When you sit down to write your resume and LinkedIn profile, you'll want to list your professional achievements — and make sure to use figures to do so. If you work in marketing and make 30 decks a month for C-suite executives, for example, say that. If you work in advertising and your ads increased client revenues by 40%, include that.
Another work accomplishment worth mentioning that many people forget about is promotions. "Promotion history is the thing that I am looking for in resumes and in LinkedIn that I do not think people highlight enough," says Nolan Church, who's been a recruiter at companies like Google and DoorDash and is currently the CEO of talent marketplace Continuum.
Here's why he thinks it's critical to include your promotions and how he recommends adding them.
People on LinkedIn have '5-to-10 years with one title'
It's pretty common for people not to include their ascent on the job, says Church. "I never see people put promotion history on LinkedIn."
But especially as it pertains to people who've been at a company for a long time, it's cause for suspicion. There are many people who've been at the same place for "five-to-10 years with one title," says Church. "And the assumption I make is, 'oh, they must not have been getting promotions this whole time.'"
Forgetting to add that critical detail can make it look like your career's been stagnant, and that you haven't done anything to stand out and warrant recognition with a bigger, better title.
Promotions are the "No. 1 predictor of future success," he says.
How to include a promotion on your resume
When it comes to how to include a promotion in your LinkedIn and resume, make it the first thing potential employers see.
Underneath the title of each relevant role, "in the first bullet underneath it describing what you do, say, 'promoted three times in the last five years,'" says Church. Or say, "promoted from senior manager to director," he says. Each title that followed a promotion or series of promotions should have a bullet under it calling those out.
"Promotions for me indicate that this company believes that you are solving problems for them, that they want to invest in you and that they want to keep you," says Church, "which then makes me want to steal you from them."
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