How to Create a Resume With No Education – Education and working experiences become the most important things to include in your resume. From those two qualifications, the recruiters could have a general knowledge of your skills and expertise. However, practically, most job seekers have experienced this situation — found a job that you are confident you are qualified for based on your skills and experiences but have different education degrees from the job ads description, or in another word, your education is not related to the job position. Then, should you pass that job? Certainly not!
A survey conducted by TopResume in 2019 showed that education is the last thing the recruiters assess from the applicant. Instead, their preferences were potential (45%), experience (37%), personality (16%), and last is education (only 2 percent).
It means a resume with an education degree that is not related to the job position will not prevent you from being hired if you know how to effectively highlight your skills and experience.
Here are 5 tips that you can apply to create a stand-out resume even if your education is not related to the job position.
1. Pay attention on your resume format
If you want to apply for a job but do not have any formal or relevant education with the job description, use a hybrid resume format that combines the best parts of a chronological resume (which shows your work experience in reverse order) and a functional resume (which highlights your skills and achievements).
Furthermore, you could place your education section at the end of your resume. It is to show the recruiters that you have the skills and experience to do the job, although you don’t necessarily meet all of their educational criteria. Why put it at the end of your resume? To convince them that the first parts of your resume are so impressive so that your irrelevant education is not becoming a big deal.
See also : What is ATS Resume?
2. Write a persuasive professional summary
Your professional summary is playing an important role in your resume. It could influence the recruiter’s first impression of you. You can write a persuasive brief description of your key experience and skills that make you a good fit for the role. It will be better if you could match it with the keywords and phrases from the job description ads.
3. Highlight your relevant skills and experiences
Skills and experience are the selling points that you need to highlight when applying for a job that needs a specific education degree but you have a different educational background. You need to emphasize specifically your experiences and achievements in doing the same or similar jobs, such as increasing the company’s sales and revenue, finishing projects on time or under budget, or successfully becoming a team or department leader. Write them all and make sure all those skills are relevant to the job description. By highlighting your skills, it will help you to show the recruiter that you would be a valuable asset to the company so that your irrelevant education is nothing, compared to your skills and expertise.
4. Support your skills with your achievements
In order to convince the recruiters that you have the skills to do the job, you can include any supporting credentials or accomplishments in your previous professional experience, education, or skills section, including as follows:
- Publications: You can list in your resume any published materials such as books, white papers, and blog posts to show that you are an expert in the position that you are applying for.
- Presentations: Any public speaking that you have done during your previous professional career could be an added value for the recruiters. It serves the same function as a publication which is to prove that you have the ability and knowledge in the position you are applying for.
- Awards: If you have won several awards during your professional career related to the position you are applying for, list them all in your resume. Any honors you have received for outstanding achievements or dedication in a similar job role definitely can support your resume to stand out amongst other applicants.
Furthermore, including any related voluntary work that you have done before could be a plus point for your resume. It will show your interest and dedication to the position that you are applying for even if you have no specific education in that field.
Additionally, you can list any related training such as gatherings, seminars, online classes, and certification programs that you have received during your previous work, whether it was at your initiative or provided by your employer. Some recruiters find it more impressive than a degree that is out of date and lacks additional training.
5. Keep your education section attractive
Keeping your resume’s education section positive and attractive is a must when writing a stand-out resume. Instead of focusing on an irrelevant education or having an education without any degree to offer, you could emphasize the ways you have taken the effort to study and improve your professional skills and knowledge during your professional career.
Furthermore, if you are still in the process of finishing your degree, you can state it in your resume, by writing it as follows:
COLLEGE (City, State)
Enrolled in Bachelor of Art program, major in [ … ], degree expected [date]
Stating your expected graduation date is important to let the recruiter know that you are focused on your studies and also give them information on how much longer you have to finish your studies.
Well, those are 5 useful tips that you can use to create a stand-out resume even though you have an irrelevant education to the position you are applying for. Highlighting your skills and expertise is the key to passing the screening phase and catching the recruiter’s attention to get your dream job.
We cannot deny the fact that some companies are applying a strict role for education, that they assess their employees based on their education degree, while other companies are putting education as the last thing they review, as what is more important is the employee’s abilities, experience, initiative, and track record of success.
Not sure your resume format will pass the screening? This 9 Steps to Make Good Resume could help
