Optimise your CV by including your promotion in the right way

You've done the hard work and been rewarded with a promotion. All that effort, preparation, blood, sweat, and tears have finally paid off. But the puzzle comes when it's time to look afresh at the job market and see if anything else takes your fancy. How do you then show the promotion on your CV?

In this article, you'll find four ways to show promotions on your CV, including templates and CV examples, to help you decide which option is best for your situation. We'll guide you on:

  1. How to show a promotion on a CV at the same company (similar responsibilities)

  2. How to show a promotion on a CV at the same company (different responsibilities)

  3. How to show promotions on a CV for the same company twice (separate experiences)

  4. How to put multiple positions at the same company on a CV

What is a promotion?

A promotion typically happens when an employee successfully secures a role within their company that is at a higher position, level, or rank than they're currently at. It ultimately means more responsibilities, as well as a higher salary and employee benefits package. Some promotions also come with new or greater people management expectations. 

Moreover, some job promotions can also be lateral, rewarding employees with more significant roles at the same level.

Why show promotions on your CV?

Whichever type of career promotion you've received, it highlights that:

  • You've performed well in your current role and are capable of taking on more responsibility

  • You have leadership qualities and the potential to take on a leadership position

  • You are committed to the company and are willing to invest your time into growing professionally in the organisation

  • You are open to taking on new challenges and giving it your all

In turn, these movements show potential employers that:

  • You are steadily advancing your professional journey

  • You have a good set of skills which has resulted in achievements and successes

  • You are a top performer that is recognised and valued by your current employer

  • You have the potential to lead and manage teams effectively

In short, showing a promotion on your CV is the perfect way to showcase your candidacy for any role and that you are a valuable, desirable professional.

So, once you've decided that it's time to move on, you must show job promotions on your CV in the right way to effectively demonstrate that you're a strong contender for more senior-level roles in the future. 

It doesn't matter whether you've been promoted from a Shop Assistant to Assistant Shop Manager, Data Management Associate to Data Research Coordinator, or Vice Principal to Principal. You need to show that career promotion on your CV so it's there in black and white for the hiring manager to see when you apply for your next position.

How to show a promotion on your CV: the basic format

While there are several ways to show a promotion on your CV to complement your employment history, the following is the general format you ought to follow:

1. Write the name of the company

When listing a promotion on your CV, always start with the company or organisation you've worked for. You could also include the company's location, such as the town or city. If your company is based abroad, you can include the country too. Listing the employer first helps the hiring manager verify your job experiences.

2. Add job titles

After the company name, list your job titles in reverse chronological order, with your most recent position at the top. A reverse-chronological CV format is essential as it shows the height of your career first, which is the most important to your application. You don't want to prioritise older positions where your skill set wasn't as developed.

3. Specify the duration of employment at each role

Next, add the period of time you spent in each position to offer the hiring manager a clearer insight into the depth of your experience. For example, if you have 10 years of professional experience, your depth of expertise exceeds someone with three years of experience in the same space.

Including the duration of your tenure in each role may also show the hiring manager how quickly you achieved goals and progressed through the ranks.

4. Enter promotions, responsibilities, and achievements

Finally, use a bulleted list to highlight your responsibilities and achievements under each position. Typically, the first bullet point is the reason for your promotion. 

4 ways to show a promotion on your CV

Here are four potential ways to show promotions on your CV:

1. How to show promotions on a CV at the same company – with similar responsibilities

If you've enjoyed a long career at the same company where your responsibilities grew with you, but the nature of your job remained the same, you should show the promotions on your CV by stacking your job titles. Here's how to do it:

  • First, write the company name and location as the header 

  • Next, stack your job titles in reverse chronological order, indicating the dates in each role, to create a clean and cohesive look 

  • Finally, use bullet points under the stacked entries to list your most impressive achievements and responsibilities across all the listed roles

We recommend making the first bullet point the reason you were promoted. This should include a tangible accomplishment. For example, you can write “Swiftly promoted to Acting Assistant Manager within six months for delivering a 15% boost in customer satisfaction scores through exceptional service, staff engagement, and motivational strategies.” 

A word of warning, though. If you're applying for a role where the business will likely be using an ATS (Applicant Tracking System), then it's wise not to list positions one on top of the other, as you want to present an ATS-friendly CV at all times. 

This is because the ATS will only detect the first job title, missing the others, and therefore potentially downgrading your CV. If that's the case, the safest bet is to list separate entries for each role.

2. How to show promotions on a CV at the same company – with different responsibilities

Alternatively, you may have spent many years at the same company, but the scope of your responsibilities changed as you moved up the career ladder. In this instance, you should describe each position separately. Here's how to do it:

  • First, write the company name, location, and the start and finish dates for your entire time at the company. Think of this as the main heading that will introduce all your roles and achievements at the company.

  • Next, list your job titles, starting with the most recent one, with the dates you spent in each role.

  • Finally, under each role, use bullet points to list your key achievements. Again, starting the bullet points with the reason for your promotion is good practice. 

3. How to show promotions on a CV for the same company twice – separate experiences

It isn't uncommon for professionals to work at company A, leave to work at company B, and return to company A again. If this is you, you must list the promotion on your CV by creating two separate listings for one company. 

That's right. There's no harm in listing the same company twice if there's a completely different company or experience in between. The hiring manager will understand because this employment pattern is very familiar.

Write your professional experience on your CV in the standard way: reverse chronologically with the employer, job title, dates of employment, and key achievements for each position.

4. How to put multiple positions at the same company on a CV

There are situations where your job title might have changed, but you remained at the same level in the company. This is known as a lateral move or a horizontal promotion.

A couple of things might have happened to you in this scenario. Either your job title changed, but your responsibilities remained the same, or your job title changed, and so did your responsibilities. This situation is very common if your employer has been acquired and merged with another company.

If your job title changed but your responsibilities remained the same, stack your job titles. If your job title and responsibilities changed, describe each position separately.

Promotion on a CV template

Here's a selection of templates you can use to show a promotion on your CV:

Positions with similar responsibilities

If your positions have similar responsibilities, use this CV template:

Employer     MMM YYYY –  Present

Job title 2     MMM YYYY – Present

Job title 1                 MMM YYYY – MMM YYYY

  • Highlight your reason for promotion

  • Achievement 1

  • Achievement 2

  • Achievement 3

  • Achievement 4

  • Achievement 5

  • Achievement 6

Positions with different responsibilities

If your positions have different responsibilities, use this CV template:

Employer

Job title 2               MMM YYYY – Present

  • Highlight your reason for promotion

  • Achievement 1

  • Achievement 2

  • Achievement 3

  • Achievement 4

Job title 1         MMM YYYY – MMM YYYY

  • Achievement 1

  • Achievement 2

  • Achievement 3

Separate experiences

If you switched companies, then eventually returned to a previous employer, consider using this CV template:

Employer 1

Job title 2                 MMM YYYY – Present

  • Achievement 1

  • Achievement 2

  • Achievement 3

  • Achievement 4

  • Achievement 5

  • Achievement 6

Employer 2  

Job title 1           MMM YYYY – MMM YYYY

  • Achievement 1

  • Achievement 2

  • Achievement 3

  • Achievement 4

Employer 1

Job title 1           MMM YYYY – MMM YYYY

  • Achievement 1

  • Achievement 2

  • Achievement 3

Examples of showing promotion on CV

Below are examples demonstrating various ways to showcase a promotion on your CV:

Same company, similar responsibilities

If you've been promoted by title but the scope of your responsibilities has remained roughly the same, then you can stack your job titles with the achievements underneath in bullet-point format:

Heavy Plant Company 

Plant Manager                                                                                        Mar 2020 – Jan 2024      

General Manager                                                                                   Apr 2018 – Mar 2020

  • Promoted to Plant Manager for driving 20% production output increase and 15% profitability rise through efficiency optimisation, cost-saving measures, and safety culture enhancement

  • Led workplace safety initiatives, resulting in a 50% decrease in workplace accidents in two years

  • Proactively managed supply chain disruptions by diversifying sourcing strategies and securing alternative suppliers to ensure uninterrupted production

  • Streamlined workflows and optimised resources, leading to improved productivity and on-time delivery of products to clients

  • Introduced environmentally sustainable practices within the plant, resulting in a 25% reduction in waste generation

  • Implemented quality control measures, reducing product defects by 20% and boosting customer retention by 10%

Same company, different responsibilities

The example below is for positions, with different responsibilities, within the same company:

The Phone Shop                                                                             Apr 2021 – Jan 2024

Acting Assistant Manager                                                                 Apr 2022 – Jan 2024

  • Swiftly promoted to Acting Assistant Manager within six months for delivering a 15% boost in customer satisfaction scores through exceptional service, staff engagement, and motivational strategies

  • Achieved a 15% increase in monthly sales revenue by implementing targeted upselling techniques and promoting high-margin products

  • Reduced customer wait times by 20% by implementing streamlined checkout processes and efficient customer service strategies

  • Improved customer satisfaction scores by 25% through personalised engagement strategies and resolving customer complaints effectively

  • Led a team training initiative that resulted in a 30% improvement in staff product knowledge and sales proficiency within six months

Sales Consultant                                                                                Apr 2021 – Apr 2022

  • Received consistent positive customer feedback, leading to a 30% improvement in customer satisfaction ratings within six months

  • Achieved a sales increase of 20% over one year, contributing to the overall success of the team and the profitability of the store

  • Implemented targeted customer loyalty programs, resulting in a 25% increase in repeat purchases 

Separate experiences

If you left a company for a promotion at another business but returned later to take on a more senior position, here's how you could highlight your promotion on your CV: 

Bank House

Head of Document Management                               Aug 2019 – Present

  • Implemented digitisation initiatives, reducing paper usage by 40% and achieving £200,000 in annual cost savings

  • Led the implementation of a new document management system, resulting in a 30% increase in document retrieval speed and a 20% reduction in processing errors

  • Achieved 100% compliance with regulatory requirements through meticulous document tracking and audit procedures

  • Enhanced document security protocols, reducing the risk of data breaches by 50% and ensuring compliance with industry standards

  • Spearheaded a document retention strategy, reducing storage costs by 25% while maintaining legal and regulatory compliance

Building Society

Senior Project Manager                                                 Aug 2015 – Jul 2019

  • Successfully delivered a portfolio of projects valued at £10 million under budget, achieving cost savings of 15%

  • Improved project delivery timelines by 20%, resulting in completing key initiatives ahead of schedule and enhancing stakeholder satisfaction

  • Implemented project management best practices, resulting in a 25% reduction in project risks and issues, leading to smoother project execution

  • Led cross-functional project teams to deliver a new customer service platform, resulting in a 30% increase in customer satisfaction scores within the first year of implementation

Bank House

Document Assistant                                          Mar 2012 – Aug 2015

  • Implemented streamlined document processing procedures, reducing processing time by 25% and improving efficiency

  • Ensured 100% accuracy in document filing and retrieval, leading to a 20% decrease in error rates and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards

  • Assisted in successfully migrating to a new document management system, resulting in a 30% increase in document accessibility and retrieval speed

Make room for promotions on your CV

Spending time to showcase promotions on your CV can pay dividends in the end, as it highlights your strengths and capabilities, such as leadership and management skills. It is a win-win situation as, once you've secured the role you're aiming for, it could pave the way for more promotions in the future.

Always show promotions on your CV in a way that complements your experience. Remember to consider the kind of promotion (horizontal vs vertical), the duties (similar vs different), and one of the three ways to format your promotion on your CV:

  1. Stacking your job titles under a company heading

  2. Describing each position separately

  3. Creating two separate listings for one company

If you're still not 100% sure how to show promotions on your CV, turn to the experts for help. Start by uploading your CV for a free review, where it will be analysed and scored based on its layout and content.

This article was originally written by Elizabeth Openshaw and has been updated by Laura Slingo.

Recommended reading:

Related Articles: