How to Incorporate Promotions on a Resume
No one "right" way exists to list promotions on your resume. You should examine your own particular circumstances, experience and the position sought to determine the approach that will best display the qualities you want to highlight. This strategy will vary depending on the job you are applying for. For example, a resume for a job requiring several years of progressively responsible experience should be formatted differently than one for a job that requires a specialized technical skill. Applicants should prepare a new resume for each job vacancy, utilizing the best approach for that position.
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Instructions
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List each promotion as a separate position title. This approach is best if you held each position for a significant amount of time, if each job was relevant to the current vacancy, and you want to provide a detailed list of duties for each promotion. This segregated approach can also be helpful if your work experience is limited to one or two companies -- because listing just the companies can create an initial impression that you are inexperienced, even if you spent years at each company.
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List or "stack" all promotions within one company under the same title header. Place the name of the company on the left side of the paper and the total dates of employment on the right side. Under the header on the left, list each job title, starting with the most recent, and the dates you held that position. This technique is useful when you want to highlight your rapid rise through the ranks, or when some of the positions are not particularly relevant to the current vacancy and you don't want to take up space with individual position descriptions. This way, you can highlight the most relevant job duties from all your positions.
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Use a modified version of the stacking approach if you held several lower-level positions that do not need highlighting, but one or two later promotions that do. List the company name on the left as the section header, and state the total dates of employment on the right. However, instead of listing every promotion on a separate line, list the few important positions under the company name, and then add a line titled "Early Positions" or "Initial Positions" and list all the job titles in a single line, separated by commas.
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Include details of your promotions as the first line of the position description, or in a bullet point in the duties and responsibilities section. For example, you might state: "Promoted to several progressively more responsible managerial positions."
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Include promotions within your accomplishments section or highlight them in your objective statement to demonstrate your competence. For example: "Received industry recognition and awards for my work on laser physics, and was rewarded by promotion and selection for national initiatives in the field."
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Tips & Warnings
Don't clutter your resume with promotions. Pay attention to the formatting so that you are highlighting only the promotions that will be most relevant and impressive to the hiring manager.
Use a uniform method throughout your resume. Otherwise, it may appear that you are being dishonest or manipulative, and this will be a red flag for the employer.
