How to Show Promotions on Your Resume

As you climb the career ladder, each step makes you savvier and adds valuable experiences and achievements to your resume. If you want to capture hiring managers' eyes and land more opportunities, you must know how to show promotions on your resume.

This is more than just listing job titles. It's about telling the story of your growth and success to potential employers. In this article, you'll find ways to effectively include promotions in your resume to show your impact at previous jobs.

Why Promotions Matter

Promotions are more than just new job titles. They're signs of your professional growth and success. Each promotion means employers recognize your skills and achievements and trust you.

These steps highlight that you met and exceeded expectations. Your promotion path demonstrates your adaptability, leadership, and positive influence on colleagues.

Learning how to show promotions on a resume is crucial. In a competitive job market, where recruiters sift through many resumes daily, effectively showcasing multiple positions in the same company in your resume can set you apart and position you as a candidate with a successful track record.

Use Promotions to Tell a Story

Strategically including promotions on your resume is a powerful asset that can significantly boost your job application. Instead of just listing job titles in order, turn your resume into an engaging story that showcases your progress within a company.

Employers want someone who can adapt and thrive in changing work environments. Knowing how to show a promotion on your resume is valuable because it highlights your career advancement and proves your commitment to excellence.

Why Your Resume Might Have Multiple Jobs at the Same Company

In your career, you have worked in different roles at the same company. This happens for various reasons, all worth highlighting on your resume.

Promotions Within the Same Department

The most common scenario is promotions within the same department. You might start at an entry-level position and gradually move up the ranks. Highlighting this progression on your resume shows your dedication to the company and ability to take on increased responsibilities.

Lateral Moves in Other Departments

Title changes also come through lateral moves to different departments within the organization. For example, you could find a new calling while collaborating with other departments.

Special Situations

Did you get new responsibilities and a raise but no job title change? That's called a "promotion in place," which might seem tricky to explain. These situations are still noteworthy as they signify recognition of your contributions, so you should present them in your resume.

How to List Multiple Jobs at the Same Company on a Resume

Effectively showcasing multiple positions at the same company in your resume requires careful planning and some flexibility. There are two main ways to do it: separate and stacked entries, each with pros and cons.

Separate Entries

This approach involves listing each position within the same company as a separate entry, maintaining the reverse chronological order. You'll effectively treat them like two positions at different companies. It's most beneficial when the positions involve distinct roles and responsibilities.

Pros

• Comprehensive insights. This method allows you to present a detailed view of achievements and contributions in each position so potential employers understand how you leveled up.
• Applicant tracking system (ATS) friendly. ATS algorithms scan resumes and cover letters for keywords from the job description, such as skills, job titles, and qualifications. A more detailed description of each position allows you to include more relevant keywords. This is especially useful if you took on vastly different job responsibilities, such as if you made a lateral move or went from individual contributor to manager.

Cons

• Longer resume. If you have a lengthy work history, using separate entries for each position may take up more space than necessary. This could distract from other important information and make your resume cluttered.
• Less cohesiveness. The separate entries approach may result in a less cohesive resume, as each role is presented as a standalone entity. This can make your career progression less evident for recruiters and hiring managers who, on average, only read your resume for a few seconds.

Template

Here's a template to help you visualize this format:

Company ABC - City, State

Senior Position XY (Month/Year - Month/Year)

- Accomplishments and responsibilities.

Company ABC - City, State

Position XZ (Month/Year - Month/Year)

- Achievements and duties.

Example 1: How to Show Promotion on Resume for Similar Roles

Check out an example of a separate entries structure to signal a promotion to a senior role:

Company ABC - St. Luis, MO

Senior Administrative Assistant (January 2020 - Present)

• Assumed additional responsibilities in overseeing departmental communications, leading to a 15% reduction in communication gaps.
• Implemented new organizational strategies, resulting in a 25% increase in overall department efficiency.

Company ABC - St. Luis, MO

Administrative Assistant (January 2018 - December 2019)

• Managed daily administrative tasks, handling over 100 monthly scheduling requests and preparing over 50 documents.
• Streamlined communication processes with team members, resulting in a 20% overall efficiency improvement.

Example 2: How to Show Promotion on Resume for Lateral Moves

How do you show the promotion on your resume if you had a lateral move? Here is an example of a jump from administrative assistant to office coordinator. Notice how we also highlight the promotion in the first bullet point:

Company ABC - St. Louis, MO

Office Coordinator (June 2020 - Present)

• Promoted to the role office coordinator role, managing office logistics.
• Coordinated administrative tasks, handling scheduling requests and preparing 50+ documents monthly.
• Implemented streamlined communication processes, contributing to a 20% improvement in overall team efficiency.

Company ABC - St. Louis, MO

Administrative Assistant (January 2018 - May 2020)

• Managed daily administrative tasks, handling over 100 scheduling requests monthly with precision.
• Streamlined communication processes with team members, resulting in a 20% overall efficiency improvement.

Stacked Entries

The stacked entries method consolidates all your positions under the same employer in reverse chronological order. This format is especially effective when you have similar roles and want to emphasize a clear upward trajectory within the company. It allows you to highlight promotions by listing each job title and its respective timeframe, showcasing a progression from one role to the next.

Pros

• Space efficiency. It prevents the resume from becoming too lengthy and overwhelming for the reader.
• Better readability. It provides a clear overview of your career progression. Employers can quickly understand your professional journey within the same organization.

Cons

• Fewer details. Stacked entries might provide limited space to showcase specific accomplishments and responsibilities for each role, potentially leading to a lack of detailed information about your contributions.
• Tricky for ATS. Some ATS systems may find it challenging to absorb information in stacked entries.

Template

Company 123 - City, State

Senior Position XY (Month/Year - Month/Year)

Junior Position XZ (Month/Year - Month/Year)

- Achievements and duties.

Example: How to Show Promotion on Resume with Stacked Entries

Here's how you can highlight a promotion with stacked entries while keeping the number of bullet points in check by summarizing your achievements for both roles:

Company ABC - St. Louis, MO

Senior Administrative Assistant (January 2020 - Present)

Administrative Assistant (January 2018 - December 2019)

• Revitalized organizational strategies, leading to a 25% increase in departmental efficiency.
• Handled over 100 scheduling requests monthly and prepared more than 50 documents with precision.

Always Have Your Career Narrative in Mind

If your journey involves varied responsibilities and skill sets, separate entries provide a clearer picture. If you’ve had consistent growth and promotions, use stacked entries to show your career trajectory.

Example of How to Show a Promotion in Place on Resume

If you have a promotion in a place and didn't have a title change, you can use the bullet points to show your increased responsibilities.

Here is what you could do:

Company ABC, Nashville, TN

Digital Marketing Specialist (January 2017 - Present)

• Lead campaign planning, team coordination, and overall strategy execution.
• Assumed additional responsibilities in January 2018 to oversee the coordination of digital marketing strategies as the team expanded.
• Spearheaded developing and implementing of digital marketing campaigns, resulting in a 30% increase in online engagement and a 20% boost in lead generation.
• Collaborated with the content team to create compelling and targeted content for social media platforms, contributing to a 25% growth in follower base.