Whether you are gainfully employed wanting to continue your professional education, or you are in between jobs and hope to fill in some experience gaps, online education is a great route to pursue. But, is this the kind of information that should show up on your resume?

The short answer is: Yes. There is absolutely a place for online education on a resume. According to Laurie Pickard, there are right and wrong ways to utilize it. In her article, “How to List Online Courses on Your Resume the Right Way (Because Yes, There Is a Wrong Way),” Pickard provides a list of suggestions how to best represent this part of your experience.

Consider these experiences supportive, not primary. Remember that online courses are pieces that work together to create a whole. Therefore, they should be listed as supportive evidence of your knowledge rather than highlighted as primary examples of your experience. Pickard suggests to “confine them to a single, small area, such as a ‘Professional Training’ section under your work history.”

Focus your list. As with all other experience, tailor the courses you include on your resume to the specific job for which you apply. Those listed should add relevant value to your candidacy, or, they need to be left off the resume.

Make it notable. Pickard spoke to a number of recruiters for her article, many of whom advise that listing introductory courses works against your candidacy rather than enhances it. She states, “… listing introductory-level online courses can make a candidate look bad when the expectation is that he or she will be an expert.” Further advice from a recruiter interviewed for Pickard’s article directs job seekers to list online education only when a major certification or other level of achievement is involved.

It’s not what you have, it’s what you’ve done with it. The same as it’s important to communicate you headed a particular project or instituted a new program in your work experience rather than simply list a duty, it is just as important to dynamically report your online course experiences. State how you have since applied what you learned, and articulate how that education will contribute to the position you want.

Continuing education of any kind is always personally beneficial. To make it professionally work in your favor, first, list only those online courses and programs directly applicable to your intended position. Then, take care in both the placement of this education on your resume as well as what you communicate about it. Following these guidelines will certainly allow your online education to enhance your candidacy!

Pickard, Laurie. “How to List Online Courses on Your Resume the Right Way (Because Yes, There Is a Wrong Way).” Daily Muse Inc. 2016. Web. (5 May 2016)

Nancy Stoker is a Senior Client Services Representative and Research Associate with ExecSearches.com.

For more information about our career coaching and resume review writing services, email review@execsearches.com.

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Last updated on May 12th, 2016 at 02:01 pm