Should You Mention an Incomplete Degree on Your Resume?
We have worked with several executives who do not hold a college degree – or who started a post-graduate degree and never completed it.
If you are in a similar position, rest assured that an incomplete degree is not a deal-breaker if you have relevant professional experience.
In this article, we explain how to present your incomplete degree in a way that builds your credibility while avoiding red flags.
We also provide an example of an effective way to do so.
To put your incomplete degree on your resume, follow the steps below:
1) Add an Education Section
We advise including any education on your resume, even if it isn’t a full degree - especially if you are still in the early stages of your career.
2) Be Transparent About What You Studied
You shouldn’t list “Bachelor of Arts in English” on your resume, for example, if you did not earn the degree.
Recruiters perceive such an approach to be misleading, which could significantly harm your chances of landing a job.
However, there is an easy way to approach this situation by adding “coursework toward” in front of the degree you were pursuing.
By saying that you completed “Coursework toward a Bachelor of Arts in English” instead, you make it clear that you have completed college-level courses but are not implying that you have earned the degree.
3) Include the Dates You Completed Your Studies
For each degree listed in the education section, it is a resume writing convention to only include the date you completed the degree.
If you did not complete the degree, list both the months and years you studied at the university, for the avoidance of doubt.
Example Listing
A sample entry under the education section for an applicant who only completed two years of college would be:
The University of Illinois at Chicago | Chicago, Illinois
Coursework toward Bachelor of Science in Management | August 2016 – September 2018
Courses included: Finance, Accounting, Microeconomics, Organizational Behavior, Managerial Consulting, Marketing and Sales Channels, Human Resource Management
In Summary
To list an educational experience on your resume, you do not need to have earned a degree from the institution.
As long as you’re honest and not misrepresenting any information, you should still include your education to help build your credibility – even if you only took a few courses.
Most importantly, don’t spend too much time thinking about whether the fact that you don’t hold a college degree will hold you back in your career.
From our experience, the further along you are in your career, the less weight your college degree tends to hold.
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How to Write a Strong Resume When You Don't Have Professional Work Experience | Even if you don’t have any formal work experience, you can still create a strong resume that will help you land your first job by following our tips.
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Instead of directly writing “incomplete” alongside the name of the degree, you can focus on the coursework you've completed and the number of credits you've earned. Also, include any course projects that are related to the requirements of the position you're applying for to support your case.
Any gaps in your resume are always a red flag for any potential employer. Even if there are no applicable courses in your education, it's better to include your incomplete degree, rather than leave a gap in your resume.
Simply list the university, dates of enrolment, course of study, and credit hours completed. There's no need to specify that the degree is incomplete — as long as you don't list a graduation date, that should be obvious from context.
If you are addressing an incomplete degree, talk about the coursework you've completed and the number of credits you earned rather than focusing on what you couldn't complete. While it is important to keep your explanation short, you must have a finish line so you don't trail off into an awkward silence.
Deliver a reason, but also highlight the value of your time outside of school. Tell interviewers if you took an early professional opportunity, traveled, taught yourself important skills or worked independently on a project.
As stated above, your resume should be tailored to the job you're applying to. If you have education--especially if it's in addition to similar education--that isn't related to your current career target, you can leave it off your resume.
An education background check is a method used to verify the required education for job applicants. This type of check is typically used to verify the dates of attendance and whether the degree listed on a resume was earned.
What percentage of people drop out of college? Around 40% of undergraduate students leave universities and colleges every year (Education Data Initiative [EDI], 2021).
Even if you did not graduate from a college or university, that does not prevent you from adding it to your LinkedIn profile. So you can still enter it onto your educational section of your profile. And as far as the dates go, you'd use the dates of attendance.
Make your reason short and honest. For example, “I never went back to finish my degree and that's something I regret. I'm planning to re-enroll in a few online classes to finish it over time.” There—you've addressed it and there's not much more an employer can ask. 3.
In your cover letter, avoid focusing on your lack of a degree. Sentences like, “I know I don't have a bachelor's degree, but…” only highlight your lack of a degree. Instead, focus on the skills that you do have, and explain how your job experiences make you a strong fit for the job.
If you don't have a college degree, list your experience after the objective on your resume. Name your previous employers, the positions you held, your duties and the results you produced. Stick to only discussing jobs that helped you gain experience for the job for which you are applying.
You don't necessarily need to go to college to earn big. There are plenty of high-income earners who did not go to college, and many high-paying industries that welcome non-college graduates. Start-ups in technology, for example, may be more interested in your skillset and potential than a degree.
One of the best ways to get hired is by knowing the right people. Why is that? Because while a bachelor's degree says you've spent untold hours isolated, cramming knowledge into your aching head, it doesn't tell anyone you're actually a good person to hire.
Here's the thing: it's okay to get a degree and realize that it's not what you want to do. I mean, it kind of sucks to have invested the time into a degree and then realize that you don't want to pursue a job in that field, but it's okay.
But, depending on how far you made it in grad school, you may be able to leave your PhD and pick up a master's without too much extra work. Whatever you do, DO NOT put “PhD (incomplete)” or “Unfinished dissertation” or anything like that.
Even if you did not graduate from a college or university, that does not prevent you from adding it to your LinkedIn profile. So you can still enter it onto your educational section of your profile. And as far as the dates go, you'd use the dates of attendance.
If 10 or more years have passed since you graduated, it's best to leave it off, even if you excelled. Be sure to list honors, positions, clubs, assistantships, or extracurriculars, especially if they support the narrative you are trying to create about the competencies you have developed.
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Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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