Can You Put Scholarships on your Resume?

Are scholarships someone that you can list on your resume? Certainly, it is worth discussing. Especially when considering new grads and how they should design their resume.

The big problem that recent grads find when they set out to enter the workforce is lack of things to put on a resume. This is a big issue for anyone looking to work in a corporate setting. If you’re a medical professional, such as a Nurse, it doesn’t matter since that degree alone will guarantee you work for the rest of your life.

However, the corporate workplace is more competitive than nursing and medical work, and people are judged on their resume and accomplishments. Whereas a nurse can get a job simply by having a RN license, that’s not the situation for non-medical field students.

There are certain things that definately belong on a resume, such as your address. But other things are more situation dependant.

So, to help one stand out, many new grads like to list scholarships on their resume. But is this a good thing? Does it help you differentiate yourself from the tens of thousands of other new grads that are all competing for an entry level role?

Yes, it does. And so we are going to discuss just how you can put scholarships on your resume.

What Awards or Scholarships Should You Put on Your Resume?

Before we jump into how to list scholarships on your resume, let’s talk about the type of awards and scholarships you should list on your resume.

Let’s just start by saying that you are not going to want to list every academic achievement that you’ve ever had. This is not a diary; this is a resume! It’s not an an application to college. It’s a resume that is intended to get you a job!

This means that you should only list pertinent and important scholarships on your resume. For instance, if you were a Fulbright scholar, obviously you should list that! However, if you also received academic based scholarships that testify to your studious and professional nature, these are also scholarships that belong on a resume.

You can also list sports scholarships on your resume since many employers view student athletes are high performers. This is especially true in sales roles where performance and competitiveness and ambition are more important than in other industries.

The key takeaway from this section is that you should not over list non-essential awards or minor scholarships (if you have multiple ones). You should highlight a key scholarship or award if you do have one.

How Many Scholarships Should You Put on Your Resume?

As we briefly mentioned above, you should list the important ones. If you happen to be someone who has received a number of scholarships, then feel free to list them…but be warned that this can turn off some employers. Especially if you’re applying for a non-academic or non- technical role.

While some people like to see multiple awards, I have heard hiring managers say once too often that the person is over qualified and would not stay with the company.

It’s a delicate balance between listing enough relevant experience and educational merits in order to convey a sense of responsibility and achievement and also not signaling that you would be bored or feel above the role.

It’s important to gauge the difference between jobs. If you’re interviewing for a firm that values academic achievement (such as a Finance firm or Private Equity) then it is very important to stand out as much as possible. This means you should list your relevant academic scholarships.

However, if you are simply looking for an entry level customer service role, then perhaps it might be better to leave some of these items off. You don’t want the boss or recruiter to think that you would feel overqualified (a favorite catchphrase of hiring teams).

Are Certain Scholarships Better To List Than Others?

Yes, of course. If you have a prestigious scholarship from Fullbright, then it deserves to be on your resume. However, even if you don’t have a well known scholarship, it is ok to list it.

The general idea is to list important ones and don’t flood your resume with every single academic achievement and award you have ever had. That can be a turn off.

Remember, this is a professional resume that is designed to get you a job in the corporate world. It is not an academic resume. Those are significantly different in design and application.

What I would caution against is listing scholarships on your resume that date from years past. For instance, if you are a new college graduate, then it’s appropriate to list scholarships that you achieved while you were in college. However, it is not advisable to list scholarships achieved while you were in high school.

However, if you have not graduated college or haven’t even gone to college, then it is fine to list scholarships that you obtained in high school. While you will not be competing for executive level roles in corporations, you are still going to want to differentiate yourself from other applications.

Perhaps you are applying for an administrative assistant role. If you can show the hiring team that you are a diligent person who completed high school with scholarships, but has decided to enter the workforce instead of going to college, then showing scholarships can be an excellent way to convey this message.

Where Do You List Scholarships on Your Resume?

The proper place to list scholarships on your resume is beneath your education section. First, list your degree and the name of the university of college you attended:

For Instance:

University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts

Or

BA – Communications

University of Pennsylvania

Then, underneath your education and the college you attended, you would list merit scholarships, or other individual scholarships. List them chronologically and in bold.

Do You Need To List Your GPA as Well?

You do not need to list your GPA on your resume, but if you had an outstanding Grade Point Average, then it can’t hurt. In fact, there are clients who request candidates grade point averages. This is used for firms in the corporate environment where it is vital that the candite who applies must be a driven and successful person.

As a matter of fact, I’ve had clients turn down new grads who did not have sufficiently high GPA’s. And these roles were not necessarily all in the finance or engineering field. Some of these roles were in client support, account management, and other areas where one would not assume one needs a perfect GPA.

But that is the state of affairs in the job space. It is super competitive. Unless you are working for a Non-Profit, Hospital, or other Government funded program or business, you are going to have to be sharp, super resourceful and also willing to work harder than all competitors. There is an imbalance of workers when compared to the number of jobs available.

So, if you do have a high GPA, then by all means list it. Especially if you are a new grad. I would caution against lying on your resume. In general, it’s not a good idea if it’s something that can be easily caught.

Again, remember that you are trying to differentiate yourself from the competition. You do not have the luxury of relying on work experience since most employers realize that new grads have very little work experience.