contact us

Use the form on the right to contact us.

You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right.​


Seattle, WA
USA

Tandem Powered offers a full suite of Professional Resume Writing, Career Development, and HR / Business Consulting services.

Blog / Podcast

The Change Laboratory’s blog is dedicated to empowering people by highlighting best practices in the arena of personal / career development and organizational effectiveness.

When to Include Incomplete Degree on a Resume?

Kent R.

Do you list education on resume if you did not finish the program/major?

Advice on when it makes sense to include an incomplete degree on a resume

As with almost all things "resume," the answer is “it depends.”  Here are some questions to consider when trying to decide whether or not to include incomplete degree or coursework towards a degree.

  • Are you actively pursuing the degree?

  • Is it the only education you are listing?

  • Is it relevant to the position in which you are interested?

  • Is it a significant amount of coursework?

  • Is speaking to not completing your degree going to derail you in interviews?

If you are, in fact, actively – and well into – pursuing a degree, then you can list it. Just make sure to add the term “Candidate” so it is clear that you haven’t completed your degree.

Wondering about resume content? Continually ask yourself: "Is this bolstering readers' perceptions of my qualifications or is it a distraction?" In the case of this question, listing an incomplete degree on your resume – assuming you aren’t actively pursuing it – could draw attention to your lack of a degree. As I’ve said elsewhere in this blog, that may sound unfair – just because you didn’t earn the degree doesn’t mean you didn’t learn anything – but your resume is all about marketing. Listing an incomplete degree on your resume can prompt potential employers to ask, “Why didn’t she finish that degree? I wonder if she has a hard time following through.”