Continuous education is the process of acquiring new skills, knowledge, or attitudes as one ages.
The term “continuous education” was coined by the United States Department of Education in April 1984 to describe the systematic observation, measurement, and evaluation of education-related aspects of people’s lives beyond the boundaries traditionally imposed by schools.
Continuous education is not a concept that is new to society, but it is a more recently recognized term for lifelong learning.
Attempting to make sense of your resume can feel like solving a Rubik’s cube. The problem with resumes is that they are not well suited for a world where individuals want to keep learning and get better at their careers. It feels like you need a team of experts, who specialize in different parts of the human resources process, to craft one document tailored to your situation. This can be so frustrating that we don’t even bother updating our resume or looking for another job because it feels too difficult, daunting, or impossible.
But there is hope! We now have a tool that allows us to add continuous education in addition to the traditional career paths on our resumes. We can write about events, classes, or sessions in our lives that will make us better candidates for any job opening. The most important thing is how these additional experience sections on resumes add value to our job search.
Ways To Add Continous Education To Your Resume
The simplest way to add continuing education to your resume is to talk about it in more detail in your statement. You should highlight the first-hand experiences and qualifications that you gained through that experience, whether it was an academic program, a community-based project, or an informal class at your college. This section can be included as the first paragraph on a new page at the beginning of your resume, or as an additional document (after the summary) that should not be counted as part of your traditional resume content length requirements.
You can also highlight your work experiences that complement your education and add to your professional development. Even if you are still a student, and are not sure exactly how much education you want to include in your resume, it’s important to start thinking about how you can include “continuous education” on your resume. Again, it is this section that can be followed with some more details in the personal statement.
In addition to the academic education section, you might want to consider adding a project or a hobby. Can you think of any projects that you worked on in your free time that are related to your job aspirations? For example, if you have always wanted to work in the healthcare industry, maybe you could develop some new software for doctors/nurses/health programs. Whatever it is that interests you, there is probably a way for you to do something about it and talk about it on your resume.
Why should ‘continuous education’ be added to a resume?
Here are reasons why ‘continuous education should be added to a resume:
- It’s the trend.
- It provides the best possible opportunities to obtain new knowledge, skills, and expertise.
- There is no work experience bias in favor of those who have been in a certain field for years.
- Many job opportunities require an advanced degree or specific training beyond a college education, such as nursing or computer programming.
- It is more than just attending a class. It includes writing papers, giving presentations, and taking exams.
- It provides the prospective employer with a better understanding of how well you can apply your existing skills to new jobs and responsibilities.
- It shows how motivated you are to learn and grow as a professional.
- It establishes your commitment that will make you stand out among other applicants.
- Employers value staff who are continually improving and updating their skills.
- Collecting academic awards or certificates proves you are achieving at the top of your game in a field of study which may be important to the job you’re applying for.
- It provides you with a unique opportunity to demonstrate leadership potential.
- It gives you the edge over the competition in obtaining a job for which not everyone possesses the necessary skills.
- It can be passed on to other people and may contribute to change in their lives as well (for example your children’s education).
- Your effort will improve your testimonials, performance evaluation, references, and most important of all: your confidence!
Who should include ‘continuous education’ to their Resume?
The category of people who should add ‘continuous education’ to their resume are:
- Those who want to add a skill they acquired after their college years
- Those who want to change careers
- Those who feel the need to improve themselves, their skillset, or the course of their career, but don’t have time for traditional schooling.
- Those people who are in this field should aim to hone their skillset and progress by continuing their education. Continuing education can take many forms such as taking classes and workshops. Some people might even go on Wikipedia to learn how they can edit it.
Companies should also be allowed (or even required) to take part in continuing education as well.
Note: Make sure that when using this approach all of the information is truthful. If applying for any type of government position, checking with an attorney is recommended before listing anything that may be considered a conflict of interest.
Conclusion
Also, the concept of continuing education is best used in the development of careers to further a career and not in the maintenance of one. It’s common sense that people have to go to school when they are starting their careers, but as they progress through their careers many businesses/companies take it for granted that their employees will just know what to do by themselves. This can be discouraged by businesses if it becomes common practice for them to encourage continuous learning for one’s career to become more exciting and challenging for them.
