How to List eCornell on Your Resume to Maximize Impact
Congratulations on completing your eCornell program!
When I was a facilitator for eCornell's Business Analytics courses, students often asked how they should list their eCornell certificates on their resumes.
In this article, we'll answer the following questions:
- Where should I list my eCornell certificate on my resume?
- What information do I need to include?
- How can I leverage my certificate to position myself for a career change?
- How much course-specific detail should I provide?
Where should I list my eCornell certificate on my resume?
We recommend listing your certificate in one the following sections:
- Certifications
- Professional Development
- Education
Certifications
We recommend putting eCornell courses under a Certifications section, as this is the most transparent way of showing recruiters that you earned a certificate from Cornell - not an official degree.
By separating your certifications from your degrees, you'll:
1) Avoid detracting attention away from your degrees, which you should highlight more prominently
2) Demonstrate your commitment to continuing education
Professional Development
If you have completed professional development courses at work or with external agencies, you may also consider including your eCornell certificate in this section.
Education
If you list your eCornell certificate under education, be transparent about the program's duration and the fact that it was a certificate program - not a full degree.
Recruiters we work with have pointed out an increasing trend of people making it seem as if they graduated from “Cornell University” when they only completed an online certificate program.
Such instances were highly frowned upon, negatively impacting the candidates.
To avoid any confusion or resemblance of manipulation, we advise our clients to list certificates under one of the two sections above.
What information do I need to include?
According to eCornell, you should list your certificate using the following format:
Cornell University, Certificate Name, 2021
As such, a student who has completed a program in Data Science with SQL and Tableau should include the following information:
Cornell University, Data Science with SQL and Tableau Certificate, 2021
We advise including the months in which you took your classes as well to avoid the perception that it was a year-long program.
Alternatively, you can simply state: "Completed March 2021."
How can I leverage my certificate to position myself for a career change?
If you are looking to change careers, select a certificate program that is directly relevant to the work you will be doing moving forward.
Many students in my Business Analytics courses did not work in roles that required the skills covered in the course.
They chose to pursue the program so that they could better position themselves for promotions or transfers into data-related roles.
eCornell's certificates are comprised of individual two- to three-week courses.
This course structure not only makes it easier to complete your program in manageable chucks, but its course titles also provide you with additional content that you can easily add to your resume.
As a result, you'll be able to naturally incorporate relevant keywords that are related to your target roles.
Doing so will help you optimize your resume for applicant tracking systems that recruiters use to automatically screen applications.
How much course-specific detail should I provide?
When listing online courses on your resume, you need to weigh their relevance and importance in relation to your other achievements.
If you are a senior-level executive with many notable career accomplishments, eCornell may not play as important of a role in your overall story. As such, you might only list the name of your certificate.
If you are a recent graduate with little work experience, haven't completed an undergraduate degree, or are looking to switch careers, you can consider emphasizing the content of your certificate more heavily.
For example, a student who currently works in hotel operations but is looking to transition to a career in feasibility and investment analysis might include the following information:
Cornell University, Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management Certificate, March 2021
Relevant Courses: Financial Analysis of Hotel Investments | Valuing Hotel Investments Through Effective Forecasting | Valuing Hotel Intellectual Property and Structuring the Capital Stack
You can also focus on relevant topics instead of course titles:
Cornell University, Business Analytics Certificate, April 2021
Topics included: Financial Modelling in Excel | Forecasting | Scenario and Sensitivity Analysis | PivotTables | PowerPivot | Data Model Development | Prescriptive Analytics | Data Tables
In Summary
By listing eCornell's online certificate programs on your resume, you'll be able to accomplish the following:
- Demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning
- Position yourself for a promotion or career transition
- Showcase practical skills that will enable you to hit the ground running
If you need help preparing an effective resume, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile, our team can help.
Current and former eCornell students are eligible for a 10% discount on any of our end-to-end writing services.
To learn more, email team@resumepilots.com.
About Resume Pilots
Resume Pilots is an award-winning executive resume writing firm and a proud member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and Career Coaches. Our previous clients include CEOs and senior executives at the world's leading companies.
As a professional services firm, we take your reputation seriously. We are committed to delivering writing excellence and superior service while operating with integrity and discretion. Recruitment firms we partner with also trust us to consistently deliver quality documents for their clients.
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Here's how we can help you:
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About the AuthorMatt Glodz
Matt Glodz is the Founder and Managing Partner of Resume Pilots and a Certified Professional Resume Writer.
After studying business communication at Cornell University, Matt worked within Fortune 500 companies, where he noted that qualified candidates were frequently denied interview opportunities due to poorly written documents.
At Resume Pilots, Matt combines his business and writing background - which includes prior work for a Chicago Tribune publication - to craft resumes that give his clients the best chance of landing interviews. He works with clients ranging from CEOs to recent graduates and has been writing resumes for over 10 years.
He has been quoted on numerous business and career-related topics in outlets including Business Insider, CNBC, Fortune, Glassdoor, The Ladders, and Thrive Global.