How to Show Promotions on a Resume (Examples)

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Table of contents

Why You Should Show Promotions on a Resume
How to Show Promotions on a Resume
Sample Resume Showcasing Promotions
How to Discuss Promotions on a Cover Letter
Key Takeaways
Resources to Help With Your Job Search

You were promoted at work. Congratulations! That's an accomplishment to be proud of. But now that it's time to update your resume, you may be wondering how to show promotions on a resume. Wonder no more—our guide has you covered.

In this guide, you'll learn:

Why your resume should highlight promotions

How to show promotions on a resume in different situations with examples

A sample resume with promotions

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Why You Should Show Promotions on a Resume

If your resume's work experience section is full of promotions, it indicates that your previous employers trusted you. They believed that you were ready to take on new responsibilities based on your performance and skills. That's a big deal!

Even if showing promotions on your resume feels like more work than listing separate, independent jobs, it's absolutely worth the effort. Your accomplishments should be recognized, after all! On top of that, promotions demonstrate:

Leadership skills
Efficiency
The ability to deliver on promises
Proactivity

These are key professional skills that employers love to see from potential candidates. So, how can you show promotions on your resume? Let's dive in.

How to Show Promotions on a Resume

Building a resume featuring your promotions is not too different from making one without them. Depending on the circumstances of your roles, there are a few ways to approach listing your promotions.

How to show promotions on a resume for two similar roles

If your responsibilities did not change very much between promotions, then the content of your work experience section doesn't need to change either. You can list those titles back-to-back with the responsibilities and accomplishments from both roles combined. Here's how that might look:

Sample promotions on a resume when the roles are similar:

Tech Solutions Inc. – New York, NY
Senior Software Developer– June 2021 – Present
Software Developer – March 2019 – June 2021

Designed and implemented scalable web applications using React and Node.js, resulting in a 25% increase in user engagement.
Collaborated with cross-functional teams to streamline development processes, reducing project timelines by 15%.
Debugged and resolved critical system issues under tight deadlines to maintain 99.9% system uptime.

Pro tip

For most roles, you'll list the role first and then the company. On the other hand, when you're showcasing promotions, it can help to list the company first to make it obvious that both roles belong under the same company.

How to show promotions for two roles with different responsibilities

When your roles involve different responsibilities, listing the two titles together might be inaccurate or may overlook how you've handled your career progression and delivered on your new responsibilities. There are two ways to show a promotion on your resume that demonstrates the differences between the roles: stack the roles beneath the organization or list them in separate entries.

Here are examples for each:

Sample promotions on a resume that are stacked beneath the organization:

Creative Solutions LLC – Las Vegas

UX Manager
August 2023 – Present

Spearheaded the redesign of the company's flagship product, reducing user churn by 35% and boosting customer satisfaction ratings to 4.8/5.
Managed a team of eight UX designers and researchers, ensuring the delivery of user-centered design solutions on time and within budget.
Implemented a streamlined design system that reduced design-development handoff errors by 50%.

Graphic Designer
January 2021 – August 2023

Conceptualized and designed digital and print marketing materials, increasing brand visibility by 40%.
Developed branding guidelines for 10+ clients, creating cohesive visual identities across all media platforms.
Designed engaging social media graphics that contributed to a 50% increase in follower growth within one year.

Sample promotions on a resume that are organized as individual roles:

Senior Paralegal
Law & Justice Associates – Chicago, IL
July 2022 – Present

Promoted from paralegal to senior paralegal in recognition of exceptional legal research skills and case preparation.
Trained and supervised a team of three junior paralegals, enhancing their research and document review capabilities.
Successfully managed client relationships, addressing inquiries and maintaining client satisfaction ratings above 95%.

Paralegal
Law & Justice Associates – Chicago, IL
May 2020 – July 2022

Conducted in-depth legal research to support attorneys in case preparation, resulting in favorable outcomes in over 85% of cases.
Prepared and filed legal documents such as pleadings, motions, and contracts within strict deadlines.
Assisted in trial preparation by organizing exhibits, drafting briefs, and managing case files for seamless courtroom presentations.

Pro tip

What happens if you've been promoted multiple times within the same company? Don't sweat it! Choose the method that works best for your resume and add as many job entries as you need to.

Sample Resume Showcasing Promotions

Check out this sample resume for a visual reference demonstrating how a well-organized work history section can display promotions neatly.

Use this template

Pro tip

If you have multiple promotions to display or many relevant roles to discuss, it might be time to consider a two-page resume. A resume is usually either one or two pages long, depending on your experience level. Even if your career hasn't been very long, if you have two pages worth of relevant, detailed information to share, then two pages is appropriate. Remember that you should never go over two pages for a resume, so use your on-page real estate wisely.

How to Discuss Promotions on a Cover Letter

Your promotion is a big accomplishment that deserves attention. Your resume offers an opportunity to showcase your career progression, but it isn't the best place to add context or flesh out the specific details of your promotion. Fortunately, you will have a chance to do so in your cover letter.

Writing a cover letter offers more flexibility than a resume. You can choose what aspects of your career to focus on based on the role and the key skills you intend to demonstrate. This means that a cover letter is the perfect place to not only showcase your promotion but also the hard work, growth, and responsibility that contributed to earning it.

Here are some tips for discussing a promotion in your cover letter:

Show, don't tell: Employers will want to know why you were promoted. Instead of focusing on the promotion itself, discuss the concrete results you achieved that led your employer to entrust you with more responsibility. Use active language and numerical data to demonstrate the impact of your work.
Adapt to the job listing: While the details of your promotion won't change, the skills you choose to emphasize should be adjusted to fit the role you're applying for. If the job listing is seeking a candidate with leadership skills, it's worth mentioning how leading teams, making decisions, or mentoring coworkers might have contributed to your promotion.
Turn challenges into strengths: A promotion can be a big work adjustment and isn't always smooth sailing. You might think that you should avoid admitting to challenges at work, but this isn't the case. Employers like to see how you apply your problem-solving skills to adapt to challenges. If your promotion came with an adjustment period, don't be afraid to discuss what that looked like as long as you stay focused on demonstrating how you overcame it.
Don't neglect your other roles: Your promotion is something to be proud of, but that doesn't mean it's the most relevant detail for your cover letter. If you have work experience that's more recent or relevant, prioritize it. Make space for the details that match the job listing the best, and mention your promotion briefly.

Pro tip

While cover letters aren't a strict "requirement" for all job applications, they are often expected and can have a big impact on your success as a candidate. Try an online cover letter generator for help building a cover letter quickly. Each letter should be unique to the role, professional, and designed to complement your resume. Check out our library of cover letter examples for a visual reference to help you get started.

Key Takeaways

Display your accomplishments with pride
Promotions demonstrate key professional skills along with enthusiasm, work ethic, and a commitment to unlocking your career potential. These are things employers love to see, so don't hesitate to showcase promotions on your resume.
List similar roles together
If your promotion hasn't changed your responsibilities very much, you can list both roles under one work experience entry. This will help you avoid repetition and conserve valuable resume space.
Highlight the distinct responsibilities between different roles
If your promotion came with new responsibilities, showcase these by creating a unique set of bullet points for each role. You can stack them under a single heading for the company or list them separately as two distinct work experience entries.
Add context with your cover letter
Your cover letter is the perfect opportunity to discuss your promotion in deeper detail. Use your cover letter to explain why you were promoted, how your promotion prepared you for your next opportunity, and what skills and outcomes contributed to your recognition at work.

Resources to Help With Your Job Search

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Hailey Brophy is an experienced writer with a diverse career in digital publication. She is passionate about using her unique skills and experiences to help job seekers find the information that they need to succeed.