Highlight Your Education, Qualifications and Training (CV Writing Guide)

How you represent this section on your CV has evolved. If you are an experienced professional, you may place this section at the end of the CV; but, if you are upskilling or looking to branch into a new industry, place it on the first page ABOVE your experience.

Are you a Graduate?

If you have completed third level education within the last 2 years, bring forward this academic experience by emphasising modules or projects completed. SHOW that you have the knowledge to make you stand out.

How do I know what to include?

This section is rather diverse; add anything that you feel will add VALUE to your next career move. Include any in-house training, certifications, qualifications and licences (provided that they don’t expire). For technical qualifications, make sure to include a more recent version as some of the technology / software may be obsolete.

Mention your Dissertations or Publications

If you completed third level education, it will be beneficial to show what you studied (if recent graduate) by listing modules that relate directly to the job applying for. In addition, simply stating the title of your dissertation / thesis, will allow for a talking point in an interview.

Remove Redundant Information

If you progressed to third level and completed the course, you no longer need to include your Leaving Certificate. This does depend on your age too as you might want to showcase your points gained for graduate programmes. However, if you have 20 + years of experience, on top of your education, your Leaving Cert, Junior (Inter) Cert are no longer value-adding.

Professional Affiliations

If you are, or were, a member of a professional body, you can include this underneath your education section as a sub-heading. Simply list the name of the organisation, the level of membership and the length of time you are / were a member. Be sure to type out the name of the organisation in full i.e. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Side note: If you do include more than second or third level education, make sure to change the title of the section to either: ‘Education & Training’, ‘Education & Qualifications’, ‘Education & Certifications’ or ‘Training & Development’.

Need more CV tips? Contact one of our CV Writers today!

• Missed Step 1? Read it here: How to Write a Concise Professional Profile
• Missed Step 2? Read it here: Dust off the Cobwebs and Brush up Your Skills