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Resume Samples

Resume With no College Degree Example + Writing Tips

no college degree

No degree? No problems. History knows plenty of highly successful college dropouts who banked on practical experience over formal credentials. Besides, enrolling in a university isn’t the only way to obtain a quality education — you’ve got online courses, professional certification programs, and coaching programs! 

Employers also increasingly recognize that screening out applicants based on their degree doesn’t work in their favor. Almost half of US companies have already eliminated (or plan to remove) degree requirements for most positions. Among them are large employers like Walmart, IBM, and Dell Technologies among others. 

Yet, you’re still required to provide a coherent resume as part of the job application. So do you best address your lack of a degree in a resume?

This post provides several working resumes without college degree examples, alongside actionable writing and formatting tips for each section.

Resume With no College Degree: Example (Word)

resume template with no college degree

Download resume example (.docx)

No College Degree Resume Example (plain text)

Creative growth manager in the SaaS domain, delivering user base growth of up to 35% YoY and churn reduction of 20%. Specializes in growth hacking, social media user acquisition, and PR.

Key Skills 

Social Media Marketing|Paid Media|Influencer Outreach|Digital PR |Community Management

Work Experience

SaaS Subscription Company,   Superstition, Arizona

Growth Manager (Nov. 2017 – Present)

  • Worked with the data science team to gather and analyze customer sentiment around products in our niche and develop targeted social media campaigns.
  • Secured 15 endorsements from industry thought leaders, resulting in reviews on blogs with 100K+ monthly audience.
  • Cultivated and established relationships with journalists, resulting in product reviews on Forbes, Fast Company and Inc Magazine.
  • Increased the total user base by 35% within one year.

Food Mobile App, Phoenix, Arizona

Social Media Marketing Manager (July 2015 – October 2017)

  • Developed a communication strategy for the company’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
  • Created a regular publishing schedule, maintained high engagement with users. Follower account growth on Twitter +5,000 followers in 1 year; on Instagram +13,000 followers in 1 year.
  • Managed the collaborated with industry influencers on seasonal marketing campaigns. Reported on budgets and key KPIs.

Professional Certificates and Training 

Certifications: 

HubSpot Social Media Certification 2016-2019.
Google Analytics Certification
Facebook Ad Certification

Courses:

Content Strategy for Professionals: Engaging Audiences completed in December 2017 at coursera.org. Offered by Northwestern University.
Influencer Marketing Strategy completed in April 2018 at coursera.org. Offered by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content completed in June 2018 at coursera.org. Offered by Wharton School of Business.

Sample Resume Without College Degree But Credits

Lydia Price

Customer Success Manager for FinTech & EdTech Brands

Proactive CSM with strong people skills and a proven track record of improving business metrics. Reduced customer churn rates by 15% in one quarter for the personal finance management app. Maintained a 98% CSAT for managed customer accounts for a corporate learning platform. 

Skills & Competencies 

  • Relationship management 
  • Digital community building 
  • Customer onboarding
  • Customer retention 
  • Sales demos and presentations 
  • Deal management and negotiation 
  • Business analysis with Power BI 
  • Salesforce, HubSpot, Zendesk

Work Experience 

Customer Success Manager
FinTech Company
Atlanta, GA
May 2021-present 

Joined as the first CSM hire to a Series B startup, offering personal finance and wealth management services to Millennial consumers. During the first year in the role, focused primarily on customer retention and churn reduction. Performed customer surveys and did sentiment and statistic analysis of responses. Conducted 1:1 user interviews to elicit new insights and pitch personalized service offers. Collaborated with the product management team on implementing new user retention features (investment goal tracking, automated savings, and round-ups, personalized market analysis digests). Achieved a 15% churn reduction in 12 months. 

Junior CSM 
EdTech Company 
Atlanta, GA
July 2019-April 2021

Worked with a roster of corporate eLearning clients (primarily in the manufacturing sector). Facilitated with preparation of product presentations, demos, and sales decks. Took an active part in negotiating B2B contracts through a 12-month sales cycle. Developed and pitched up-sell opportunities with a 25% conversion rate. After a year, was appointed to run the annual CSAT program.  

Customer Support Specialist 
Ecommerce Business 
Atlanta, GA
Sep 2018-June 2019

Handled customer support tickets via Zendesk for an online fashion retailer. Provided assistance with shipping tracking, product returns, and refund processing. Helped troubleshoot common payment and online ordering issues. Maintained an average customer review score of 95%. 

Education: 

University of Atlanta (2017-2018)
Atlanta, GA
BA: Business Administration 
Completed 45 credit hours in 2017-18 before dropping out. 

Professional certifications: 

  • Customer Success Association – Certified Customer Success Manager (CCSM), issued in 2018. 
  • HubSpot – Inbound Sales Certification, issued in 2020. 

Pro Tip: How to Put Education on a Resume Without a Degree

When it comes to listing education on a resume without a degree, several scenarios are possible. 

First, you may have an unfinished degree. You’re still either pursuing it or decided that formal education isn’t for you. In this case, here’s how to style your education entry on a resume: 

Education

University of Toronto (2022 – 2023)
Toronto, CA
BS: Accounting — Completed 25 Hours
Passed Grade 1 Certification Examination

An alternative scenario is that you’ve never even gone to college or a trade school (which is fine!). But it doesn’t mean the education section on your resume has to be blank. 

In place of a formal degree, you can mention the following:

  • Professional certifications and licenses: List all the credentials you have obtained to develop your skill set. Make sure to add the year and validity status if applicable. 
  • Professional training and courses: Create a curated list of programs, workshops, or masterclasses (online and in-person) that you’ve completed to show your competencies. 
  • On-the-job training: Mention relevant training your former employer(s) have administered. 

Here’s how a sample education section on a resume may look like in this case:

Education: 

  • Professional Certificate in Content Design by UX Design Institute, issued in 2021. 
  • Google UX Design Professional Certificate, issued in 2022
  • Online courses from Interaction Design Foundation: “Mobile UI Design”, “Design Thinking”, and “Information Visualization”. 

How to Have a Great Resume Without a College Degree

For hiring managers, degrees are often a quick proof point of the candidate’s competency. Your goal is to emphasize your qualifications through other means: On-the-job experiences, skills, and work accomplishments. Focus on showing what you can do in practice, rather than just stating that you know the “theory”. Below are step-by-step tips for writing a resume without a college degree. 

Open With a Compelling Resume Summary

Open your resume with a succinct and memorable resume summary pitching the value you can bring to the company. Think of it as a quick “punch line” that immediately grabs attention and brands you as an experienced and promising candidate.

Here are a few tips to help you brainstorm a solid summary statement:

  • Attempt to write it after the work experience section.
  • Create a quick list of 3-5 top achievements in your career based on what you wrote in the experience section.
  • Re-read the job posting once again to determine which ones will be the most relevant to the employer.
  • Don’t pitch what you “can do”. Instead, tell what you have already accomplished.
  • Avoid vague, generic statements like these will make you sound like every other candidate applying for the job.

Read more about writing and styling a winning resume header

Keep The Focus On Your Accomplishments And Experience

In the chronological resume format, the “Work Experience” section comes first. Thus, you’ll have plenty of room to make a solid impression before the HR scans to the bottom education part. Make this section the focal point of your resume. Speak to your accomplishments at every position you have held, quantifying them with relevant numbers whenever possible. 

Showcase that you have solid hard and soft skills, highly relevant to the role. Prove that you are a solid performer that can bring a tangible impact to the new organization. Here’s a quick template you can use for that:

Position Name 

Employer 

Dates of employment 

  • List key skills and the results they helped achieve for the company
  • Quantify your impact with numbers if possible to add extra weight 
  • Describe your growth and extra skills/experiences you’ve acquired. 

Emphasize Alternative Education And Courses

Today formal education can be easily replaced with alternative training, offered by e-learning providers and MOOCs. Prestigious universities like Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and others offer free online courses and issue certificates of completion. Moreover, there are plenty of niche credentials you can obtain to complement your work experience and demonstrate that you have an up-to-date, hands-on skill set.  

Add these to your education section to make it more authoritative. Also, you can list all the professional training you have obtained on the job, plus add masterclasses, conferences, industry certifications, and so on. 

Finally, you can also list hobbies and interests if these are relevant to the job and help demonstrate your skill sets. For example, saying that you’re an avid marathon runner can strengthen your profile as a potential personal trainer. 

Edit Your Resume for Impact 

Once you are done with the initial writing, change gears for a while and then sit down to review your resume once again. Specifically, look for any gaps or vagueness that may leave the employer wondering about your expertise.

Sprinkle in additional power words and keywords (taken from the job description) to better articulate your competencies. Beef up your accomplishments and duties and re-check the texts for any grammar and formatting mistakes.

Pro tip: Use our free resume builder to create a well-formatted resume 2X faster. The app automatically guides you through each section and then generates a recruiter-friendly resume in Word or PDF format in one click. 

Final Tip: Apply Even If Your Feel Underqualified

A lot of job posts come with specific education requirements in terms of BA/MA. Don’t skip on these if you feel that you are otherwise a strong fit. A lot of employers prefer candidates with strong hands-on experience to those with a less diverse background, but the said degree.

Thus, emphasize your skills and career progression to showcase what results you can drive for this particular company. The best way to do so is by writing a strong resume summary/career statement and placing a stronger accent on your skills.

Author

  • Elena Prokopets

    Elena runs content operations at Freesumes since 2017. She works closely with copywriters, designers, and invited career experts to ensure that all content meets our highest editorial standards. Up to date, she wrote over 200 career-related pieces around resume writing, career advice... more

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