A high school diploma is the foundation for the rest of your educational and professional experiences. Here’s how and when to add it to your resume.
If you’ve just graduated high school or are creating a resume for the first time, you’re probably wondering about the best way to add your high school education to your resume. If you’re a college grad and have spent several years in the workforce, then you may want to reevaluate whether you need to list your high school on your resume at all.
Luckily this blog will break down the do’s and don’ts of how and when to add a high school diploma to your resume and provide detailed examples of the types of information you should include. Here are some of the questions we’ll tackle:
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Whether or not it’s a good idea to list your high school education on your resume depends on how recently you graduated and what other degrees you have to show. Let’s look at a few different situations:
In order to place your high school education on your resume, you’ll first need to create an education section. This should look similar to the experience or employment history section you’ve likely already created.
Within your education section, you can create subheadings for each of your education experiences. First, include the degree name (in this case “High school diploma”), then add the school name, dates attended, and location. Here’s an example:
Copyable exampleHigh school diploma
Patterson Hills High School, Billings, 2018-2022
Copy to clipboardIf you are still in high school, you can simply add an expected graduation date.
Copyable exampleHigh school diploma
Patterson Hills High School, Billings, Expected graduation date: 2024
Copy to clipboardIf you are a college student, make sure to add your college degree in progress before your high school diploma, like this:
Copyable exampleB.A. Journalism and communications
University of Montana, Missoula, Expected graduation date: 2024
High school diploma
Patterson Hills High School, Billings, 2018-2022
Copy to clipboardYour high school diploma is considered the basic educational degree, therefore university degrees will be more impressive to employers. Once you’ve completed a Bachelor’s degree, you can take your high school education off your resume. Make sure to include all the relevant information about your college education. Find out more about organizing your education section blog.
If you are a current student or recent grad, your GPA, awards, or relevant coursework can help give a sense of how motivated you are as a student. You can include these pieces of information as bullet points under your high school diploma entry like you would for employment history.
Expert tipWhen should I leave off my GPA?
There are two main reasons why you might leave off your GPA. The first is because your grades are not particularly impressive. If your GPA is below a 3.5 it may do more harm than good to include it on your resume.
The second reason is that you graduated more than two years ago and your GPA is no longer relevant. This is especially true if you are a working professional. Remove your GPA and use the additional space to focus on awards, training, or other professional achievements.
While the school name, dates attended, and location are essential pieces of information, many students don’t know that they can also use the education section to showcase other relevant accomplishments. Here are some pieces of information you might include as bullet points under your high school diploma:
