV – after all, this is the best way to prove your qualifications. That’s why it’s second on your resume. If you have already worked for several years and can provide evidence of employment that is crucial for the position you are looking for, then the focus of your CV should be on your professional experience and not on your education.
Hardly anyone in HR will be interested in where you went to elementary school if you’ve been working for ten years. In this case, it is advisable to only enter your highest educational qualification. If you have a master’s degree, you no longer have to mention your high school diploma – after all, the university entrance qualification is a prerequisite for the course. As a rule, you can refer to your professional and academic training and exclude your school days from your educational path.
The educational path for young professionals
If you don’t have any professional experience yet, your education will of course be the focus of your CV. If you want to apply for an apprenticeship, a degree or an internship, it is advisable to list all your school education – starting with your highest school diploma.
Applicants with little professional experience should first state their professional or academic training – this is followed by their highest school qualification. In this case, middle school and primary school no longer have to be mentioned, as they offer no added value for the HR manager.
The educational path for career changers
Applying as a career changer is difficult because you have to prove that you are qualified for a position for which you were not trained. In this case, you should carefully consider which stages of your education are relevant to the position you are applying for.
For example, your training also contains information that goes beyond the thematic focus: Someone who has completed a master’s degree in physics is probably not a fool – even if the degree is not necessarily relevant for his application as a computer scientist. A completed degree also indicates good self-organization and resilience.
Even when applying as a career changer, your professional experience is important – even if it doesn’t match the new position. It proves that you have already gained experience in the working world and provides information about your work ethic and your social behavior. So think carefully about which stages of your education are really of interest to the HR manager, because there is only limited space on your CV.
Dropouts and gaps in education
One would probably prefer to keep a secret about dropping out of school or the premature end of an apprenticeship or degree – but this information also belongs in the educational path. Don’t try to cover it up, because at the latest in the job interview you will be asked about the gap.
Honesty is therefore required in the CV – but you can skilfully pack these ugly details. The note “study without a degree” sounds at least more positive than the word “study dropout”. You can also use the term “job-seeking” to describe temporary unemployment more nicely.
Small gaps and changes in direction in your educational path are no longer exclusion criteria for an application these days – as long as you don’t get caught up in lies. Report in the interview why you dropped out – for example, because you chose the wrong training course. This appears self-confident and shows that you are not afraid of difficult decisions. Your honesty is more likely to be remembered by a HR manager than the fact that you broke off your vocational training.
However, don’t try to justify yourself in your resume or cover letter . This leaves a more negative impression and draws attention to information that you actually want to hide.
Incidentally, you do not have to state the repetition of a school year separately in your educational path – this results from the year information and is usually no reason for a note.
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Finding a Job, Communication and Networking, CV and Cover Letter, JOB HUNTING, Job Interview Tips, Salary Negotiation and Job Offer
