Should You Leave College Off Your Resume?

Finishing college is a big accomplishment. So, why would you want to leave college off of your resume. It doesn’t seem to be a logical thing to do.

When you are searching for jobs online and reviewing job postings on sites like Indeed, Glassdoor and Linkedin, you’ll notice that many job descriptions clearly state that people need to have a college degree.

Sometimes the job posting will specify a Bachelors degree. Other times the job posting is more flexible and will state that all that is needed is an Associates Degree.

However, there is a trend that is becoming popular online to not require a college degree. Does that mean you should leave it off of your resume?

While each job is different and each company is different, the general rule is that you should not leave any higher education off your resume. Most people who are in charge of hiring want to see that you’ve completed college.

That means that you should not leave college off your resume. There are very few instances where it will help.

Is Leaving Off College Education on a Resume Considered Lying?

No, leaving college off of your resume isn’t considered lying. While many people lie on their resume, they don’t often lie by leaving off college.

For most people, what is considered lying is to add college to your resume.

So, for instance, if you have not graduated college and you list that you did graduate with a bachelors degree, that would constitute lying.

Lying on a resume is so common that there are entire departments in hospitals and government run offices that are dedicated to checking work history, checking references, and verifying background.

But leaving college off of a resume isn’t lying. The only reason people might want to do this is if they think that there is an age discrimination issue or if the hiring manager thinks that the role is not suited for someone who is “educated”: warehouse, labor, clerical work in a medical facility.

Do Employers Hire People Without a College Degree?

The job market is tough for both employers and people seeking work. With the “great recession” and the reluctance of people to get back to full time work, employers are starting to loosen requirements for many roles. Roles where a college degree was traditionally required are now open to people without a degree.

What’s more important in the current market is proof that you’re a stable employee and competent at your job. A college degree is less important than solid experience. If forced to choose between someone with a college degree and a long list of short-term work, or someone without a degree who has solid work experience and good references, the choice is easy: go with experience.

Employers would prefer someone who will show up and be capable of handling the job. Work experience is a better indicator of this than simply a college degree.

If you are curious as to whether or not you need a college degree, it helps to narrow down by industry.

Most professional roles require a college degree. The only exception are front desk and secretary roles. Even for these roles, however, it’s advisable to have a college degree. However, all professional roles in corporate settings will have a basic college degree requirement.

If you are applying for labor roles, warehouse roles, or roles in a hospital then it is often not necessary. Many hospitals, for instance, hire and employe people straight out of high school or who have earned a GED after a training program such as Job Corps.

An interesting anecdote follows: while recruiting for a major hospital system, the hiring director informed a former team member that they would not interview candidates who attended private colleges and universities. They would, with few exceptions, only review state schools and local City college graduates. This included community colleges. They would even prefer GED and High School graduates over University graduates from out of state.

The same sort of bias against respected schools can be seen in the non-profit industry.

Should Job Seekers Leave College Off Their Resume In Order to Boost Their Chances?

That is not to say that you should leave college off of your resume. While employers might not be hiring on degree alone in the current market, that doesn’t mean that they don’t take it into consideration. Some roles, particularly in the corporate world and at the executive level, will require a college degree.

If you attended and graduated college, make sure to have it on your resume. It shows potential employers that you are someone who had the tenacity to attend school and complete your education. When combined with your work experience, it’s part of the package that will make you an attractive candidate.

The only caveat to this is when you have advanced degrees and are applying for an entry level role or a non-office role. Some hiring managers who are looking for data entry, warehouse workers or customer service staff have been known to shy away from people who list Masters Degrees on their resumes. The unspoken sentiment here is that someone who has obtained higher education would not be happy working a low paid clerical role. So, be mindful of the industry and role when designing your resume and listing your educational achievements. 

Here’s a quick and easy cheat sheet:

Applying To a Corporate Environment

Always list your college education on your resume. If you are concerned about the date you graduated making you seem old, and dealing with ageism, then you can simply leave off the graduation date. There is no reason to put things like your age on a resume, even indirectly.

However, you won’t be considered for a corporate role if you don’t have a college degree. Even with a degree, you will still have to go through many interviews (unless you know someone in the firm who will get you an “in”).

Applying to A Non-Profit or Government Role

This depends. Many non-profit organizations prefer to hire community college or state school graduates. Much of this is based on their mission of helping the community. There is an unspoken understanding in the non-profit world that graduates of prestigious colleges are not welcome (unless you are working in the executive level). Lower level roles are all filed with people who either did not attend school or went to a community college or lower ranked college.

With government roles, sometimes there is a clear directive as to the exact minimum education requirement. For instance, many police departments require a minimum amount of college credits (not a complete degree) whereas case managers for city run programs might prefer to pick from recent public high school graduates.

Non-profits and hospitals are more concerned with making sure that the aplicant is not a criminal. There are cases every week where case managers and nurses are caught in illegal activities.

The decision as to what to put on your resume when applying for a government jobs is determined by the exact job posting. If you are applying for a government positions, then make sure you apply exactly as described on the official government website. For most civil service roles, the main task is waiting on a list or knowing someone to get the interview—there is very little involved beyond that.

Applying to a Hospital

This depends on the role at the hospital. If you’re looking to work as a nurse, then you will need to be a licensed RN. The college you went to is irrelevant. Many nurses simply obtain an associates degree from local or online nursing programs. There’s no reason to lie on your resume either—it will all be checked by the credentialing department. Nurses have to undergo drug testing and background checks to prove they are not criminals.

Other roles within a hospital are all more along the lines of a civil service job. It helps to know someone who works at the hospital. That is the best and most common method of finding a job at a hospital.

Most hospitals are less interested in vetting for the best college as they are with making sure someone has the minimum credentials. In most cases this will be either a GED or an Associates. As long as the applicant has these credentials, it doesn’t matter where they went to college. In most cases, truthfully, the better the school you went to the more bias there will be against you.

Applying for a Warehouse or Manual Labor Jobs

Many warehouse roles are simply looking for people who will show up and work. They don’t care where you went to school, or even if you did go to school. They do often care if you’re a criminal and this is why they run background checks to make sure that the applicant is not a felon or a violent criminal.

The only time that graduating from school might be a benefit or a draw back is when the warehouse is either a family business or is a small shop. The fewer employees, the more likely it is that the hiring team will take more time reviewing resumes and interviewing people.

These types of jobs are more concerned with hiring people who are reliable and do not have a criminal record. This is why they run background checks and require ID when applying for work—they need to have the applicants name and social security details so that they can run background checks.

Where and if the person went to college is something that is not of concern.