How to Show Promotion on a CV (With Examples)

Showcasing your career progression on a CV highlights your ambition and demonstrates that you’re committed to growth. Employers don’t just want to see where you’ve worked—they want to understand how you’ve grown through your achievements and take on more responsibility over time.

In this article, you’ll learn how to show promotion on a CV clearly, with CV examples and tips to help you stand out. Whether you’ve had a formal promotion or gradually taken on more duties, I’ll show you how to reflect that growth on your CV the right way.

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How to show promotion on CV: example

What is a job promotion?

A promotion refers to an advancement in position or responsibilities within the same company. It highlights career progression, typically involving a new job title, increased responsibilities, or leadership roles. Including promotions on a CV shows the positive impact you’ve made within your role.

How to show a promotion on a CV effectively?

When showcasing a promotion on your CV, include it in the work experience section. This makes it easy for employers to see how you’ve taken on a broader range of responsibilities and how employers and colleagues value your skills and abilities.

Here’s how to highlight a promotion on a CV in four simple steps:

1. Add the job title

Start each entry with the specific job title you held at the company. Arrange these titles in chronological order, beginning with the earliest role and moving to the most recent. Such a logical structure presents a clear career history, allowing employers to easily follow your progress and see how your responsibilities and key skills have evolved over time.

2. Include the company name

Under each job title, provide the company name and its location. This helps employers quickly identify where you gained your experience. If you got promoted within the same company, make sure to repeat the company name for each role to highlight your success and progression within this specific workplace.

3. Indicate the employment period

For every position, list the dates you held the role, including years and months. This allows employers to quickly see your tenure in each role and highlights your rapid growth and progression from one role to the next.

4. List promotions and key responsibilities

Place your promotion as the first bullet point in a phrase like, “Promoted to [job title] in [date] in recognition of…”. Alternatively, present it as a separate italicised line right before the list of duties. This approach highlights your capacity for growth and learning, showing that you earned greater responsibilities through solid performance.

3 ways to show a promotion on your CV

There are three common ways to show a promotion on your CV, depending on the nature of your role and the duties that were involved:

1. Use separate entries for past and current roles

In this format, each position has its own section with detailed responsibilities. The CV keeps these entries separate to demonstrate the shift in responsibilities after the promotion, which is essential when a new role requires a different skill set or focus.

Example of separate entries for each position:

Why it works: It’s ideal when the promotion involves a significant change in duties. Listing roles separately highlights the change in your daily responsibilities and shows career development.

2. Stack multiple roles under a single company header

This approach works best when your promotions involve roles with similar duties or responsibilities. By listing various roles under a single company header, you maintain a clean and cohesive look on your CV. This format allows you to present a smooth transition between roles without cluttering the CV, and it is particularly effective when the duties in different roles are closely related.

Example of stacked entries:

Why it works: It’s best for promotions with similar duties. It keeps your CV simple and clean while showing a smooth transition between varying roles within the same company.

3. Merge both roles into one entry

You can also combine both roles in one entry to highlight a promotion with gradual changes in responsibilities, focusing on how your job evolved over time. In this format, you can use a single entry to showcase the progression, often including a career progression bullet point to highlight the promotion within that timeline.

Example of single entry with combined roles:

Why it works: This approach is ideal for showcasing a gradual increase in responsibilities. It highlights continuous growth and keeps the focus on your overall advancement within a single role.

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How to show lateral moves on your CV?

After covering how to showcase promotions, it’s also essential to know how to effectively present lateral moves on your CV. A lateral move occurs when you change to a similar role at the same level, typically with the same pay, but with different job responsibilities. These can be internal (within the same company) or external (to a different company). You can add them to the work experience section and phrase them as bullet points to highlight the impact of the lateral move.

You can highlight lateral moves on your CV when:

• You gained new skills or broadened your expertise. That’s when you emphasise the new competencies or areas of knowledge that you developed.

Example:Transitioned from Marketing Coordinator to Digital Strategist, gaining expertise in SEO, data analytics, and multi-channel campaigns.

• You took on more responsibility or leadership. If the move involved managing bigger teams, handling multiple projects, or tackling higher-level challenges, highlight those aspects.

Example:Moved to Senior Project Manager role, leading cross-functional teams and managing high-priority client projects.

• You changed departments or functions to enhance your experience. In this case, showcase how it added value to your skill set and expanded your understanding of the business.

Example:Transferred from Finance to Strategy, gaining cross-departmental exposure and a broader understanding of business operations.

• You aimed to prepare for future growth. Present the lateral move as a step toward your long-term career goals. This is to show that the transition was intentional and forward-thinking.

Example:Moved from Operations to a client-facing role to build relationships and sharpen communication skills for future management opportunities.

When to show promotions on your CV?

Showcasing promotions on a CV can really upgrade your application, especially if you apply for roles that require advanced qualifications or leadership skills. Job promotions prove that you can take on greater, more challenging responsibilities, manage complex tasks, and adapt to emerging business needs.

What is more, when you highlight promotions on a CV, it shows employers that you are not only prepared for more challenging roles, but also committed to continuous growth and advancing your career.

You might want to show promotions on your CV in these situations:

• Applying for senior or executive roles: Promotions indicate your ability to handle increasing responsibilities and leadership roles.
• Seeking more profitable opportunities: Highlighting promotions shows that you’ve consistently earned your way to better positions, making you a more attractive candidate for higher salary offers.
• Transitioning to a new industry or sector: Promotions help demonstrate transferable skills, proving that you’re capable of handling growth and complexity in different environments.
• Highlighting career progression: If you’ve quickly advanced within a company, it’s essential that you showcase your growth to demonstrate real success.
• Applying to companies with specific career ladders: Companies that value structured career growth will appreciate seeing how you’ve progressed within your current or previous companies.
• Emphasising leadership and responsibility: Promotions can show that you have been trusted with more responsibility and leadership tasks, which are important for roles that require these qualities.

Want more guidance on building a strong CV? Explore these articles:

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And here are some final tips for showcasing promotion on your CV:

• Ensure the sections related to promotions are clearly integrated into the overall CV format.
• Quantify the impact of your promotion by including specific metrics or outcomes that highlight the results of your contributions.
• Focus on why you were promoted, emphasising the skills, professional achievements, and growth that led to the promotion.
• Proofread to create a perfect CV that is error-free, polished, and professionally edited.

Thank you for reading this guide on how to show promotion on a CV. I hope the tips and examples help you clearly highlight your career progress and secure a more rewarding role. Wishing you the best of luck!

How we review the content at LiveCareer

Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with LiveCareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.

Sources

• National Careers Service, How to get work experience
• Harvard Business Review, Lateral Moves