Highlight promotions in the top third of your resume for busy hiring managers.
Hiring managers, whether recruiters for many firms or dedicated to a single company, often wade through hundreds of resumes for one position. You have seconds and the top third of your resume to catch their attention, so even with one or more job promotions in the body of your resume, you need to highlight that quickly. Both the overall format of your resume and the specific promotion details you provide at first glance are pivotal in getting and keeping their attention.
Instructions
1. Draft your resume with job promotion details, such as title, dates, responsibilities and accomplishments -- also known as measurables. Don't worry about format in this initial stage. Document everything related to your promotion.
2. Edit your resume draft. Note gaps in work history (if any) and repetitive job responsibilities. According to Traci Bradstreet of Bradstreet Search Associates, "call out your most current experience to conserve resume space and still show progression." Delete any responsibilities from earlier job titles that are inherent to your more recent promotion. Ask a colleague or friend with resume writing experience for a fresh eye, because deleting items from your own previous positions can be difficult.
3. Consider your resume format. There are three main types: chronological, functional and combination. Chronological is the ideal format to highlight promotions because, as Bailey Kaplan, a hiring manager in the Greater Boston area, states: "We see the total number of years at one company and the progression of your employment." Like many other hiring managers, Kaplan also emphasizes the importance of the top third of your resume. If your job promotions are not recent or you have gaps in your employment, a chronological format may not be ideal, but you can still highlight a promotion in your resume summary.
4. Draft your resume summary. According to Bradstreet, your summary should be a short bullet list at the top of your resume highlighting measurables, such as a job promotion. Hiring managers look for results, not filler information about you. "Keep your summary bullets short," Bradstreet says, "and use them to draw the reviewer's eye downward to the details."
5. Identify your resume format. While chronological is the most useful to showcase job promotions, you can opt for a functional resume, especially if you have a gap in employment history. In both cases, highlight your promotion in the summary. Most people, however, fall into the combination category, which Cornell University's Career Services department says "accentuates skills and capabilities but also includes positions, employers and dates within the skill groups," in keeping with the chronological format but allowing for skill and functional category flexibility.
6. Format and finalize your resume. Proofread it and send it to a colleague or friend with resume writing experience for a fresh eye. Edit as needed. Keep the formatting minimal and consistent. Don't go overboard with formatting to highlight a promotion; if you've chosen the format best for your experience, hiring managers will recognize the promotion.
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