Talk About Awards That Demonstrate Valuable Soft Skills
Your resume should be filled with useful information that the recruiters are looking for. The awards listed have to accomplish just that – either to show excellence in a particular field or to emphasize your fantastic set of soft skills.
The way you structure a resume also shows a lot about you as a person. It will let the hiring managers know where your priorities are and the accomplishments you are most proud of.
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!
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!
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Examples Of Personal Achievements In Resumes
- Wrote an article on X that was linked to by Y.
- Gave a TED talk on X.
- Gave a webcast that was downloaded X times.
- Interviewed by X podcast.
- Amassed a LinkedIn following of X.
- Created a Facebook contest that got X and Y likes.
- Built a community of X professionals.
- Received X certification.
- Completed X class/course with score of Y.
- Founded X club, company, or group with X members.
- Grew membership in X club by X%.
Why Include Honors And Awards On A Resume
Should I include awards on my resume? The simple answer is yes, if you have the space on your resume and the achievements are relevant to your professional profile and the job offer, then it is perfectly acceptable and often recommended to list your accomplishments, including any awards and honors, on your resume.
To understand the importance of adding awards to a resume, its key to remember that hiring managers receive dozens if not hundreds of resumes for potentially just one vacancy, which means the successful candidate needs to find a way of making their resume stand out! An Honors and Awards section is just the way to do that.
Whether youre just graduated high school or youve been working in the industry for many years, being awarded or honored for your work or academic excellence is always an impressive accomplishment that should be highlighted when youre applying for a new position.Dont hold back if you have various awards in a certain field or youve achieved something special in a previously-held position similar to the vacancy. Humility has no place on your resume!
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What Is Not Considered An Accomplishment
Doing your work is not an accomplishment. Showing up on time, being friendly, not taking too many smoke breaks, graduating from high school or college are not accomplishments.
In short, everything that is not measured by an organization resulting in an award, honorable mention, certificate, or scholarship.
Yes, these are all great qualities and habits, but its not anything extraordinary or directly connected to the work position you want to apply for.
Listing things like this in your resume as accomplishments will show the recruiters that you expect to be rewarded for doing your everyday responsibilities.
Where To Put Awards On Your Resume
You can include your awards in one of two primary places:
- In your experience or education sections: You might add awards you won while working at a certain job, volunteering for a certain organization, doing a certain side project, or attending a certain school to the corresponding entry already on your resume. This generally takes the form of a bullet point and can be listed either first or last to draw attention to it.
- In a dedicated awards section: Alternatively, you can include awards in their own section if theyre not tied to a specific entry elsewhere on your resume. Smith also recommends an awards section when you have more than one award, to help them stand out. This dedicated section usually goes near the bottom of your resume, Smith says.
If youve won a relevant award thats especially well-known or prestigious, you might also mention it in your resume summary to emphasize it .
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Sales And Support Achievement Examples
Sales Associate
- Cold-called 20+ potential clients on a daily basis, with a closing rate of 10% to 20%.
- Hit and exceeded sales KPIs by 30% for the months of October, November, and December in 2019
- Sent 200+ cold emails on a daily basis, managing to set up calls with 10% of the recipients
For more examples, check out our guide to the sales associate resume.
Customer Service
- Maintained a customer satisfaction rate of 95% for 2019
- Solved 20 – 25 tickets on a daily basis
- Carried out retention calls with unsatisfied customers, convincing 20% of them to keep using the software
For more examples, check out our guide to the customer service resume.
Cashier
- Trained and supervised 5 other cashiers over a period of 2 years at Company X.
- Got the employee of the month award for June, August, and December.
For more examples, check out our guide to the cashier resume.
Explain The Achievement’s Impact And Avoid Accomplishments That Have Nothing To Do With Your Goals And Current Search
In one sentence, try to synthesize why this particular milestone and achievement is so important to your career and you as a person. It could be something that taught you a life lesson you will remember forever, or maybe it made you get out of your comfort zone and discover a new passion.
Forget about anything that is distanced from your current professional goals and the position youre applying for.
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Why Achievements In Resumes Need Numbers
Numbers send achievements for resumes to the stratosphere.
Pretend you own a restaurant.
Should you tell people it gets great Yelp reviews?
It has over a thousand 5-star Yelp reviews?
Numbers matter in accomplishments for resumes.
They even help awards on resumes.
These resume achievements examples demonstrate:
- Developed 250+ graphic design projects per year.
- Cut client costs by 22% in 15 months.
- Increased client transactions 30% in one year.
Worked on team that received 2018 Webby Award, granted by a 2,000-member judging body.
- Responsible for development of graphic design projects.
- Cut client costs.
- Worked on a team that won a Webby.
Pow.
The first of those honors and awards resume examples could get you hired on the Avengers.
Sample Resume Accomplishments/achievements For Sales & Marketing:
- Increased division revenue by 4% through achieving 212% of personal sales quota in 2020
- Developed cross-selling promotional campaign to bundle 3 top-selling products, increasing department revenue by 12% in 2020
- Orchestrated new social media marketing campaign resulting in a 309% increase in online leads generated in Q1 2020
- Achieved third-highest sales total in 2019 among a team of 50+ sales associates
- Increased sales by 9% through the successful rollout of a new subscription service spearheaded by myself and 3 team members
Sales jobs tend to be some of the easiest in terms of coming up with professional accomplishments on a resume, so I wont put too many here. Just remember, always look at the job description and demonstrate skills that are relevant for the jobs youre applying to now. And always think about how your duties and responsibilities can be quantified.
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Types Of Awards To Include On Resume
You can include any type of award on your resume as long as its relevant to your profession, industry, skillset, or the job youre applying for. Common awards and certificates included on resumes fall under the large categories of academic, professional, industry-related, and personal.
Here are a few types of accolades you can include on your resume.
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Deans list awards
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Promotions
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Athletic awards
Featuring Honors Awards And Accomplishments On Your Resume
Accomplishments, no matter how stellar, will do little to enhance your chances of getting into school or getting a job, unless they are properly showcased in your student resume or entry-level resume. If you bury them within your daily duties or general academic information, they may not be seen. Remember, admissions directors and hiring managers have many resumes to review. If its hard for them to find important information on your resume, they may pass on your candidacy.
You should emphasize your academic, work, or volunteer recognitions by creating a specific honors, awards, and accomplishments section of your resume. Make sure to provide the following details when including your accomplishments:
- Date of recognition or award
- Purpose of award and accomplishment it recognizes
- Significance of award
- Scope of the award
As you can see, there are a variety of ways to market and display your academic and career accomplishments.
Need help getting started on your college search? Search by location, major, admission difficulty, and more with Petersons College Search.
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Work Accomplishment Examples For Software Developers:
- Managed the development of new subscription video platform, which earned the company $3.1 million in the first year after launch
- Performed code optimization on online customer dashboard, eliminating 2,000+ lines of code and reducing server resource usage by 19%
- Managed and led 9-person development team building the companys new mobile apps , successfully launching both projects in 2020, with an average app store review of 4.6 stars
- Spearheaded quality assurance project for companys new Android app, diagnosing and eliminating 104 bugs/errors in the first 3 months after launch, resulting in a 22% increase in average user rating in the following 3 months
- Interviewed 22 potential new software engineering candidates for our company, ensuring adequate knowledge of software development and computer science, as well as cultural fit
Should I Include High School Achievements On My Resume
When deciding on listing high school accomplishments on your resume, a good rule to follow is the one discussed in our education blog. When you have enough work experience or graduated from college, no longer list high school or any type of awards associated with it.
For those still in high school or college or who have recently graduated and lack skills and experience include them. It shows a prospective hiring manager you garnered high school awards to back up skills.
Academic Achievement Examples
Certain industries place more of an emphasis on academic endeavors. Good examples include the legal profession and academia.Those seeking attorney positions may want to consider two subheaders for each degree to include honors and activities. This format is helpful for entry-level attorneys, those that recently graduated law school or students pursuing JDs with pending graduation dates.Consider the following examples:Yale Law School, JD, Dec. 2019Yale Law School, JD Candidate Jan. 20202Yale University, BA in Political Science, May 2016Now, take that a couple of steps further to include honors related to academic achievements.Under each school, list activities and honors beyond items related to GPA. See how using subheaders work under each degree:Yale Law School JD Dec. 2019ActivitiesYale Daily News, Editor in ChiefYale Women In Business
Honors and Awards Resume Examples
Resumesbot Advice:
Awards
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Which Awards Can You Include On Your Resume
While a resume should primarily be about the skills and achievements that will allow you to thrive in your specific next role, there may be several awards that you might consider including. Pick a maximum of 3-4 and choose with care.
Whether you choose to include the awards will depend on their relevance and recency.
How To List Awards On Resume
Listing an award follows the same logic as mentioning an honor or achievement. For certain fields, include them in the education section.
Experienced applicants have a choice: to list them as job duties worded as accomplishments or as part of a professional summary.
Just like an honor, when you have more than one, list them in reverse chronical order. Also, include:
- The name of the award.
- Who gave it to you.
- The date you received it.
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Next Step: Brainstorm And Write Your Own Work Accomplishments
To start, it may be helpful to look at past job descriptions of the roles youve held, or using your memory, to write down your typical work in a day, week, and month. What did you spend most of your time doing? What were you responsible for? Most importantly, what did you help the company achieve or improve?
That last part is the most important. A list of resume bullets starting with, Responsible for is boring and NOT going to win you the interview at most top-tier employers.
So always think about how your work tasks and duties actually helped the company, and then quantify them as much as possible!
Work Accomplishments For Manager/director Resume:
- Oversaw 12-person marketing team responsible for 22% of the total revenue in the business, while growing the team 108% in 2020
- Managed 22 staff, overseeing 25+ projects per quarter with total project budgets exceeding $2.5 million
- Developed new recruiting & hiring plan, helping the department fill average job openings 29% faster compared to prior year
- Managed 29 staff across 2 office locations and 2 business divisions, including hiring, performance reviews, and day-to-day guidance and oversight
- Saved business $29,000 in 2019 by implementing new customer service process that reduced refund requests by 9%
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Make Your Resume Stand Out
Learn how to put certifications on your resume alongside all the other highlights that make you a worthy choice for the job. Ideally, your resume will demonstrate that there are many facets that make you, the job candidate, a great fit for the position. Want to make sure it’s getting the job done? Get a free resume evaluation today from the experts at Monster’s Resume Writing Service. You’ll get detailed feedback in two business days, including a review of your resume’s appearance and content, and a prediction of a recruiter’s first impression. A well-rounded resume can boost your odds of getting called in for an interview, so take the time to give it some extra polish.
Academic Awards Achievements And Honors On Resume
ResumesBot » Blog » Academic Awards, Achievements and Honors on Resume
Academic achievements and awards all have a commonality. They serve as types of accomplishments for resume. When you lack work experience or apply for positions that emphasize education, you need to know when to put a list of academic honors related to achievements. As you become an experienced applicant, you replace academic accomplishments with professional achievements.
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Tips For Including Awards
Here are some tips you can use when adding awards on your resume:
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Include recent awards: Include awards that are from a reasonable time-period. The older an award is, the less it can represent your current skill set. If you have been working for over 20 years, awards you won in high school are less likely to apply to your professional experience.
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Be consistent: Make sure your formatting is the same with each award you list and that you are including all the same information. Use the same font and size across each award that you list. Make sure that the section shares the same formatting as the other sections of your resume. This helps your resume look clean and professional.
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Avoid technical terms: A variety of people with different professional backgrounds may read your resume, so stay away from language that is too technical. For example, HR representatives are most likely screening your resume and they may not be as familiar with the technical terms as someone who works directly in the same field as you.
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Use professional tone: This is a good rule for your entire resume. Make sure you are using a professional tone throughout your sections when describing your experience and the recognition you received.
Related:
Here are some examples of how to list awards on your resume: