There is little more impressive for a hiring manager than seeing how valuable you were to previous employers. If you have a track record of progressive internal job moves (both sideways and promotions) within the same company, it is not hard to imagine you doing the same in the future. Most ambitious professionals want to be promoted and take on greater responsibilities - they do not have to move companies to make it happen.
But how do you showcase having had multiple positions for the same company on your resume? In this blog, we’ll explore:
- Do you group the job titles together?
- Do you list each position in a separate section?
- How do you indicate your time worked in each position?
- How do you draw attention to promotions?
Getting this right can mark you out as “one to watch” in the job search. People change jobs a lot more frequently these days, so staying to deliver and grow in one company is laudable.
Displaying multiple positions
While it is important to ensure that all your previous job titles (and the respective dates of employment) are listed correctly, there are a couple of ways to achieve this.
You can list the positions and dates above the text about your accomplishments for your whole time at the employer. Alternatively, you can break your career at the company into individual positions and put the titles and dates above each role. Let’s consider the benefits of each approach.
Group the job titles
If the jobs were similar to one another (i.e. a promotion within the same department), then it is best to stack the titles above each other with dates of service. You can then detail your achievements across both roles – ideally focusing on the more senior role.
It may be interesting to share the story behind your promotion if an impressive achievement lies behind it, but the fact that you were promoted is impressive enough.
Mackin Stores, San Diego
Warehouse Manager (January 2019 -Present)
Warehouse Assistant (March 2015 - December 2018)
- Accomplishment one
- Accomplishment two
- Accomplishment three, etc
Your achievements in the minor role will be less impressive, so don’t waste resume space.
Outline each position
If you wish to highlight different experiences from the roles, then it is advisable to separate them. This is more visually impactful. If one role is more relevant than the other in terms of work experience , you can always add more content in terms of bullet points and text around your accomplishments.
Mackin Stores, San Diego
Logistics Manager (January 2019 -Present)
- Accomplishment one
- Accomplishment two, etc
Warehouse Manager (March 2015 - December 2018)
Text about the challenges of the role – relevant to the position in question.
- Accomplishment one
- Accomplishment two
- Accomplishment three, etc
When a promotion is to a different department, or your activity varies significantly from your previous role (managing a warehouse or managing logistics providers), you may decide to showcase your breadth of experience to a future employer.
How to highlight promotions
Securing a promotion when you move to another employer is impressive, but when you are promoted within your company there is a special prestige.
When a previous employer promotes you, they trust in your ability to take their business and their team to the next level. This isn’t based on a 60-minute interview. They make the decision after months and maybe years of stellar performances.
An internal promotion is therefore one of the most impressive aspects of any resume.
If you wish to highlight it, I suggest grouping the job titles and using the first line of text to explain why you were promoted. Just the word promotion will make a future employer’s eyes widen and they will hope that you follow that path with them.
Key takeaways
Having held multiple positions for the same company is a sign of being a valued employee. Showcasing this on a resume will make it clear to any employer just how valuable you are.
- Understand the best approach for sharing your multiple positions.
- Make sure that you do not miss out on any of your key accomplishments.
- Highlight any promotions. Be loud and proud (but don’t put them in bold text).If the moves were not so impressive, group them together.
