How To List Accomplishments On A Resume In 2021
Showcasing your achievements is what can be the cherry on the cake to help you stand out from the crowd as a top performer and really attract employers.
Achievements, accomplishments, and awards can all serve as major highlights and points of interest on a resume and can help you to get a leg up on the competition.
In this guide, we will cover everything you need to know about including achievements on a resume, from what kinds of accomplishments to include to where to place them.
Where To Include Awards And Honors In Your Resume
First and foremost, be sure to create a separate section for your awards and honors. You have received recognition, and you need that to stand out so potential employers take notice. This section should include the awards you have won, the date they were received, the purpose of the awards, the significance of the awards and their scope . While this section does need to stand out, it shouldnt be the main focus of your resumeexperience, if you have any, should be the main focus.
Achievements & Accomplishments On Your Resume
Now, lets start with the Why?
Why are achievements and accomplishments so important?
Well, compare these 2 entries:
Correct
- Hit and exceeded department KPIs by 20% for 5 months in a row.
Incorrect
- Increased the number of sales.;
See the difference?
The first shows how, exactly, you stand out from the rest. You managed to hit KPIs AND exceed them for 5 months in a row .
The second example, on the other hand, doesnt say anything at all. Its pretty obvious that you did sales – you do, after all, work in sales.
Huge difference, right?
Now, lets move on to the next topic:;
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Awards And Honors Format
Whether using a separate awards section or highlighting your recognitions within the education or work experience sections, you can use the following formats to help organize your honors on your CV. Remember you can always modify these templates according to your circumstances as well as the job that you are applying to.
AWARDS AND HONORS FORMAT 1
Name of Award | Institution | Year
Description of the award, its significance, requirements to earn it, and any other information pertinent to the job position or career field you are applying to.
Description of the award, its significance, requirements to earn it, and any other information pertinent to the job position or career field you are applying to.
AWARDS AND HONORS EXAMPLE 2
Degree in Major | College/University Name | Year of Graduation
- Latin Honors & GPA – Brief description of what it means to achieve this particular ranking of Latin Honors and GPA.
- Name of Award – Brief description of the significance of the award .
- Name of Award – Brief description of the significance of the award .
AWARDS AND HONORS EXAMPLE 3
Job Position | Company
Brief description of the company and your job role:
- Primary responsibility/achievement
- Honor awarded and brief description of significance & scope .
- Honor awarded and brief description of significance & scope .
- Honor awarded and brief description of significance & scope .
Types Of Awards To Include On A Resume
Here is a list of common awards to include on a resume. Remember, the accomplishments you include should remain relevant to your current career goals.
- Academic or athletic awards
- Awards of excellence in voluntary activities
- Academic achievements
- Dean’s list or honor roll
- School leadership positions
- Professional association awards
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Awards Which Demonstrate Valuable Soft Skills
Each job has a specific set of requirements. Employers normally look for a range of hard skills, which you can demonstrate by listing your work experience and qualifications. However,;soft skills are harder to show.
Many candidates simply say they have leadership, organizational, or communication skills. However, this is unconvincing. It is much better to give a solid example of when you have shown a skill, such as receiving an award.
How To List A Cali Award In The Education Section
The education section should be formatted as usual: listing the school name, the dates of education, and the degree. For new graduates, an honors subsection may be added in this section, which will include the CALI Award.;
List the CALI Award as its own bullet point and specify which class it was awarded for.
It is not necessary to include the date of this award, but you should if you are listing dates for other achievements in this section.
You want to remain consistent with listing dates in any section. If you choose to include dates for educational honors, list only the year beside the CALI Award.
When formatted correctly, this will look like the following:
Education
Harfield School of Law
Juris Doctor
- CALI Excellence for the Future Award® for International Law;
- Deans List
The CALI website itself recommends this formatting, including the use of the registered trademark symbol. You can read more about their recommendations here in their FAQ.;
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Example For A Marketing Cv:
- Launched a new product which exceeded sales forecasts by 20%, having coordinated both on- and off-line campaigns
- Increased Twitter followers by 15% and Facebook followers by 25% by developing engaging content
- Secured internal promotion from Marketing Assistant to Marketing Executive, having independently managed a product rebrand
Professional Awards On A Resume
Professional achievements are almost obligatory in your resume, especially if they are tightly connected to your dream position.
Its incredibly effective, especially with more creative positions. For example, if you have a Creative Writing award, it will go amazingly with your application for a Content Writer.
Awards like this will act as a quick reference for your professional ability, so we recommend you always include them and stand out from the rest.
To bring things visually, take a look at this successful animator resume example and see how the awards are placed.
This was created through our efficient resume builder that helped people get hired at companies like Spotify, Tesla, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and many more!
If youre not sure where to start, browse through some resume templates and see which one clicks!
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How To Track Your Achievements
If you track your achievements on a regular basis, your future self will thank you. You never know what opportunity could be around the corner, so rather than throwing together a last-minute list , it’s better to maintain an ongoing record.;That way, you’ll be prepared to apply and avoid the small things that could stop you from getting a promotion, and instead be able to find a new role or negotiate your salary at a performance review.
Tracking your achievements need not be difficult in fact, it can be as simple as recording your details in a work diary. The more creative or technically proficient among you may prefer to build an online portfolio.
We also recommend keeping a record on a master copy of your CV. It doesn’t need to be perfect or pretty, as long as the key information is on there including dates. Then, when you’re ready to take your next step, you’ll simply need to copy the relevant details onto your tailored CV. LinkedIn serves equally well, with the advantage of having your successes immediately visible to your network. You may even find that your newly updated profile leads to job offers before you’ve even started applying!
What Are Relevant Awards For Resumes
An award is a general term for a broad range of official recognitions on a professional, academic, or personal level. There are many types of awards that a job seeker could have, but not all awards will be relevant for you and the job youre applying for.
When deciding what awards to include in your resume, bear in mind that not every award needs to be listed. In general, only include awards and other recognition if these provide evidence of experience or hard skills that potential employers may be looking for. For example, if you received a Team Player Award in recognition of your collaboration skills, you may consider omitting this unless at an early stage of your career .
The same advice goes for common awards that are no longer current, such as the Employee of the Month recognition you received more than five years ago. While the Boy Scouts of America Silver Buffalo Award from twenty years ago may seem attractive to include because of its recognition of national-level noteworthy or extraordinary service, it will be of little interest to a potential employer if you are a mid-career level professional.
Some awards are highly valued in specific industries, but have little value in others. A Top Chef award from your days working in that local fine dining restaurant would be of interest if you stay within the food industry, but would be of no interest to a potential employer if you move into an unrelated sector or industry .
Award Dos:
Award Donts:
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Accomplishments On A Resume
Accomplishments on a resume should usually be listed as a bullet point within the work experience section, or under your education/internship section.
For leadership posts or other accomplishments, detail not just what you did but the impact that your actions had.
For example:
University Student Advisory Council, 2016-2017. Introduced two fund-raising programs that increased student participation by 28% and overall donor activity by 132%. Also worked to establish the ABC Student Scholarship program, which helps disadvantaged students cover textbook expenses.
Add The Eagle Scout Award To Your Extracurricular Activities Section
If you have enough work experience but still want to list your Eagle Scout experience, you can create an Extracurricular Activities section.
Make sure to still give details of how becoming an Eagle Scout shaped you into the ideal candidate for the job position.
Adding Eagle Scout to your Extracurricular Activities section example:
Boy Scouts of America | Wells, ME | Jan 2016 Dec 2019
- Organized and marketed fundraiser to raise donations for meals for the homeless.
- Raised over $4000 in donations.
- Managed a team of 10 to buy ingredients, prepare and distribute over 300 meals.
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Where Should You List Awards And Achievements On Your Cv
There are two main ways of listing awards and achievements on your CV. Firstly, you could create one specific achievements section, right under your profile. This works well for those who are looking for their first job, who have no awards or who are struggling to identify many work-related achievements.
The alternative is to create a Key Achievements section for every role. This has the advantage of showing a strong record of success throughout your professional life and is the recommended route for anyone established in their career. If you only have one or two awards, count them as achievements and list them alongside your other successes in the relevant role.
If you’re lucky enough to have three or more awards, you can adopt a combination of both. Create a specific Awards and Recognitions section, in addition to role-specific achievements sections. Place this section below your career history.;
You may also like to make a reference to your awards in your personal statement, particularly if you have a prestigious one. It never hurts to sneak in a reference to your ‘award-winning’ performance!
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Sports Achievements In Resume Examples
- Captain of X sports team.
- Broke speed record for X sporting event.
- Led a team of 15 swimmers to state championships.
- Came in X place in the Y race.
- Completed the X marathon.
- Volunteer X times per month at Y charity.
- Organized a team of X volunteers.
- Increased donations for X by Y%.
- Organized a local playground build of X parents.
- Raised $X for Y charity.
Accomplishment vs Achievement
Many experts say accomplishments for resumes and achievements for resumes are two different things. According to Merriam-Webster, resume accomplishments and achievements in resumes are synonyms.
Expert Hint: Mix resume accomplishments with responsibilities. For every five work section bullet points, stuff three with accomplishments and resume awards.
Which Type Of Achievement Should You Include On Your Cv
The exact achievements and awards you include on your CV will vary depending on your role and your seniority. Entry-level applicants may focus on their academic awards, whereas those who are further along their career paths should emphasise professional achievements.;Personal successes and volunteering can also be included on your CV.
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Accomplishment Examples For Resumes
Take a look at how to use achievements and accomplishments for seasoned job seekers. For applicants with experience, recruiters want to see measurable results. Now that you know where to place those, lets see how that translates into some examples.The below could go under a specific employer as part of your work history. That looks as follows:
- Maintained a customer satisfaction rating of 95% for the past two years, which led to a promotion.
- In 2019, averaged 35% for bringing in new accounts, beating the department average of 15%.
If you cannot quantify, you still have ways to demonstrate skills rather than just listing job duties. Samples include:
- Designed a new training program from scratch.
- Trained 25 staff members on a new CRM system.
Now, examine why those examples work:
- The first one shows the applicant had no help. This speaking to skills and the ability to perform the job.
- In the second example, the applicant quantified the number of people trained. However, in the second one, when taking a closer look, the candidate could take it a step further.
The more-quantified version becomes:Trained 25 staff members on a new CRM system, which resulted in the most well-received training program in the companys history; follow-up surveys averaged a 98% satisfaction rate.A professional achievement or accomplishment applies to volunteer work too. Consider including volunteer work when a job is:
- Community based
Additionally, include volunteer positions when:
Should You Include A Cali Award On A Resume
A CALI Award should be included on a resume only for those who are still in school, or who have recently graduated. Working professionals may include it for a few years after graduation if the class is very relevant to the job they seek, but it is unusual to list it after acquiring work experience.
Fresh graduates need to format their resumes in a very particular way because they often lack professional experience in the working world.
Because of this, there is often a lot of space to be filled on a resume.
Academic achievements are a good way for recent graduates to fill out their resumes and help themselves stand out amongst their peers.
Achievements such as having a double major, being on the Deans List, having a good GPA, and other achievements are typical of these types of resumes.;
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How To Write Degree On Resume
First, check the job listingits the perfect cheat sheet.
Refer to your diploma the same way your future employer talks about it.
If they say BA, you say BA.
If they say B.A., add those periods.
But heres a great trick: when talking about diplomas, use the preferred abbreviation and the whole form: Bachelor of Arts .
If the ATS expects to see bachelor not BA, this will double your chances of being understood by those annoying robots.
List Awards Under The Right Sections
When listing your awards and accomplishments, you usually want to put them under their respective education or employment history sections. If the award is part of your education history, include it under your education summary. If it is relevant to past work experience, include it with your employment history. If the award is outside your scope of work and particularly impressive, such as an annual civic award, then include it in a separate awards section to highlight it.
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Does Your Resume Get High Marks
Formatting your Latin honors in an appropriate way will ensure potential employers dont overlook your admirable achievements. Could you use some help strengthening your resume?;Get a free resume evaluation today from the experts at;Monsters Resume Writing Service. Youll get detailed feedback in two business days, including a review of;your resumes appearance and content, and a prediction of a recruiters first impression. Its a quick and easy way to be sure your skills and achievements are properly highlighted.
Why You Should List Awards And Achievements On Your Cv
Put simply, by including achievements and awards on your CV, you’ll be positioning yourself a step ahead of other candidates and applicants, right from the start. Employers and hiring managers will see that you’ve performed well in previous roles and will therefore assume that you are likely to continue delivering results for their business.;
Awards are, in some ways, even better than achievements, as they provide third-party validation and recognition of your value. Most sales professionals will claim to have increased sales, for example, but winning the Salesperson of the Year award shows that they’ve performed beyond expectations and above their peers. If you’re looking for a way to highlight your value without sounding boastful, including awards on your CV is an excellent way to prove your worth.
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