Whether you are still in college or have already graduated, there are important steps to take to make sure your double major is highlighted properly on your resume. We will explore how best to put a double major on your resume and the benefits of doing so. We will provide tips and strategies that will help you highlight your double major in an effective and professional manner.
Resume, CV, and other such professional documents are formatted to reflect that your professional and educational backgrounds, skills, and experiences make you a right fit for the vacant position.
Resume is petite in length than the curriculum vitae. However, all such documents are planned, written, and edited focusing on the employer, organization, departments which is hunting the ideal candidate for filling vacant position.
Related: Parts of a Resume- Sections of a Resume
- Should you include minor on resume?
- “Should I Put my Major on my Resume?”
- What does the double major mean?
- What is the difference between major and degree?
- Is a double major worth it?
- Can you double major and have a job?
- Should you put Your Double Major on Your Resume?
- Tips for writing a Double Major on a Resume
- How to put double major on resume?
- Double major resume sample
- Double Major Facts
63% of employers prefer candidates who format/ tailor their resumes relative to the open position.
The crowded job market and myriad other factors result in hundreds of applicants competing for a single position – planning to rise in the job ladder or gaining experience/ exposure to begin their personal business.
So, candidates who really desire to land the opportunity would try their hardest whether it’s the matter of formatting initial documents or preparing for preliminary interviews.
Sections of a Resume
A resume typically covers:
- Title
- Personal information
- Education portion: qualifications, diplomas, degrees, and research experience
- Interests: a good document writer would wisely utilize this section by including job-relevant information
- Publications: These are of immense significance in the science-related and teaching fields.
- Skills: E.g. Quark Xpress and Photoshop software programming skills for graphic designing job
- Social society memberships
- Past employment experiences: It better be pertinent. E.g. you would skip your tutoring experience when applying for an HR position at ABC Company.
- Honors and awards: Won in academic years or in previous employments. E.g. Standout Performer, Achiever of the year award.
Education Section of a Resume
Recent graduates have this section to display their experience. But how to format the best version of it? How to write a major and minor on the resume? How to add a specialization in resume?
Well, you need to modify this portion’s data in relevance to the circumstances of the open role. This altered information mirrors:
- You have read and paid heed to the job ad, displaying your interest.
- You can contribute better to the company goals in comparison with the fellow applicants.
“Info Included in Education Section of a Resume”
- School Name
- School Location
- Obtained Degree
- Education Tenure: From and to dates. E.g. the year you graduated
- Major and Minor
Should you include minor on resume?
If the applicant is oblivion of the way to format this section; minor specializations, double minors, and double majors information results are something like chaos and the recruiter is unable to follow the facts you want to convey.
Should we consider including minors? Yes, if it’s relevant to the position. Sometimes, students choose minors totally distinct from the majors – this is when you gotta skip mentioning them in your resume.
For instance, Majoring in Chemistry, the related minor is Physics/ Biology. But you may minor in an unrelated field like French. A chemist can mention the former but should/ must skip talking about the French major.
“Should I Put my Major on my Resume?”
There are viewpoints on whether or not it should be done. One viewpoint is that there is certainly no logic in hiding your educational features in the professional document. You shouldn’t worry about if or if not your degree is relevant to the vacancy.
You gotta add your educational credentials when demanded to cite in the job announcement. Some jobs have specific bold requirements of particular degrees with particular majors. So, hiding the major won’t help you at all.
While as per another perspective, there are specific times for skipping this step or including it!
- Your major is highlighting your expertise.
- These skills/ expertise are of value.
- You bear experience in the field.
This is why the resume writer shouldn’t dillydally to state major or double major in resume.
What does the double major mean?
Students opt for double majors to pursue dual fields of study. It may be done out of interest and passion, or by the intention of distinction of oneself whenever he/ she would step into the job market.
Students specialize in two different subjects, complete their coursework, and receive a degree with a double/ dual major. The subjects thus selected for double major may be unrelated like Math and French or related like Algebra and Math.
Relate: How to List Microsoft Excel Skills on Resume What is the difference between major and degree?
You get a degree after graduating your college, after concluding coursework of all subjects. Major is a subject you specialize in while completing your degree.
Is a double major worth it?
Not everybody has got the same life plans and short-term/ long-term goals, so it depends whether or not double majoring decision suits you!
Majoring in two subjects means doubling the struggle, time, and attention. If these two subjects are interrelated, the effort in one may complement the concentration in another.
In contrast, if they are different like Japanese and Math – you would need to hard work two fold.
Not only does this broadens your knowledge spectrum, but also magnifies your future employment prospects. For instance, if Ben has majored in both politics and environmental sciences; he can choose any of these careers!
Can you double major and have a job?
Studies are of the view that double major pupils are more innovative in comparison to single major students. Furthermore, their salaries are more than the latter in the future.
Double Major » Higher Earning, More Breaks
Should you put Your Double Major on Your Resume?
Yes, because it displays your dedication to the field and depth of understanding. Employers are interested in employees who can work responsibly and handle multiple responsibilities and multi-task whenever time call.
Double majoring and mentioning double major on your resume can showcase this attribute to them, and they might get interested in picking you from the pool.
Tips for writing a Double Major on a Resume
Some practical approaches could be:
| Job-Related Major | “We know by now that relevancy is the best ingredient for a winning resume”. So, there should not be a second thought inputting the job relevant major first in the education section. This could highlight you as a right fit. |
| Use a Label to Insist on | The reader must not get confused in any of the section’s information. You ma utilize a label for your double major to mark its importance and existence. You may use: major in, double major, etc. |
| Evade Repetition | In case of double majoring, mention these majors under the degree name separately. Instead of writing degree and one major once and degree and second major later. This would avoid any recurrence. |
| Formatting | How you position different sections of a resume highlights which portion you give more weightage to personally. • If you have more experience; experience section should be before education section. • However, if you bear small or nil experience, it is better to include this section after education portion. |
How to put double major on resume?
Avoid cluttering this info. You can take inspiration for this plan – no hard and fast rules – to format a neat, professional, and pertinent education section of your resume.
- Education section layout
- Add information on degrees
- Add double majors – relevant one first
- Add minors (if any)
- Add additional information (awards, GPA, accomplishments, and certifications)(optional)
- Optimize
- Proofread
Education section layout
Planning a layout is always helpful. You would be doing reverse chronological order, i.e. latest degrees first. You would be entering the school name, location, degree with majors and minors, the year you entered, and the year you passed (mention present if still completing a degree).
Add information on degrees
After planning, practical this layout. Mention the above-stated info under the education section.
Add double majors – relevant one first
If you majored in two subjects, put a job-relevant one first.
If both are not directly related, but the famous one first.
Don’t camouflage if you are still on the way of concluding your degree. There is no ground/ justification to lie even if mentioning it as a concluded degree sounds more appropriate.
Add minors (if any)
Minors are not given many highlights. You can include it after majors. You may skip mentioning if it’s irrelevant and you have got enough professional experiences (relevant ones!) to include.
Add additional information (awards, GPA, accomplishments, and certifications)
If you scored fine, don’t be shy including your grade point average. Omit if it’s lower and you have got good experience in the field.
Commitment, drive, progress, and improvement; all are lovable employee traits for a hiring team. Awards, accolades, certifications, and other credentials are fine ways to display such personas.
Related: How to Put Gpa on LinkedInOptimize
“Not just this, but all sections should be optimized with the right and relevant keywords” wisely to pass your resume through the ATS Applicant Tracking Systems and help them reach the hirer’s table.
Proofread
Ensure the completion of info and the absence of grammatical/ formatting slips. These errors decrease the essence and strength of the presented data.
Double major resume sample
You may choose from one of these following options:
Example 1
University of Cambridge, Cambridge – 2020
Bachelor of Science, Double major in Mathematics and Commerce, Minor in Statistics
GPA: 4 Honors: Summa Cum Laude
Example 2
Texas Southern University, Houston, TX
2016-2020
Bachelors of Arts
Majors: Economics and Business Management
Minor in Commerce
Coursework: Business Communication, Basic Finance, Principles of Marketing, Economics, Money, and Banking
Awards: Student of the Year 2018
Example 3
Northwestern State University, July 2021
Bachelor of Science, double major in Data Analysis and Business Analytics
“IBM Data Analyst Professional Certification
SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional Using SAS 9
SAS Big Data Professional Certification”
Coursework: Data analytics, communication, business law, business administration
Conferences: Big Data Innovation Summit
Double Major Facts
10-25% of students opt double majoring in educational institutions. (2021)
People confuse dual degrees with double majors. Unlike double majors, students are awarded dual degrees in the former case, this means they can earn a bachelor of science and Bachelor of Arts degree. In double major, students get single degree with two specializations.
Double major is equivalent to earning more credit hours and more tuition fees subsequently.
On an average, double major pupils enjoy 3% annual salary upturn as compared to single major students.
