You’ve probably invested a lot in your education – not only
the money for tuition and books, but the effort you put into your classwork and
the time away from family and friends – and you definitely want to make sure
that your resume highlights it in the best way possible! Here is some advice to
help you do just that:
- Put the Focus on Your Coursework
- Address Required Educational Qualifications Directly
- GPA Issues and Some Solutions
- Noting Major Papers and Projects
Focus
on Your Coursework. Not all job advertisements require
transcripts, but even those that do leave the reviewer in the position of
translating them or worse, guessing if you have the coursework needed to be
successful in that job. Why risk it?
Instead, add a section to your resume entitled, “Relevant Coursework.” Under
that heading, list in paragraph form the courses that you want to highlight.
This might change, depending on the job for which you are applying. For
example, you may want to highlight more science courses if you are applying for
an Environmental Technician position, or focus more on GIS and planning courses
if you are applying for a Community Planner position. You can even highlight
the same courses, but change the order of them to tailor your resume to
different job titles. In listing the courses, I would not recommend including
credits taken after each, just titles of the courses. If you need specific
coursework for a job, see the next section for suggestions on how to present that
information.
Address Required Educational Qualifications
Directly.
Quite often, environmental jobs have
very specific educational requirements. I have found that not addressing them
directly can result in failing to make the first “cut” made by Human Resources
staff. The method I recommend to address
this is to develop a “Special Qualifications Statement” that I attach to my
resume or upload to the hiring website.
This statement should break out each area where credits are required as
a heading and then have the specific courses listed under each one.
For example, to
qualify for a GS-486 (Wildlife Biologist) position in the federal government, a
degree in wildlife management or a related field is required. Within that
degree, at least 9 semester hours in such wildlife subjects as mammalogy,
ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research course in the
field of wildlife biology; and at least 12 semester hours in zoology in such
subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology,
comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology,
parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (Excess courses
in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where
appropriate.); and at least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant
sciences.
In this case, I would
create the following headings: Wildlife Management (9 Credits Required),
Zoology (12 Credits Required), and Botany/Plant Science (9 Credits Required). Under each heading, I would list the Course
Number and Name, University Attended and Dates of completion, and then Number
of Credits.
Special
Qualifications Statement – GS-0486 Wildlife Management Series
Jane Q. Willd Position Applied for: #123xyz
Wildlife
Management (9 Credits Required)
Wildlife Management-BIOL611,
George Mason Univ (9/2001), 3 credits
Fish and Wildlife Policy-BIOL543,
American Public Univ (5/2002), 3 credits
Mammalogy-BIOL568,
George Mason Univ (12/2002), 4 credits
In this
way, you eliminate the need for someone to search your resume and/or
transcripts to find the information, and are able to categorize the coursework
appropriately. Keep in mind that a Human Resources Specialist may not have any
idea that your course in Herpetology or Ichthyology is a qualifying course(s)
for this series. It would be a shame to not qualify for a position because you
didn’t make every effort to clarify your qualifications!
GPA Issues and Some Solutions. Although many
strive to have a 4.0 GPA, in the science field, it is often difficult to do.
Not having such a GPA is not the end of the world, however. If your GPA is less
than a 3.0, though, it may be difficult to demonstrate your knowledge,
motivation to succeed, and dedication to the field. Another approach may be to
calculate your GPA in several different ways to see if you can find a way to better
highlight your academic accomplishments. One way to do this is to calculate
your GPA using only courses in your chosen field. A lot of us had that course
or two in French Literature that didn’t go well. As a hiring official, do I really care if you
received a “D” in that subject? Not likely. So, if all of your courses in
environmental science, for example, calculate to a much higher GPA, then feel
free to use that one. Obviously, you must state that on your resume, but that
is easy enough. “Overall GPA: 2.75. GPA
in Major Courses: 3.68.” Another calculation is to count only the courses taken
in the last 2 years of a 4 year program (years meaning the last 50% of your
coursework). In this case, you would note, “Overall GPA: 2.75. GPA in
Junior/Senior Level Courses: 4.0.” If asked about it, you can certainly explain
why you chose to do this. Whatever you do, be honest. I am merely suggesting
that you can demonstrate that at some point you took your coursework seriously
and want to highlight it. We all make
mistakes or do poorly in something. I
learned about this concept as a federal employee, where these alternate ways of
calculating GPAs were used in the past to qualify recent graduates for Student
Honor Appointments. I didn’t invent this!
Noting
Major Papers and Projects. One great idea that may set you apart
from all of the rest is to include significant research papers and class projects
on your resume. When you lack on-the-job experience, it’s often a challenge to
put much down on your resume, so this method is a nice way to demonstrate that
you have done some interesting papers and projects and are capable of more in-depth
research of relevant environmental topics or issues. I recommend creating a heading under the “Education”
heading and inserting “Major Papers and Projects” under your degree. If you
completed a Masters’ degree, then your thesis definitely should be
included.
Education
M.S., Environmental Science, George
Mason University, 12/2011.
-Major Papers and Projects:
=The Endangered Species Act: Recommendations for the Future, (9/08)
=Cap and Trade in the United States, (12/09)
=Community Recycling Program Adaptive
Management Plan,
(6/11)
Thesis: Red Knot
Restoration: Approaches for
Species Success (12/11)
I hope that this advice is helpful in highlighting your
education - best of luck on your job search!
Dr. Carol A. Pollio
