Show Multiple Positions At The Same Company On A Resume

Working in multiple positions at the same company can be great for your career, but it’s difficult to put on a resume.

In this article, we’ll give you several methods for putting multiple positions at the same company on your resume so you can choose the one that works best for you.

Key Takeaways

• The method you use to show multiple positions at one company on your resume will depend on how similar the roles were to each other and when you held each one.

• You may not need to include as much about your entry-level position at the company as you do your current role, depending on how far up you’ve moved.

• Try to keep your resume entries in reverse chronological order as much as possible.

Option One: Stack Your Entries

The first option we’ll cover is the most intuitive and works well if you had very similar responsibilities in each position. For example, if you were a Sales Representative and got promoted to Sales Coordinator.

In this case, stacking the job titles under one company header is a good option. Here’s what that would look like:

As with any resume, start by stating the company name, location, and dates worked at the company. You should list your total time at the company next to the company name, and then put the date range for each position beside the job title. Always list your experience within a company (and for your whole resume) in reverse-chronological order, starting with your most recent experience.

For each bullet, use your most significant accomplishments from the higher position first. However, if you have achievements from your earlier title you want to show off, definitely add those as well.

It’s also a good idea to include your promotion and the reason for it in one of the bullets. For example: “Promoted for outstanding client relations and demonstrated leadership ability.” That way, your promotion doesn’t get lost in the cards, and the hiring manager can clearly see how you added enough value to your former employer to earn a bump in responsibility.

Now, if you worked three or more jobs at the same company, stacking your entry can start to take up valuable real estate on your resume. It’s likely that your accomplishments at earlier positions won’t matter as much in this case, so you can put all of these job titles together, like so:

In the above example, your bullets should only focus on relevant job duties, so you don’t have to describe your achievements from those earlier positions. They’re there to show how long you worked for the same company and how many different responsibilities the company’s entrusted you with. The hiring manager doesn’t need to know how awesome you were at making coffee as an intern if you’re applying for a different sales role.

While stacking your job titles like this is intuitive and looks clean to human eyes, applicant tracking systems (ATS) may only parse a single job title per company name. When calculating your years of experience, it may only take the dates from the more recent position. So in the above example, the ATS would only see that the applicant two years of sales experience instead of four.

If you are applying to a large company, they will likely use an ATS to screen resumes. Do not stack entries when applying to large companies. However, if you send your resume directly to a human reader, this format works really well.

Option Two: Split Your Entries

If you’ve held multiple jobs at the same company, but the responsibilities of each were very different, it may be a better idea to split your entries. For example, if you started out as a data analyst and moved into a marketing position, you would list it like so:

You can still save space by including each job title under the umbrella of one company entry. As always, list your most critical, quantifiable achievements for each job title. If your change in positions was a promotion rather than a lateral move, clarify by stating something like “promoted within the company because of demonstrated talent in applying data analysis to marketing tactics.”

Always start with the most recent position. As you work your way back, you can include fewer and fewer bullet points, especially if earlier roles aren’t as relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Be warned: companies are wary of hiring job-hoppers, so ensure that it’s abundantly clear that you were shifting roles within one organization. The easiest ways to do this are putting the total date range at the top (next to the company name and location) and stating you were promoted early on in your bullet points for the most recent position (and any position you were promoted to prior).

Applicant tracking systems can parse your job titles easier if you split them instead of stack them. However, if you really want to make sure that every ATS will pick up your job titles and assign you an accurate “years of experience,” you may opt to split your entries more by listing the company name each time.

Here’s what that would look like:

An ATS will have no trouble parsing a resume formatted like this, making it a safe choice if you’re applying to a large company. It does take up a little extra space, but it’s worth it to make sure software doesn’t throw your resume out of the pool before a hiring manager even gets to see it.

Option Three: Prior Experience Section

The above two options work fine if you have a relatively short history with a company and only held a few different positions. However, for someone who has a long career with multiple job title changes within the same organization, it may be more concise and straightforward to create a separate resume section altogether for “prior experience.”

Here’s what that would look like:

Formatting your resume this way saves a lot of space and focuses on your most important roles and responsibilities. It also allows the hiring manager to see how long you’ve worked for the same company without overloading them with irrelevant information about your former roles. Clearly, you did well enough to become president, so who cares what you did back in your days as a sales rep?

ATS may not differentiate between experience and prior experience sections, but they will pick up the dates and assign you the correct amount of experience for each position.

Option Four: Worked for the Same Company at Different Times

While less common than the above examples, there may be a situation where you left a company and then returned after working somewhere else. In this case, formatting your resume’s work experience section is intuitive; just go with the reverse-chronological format, and you’ll be fine. Here’s what that looks like:

Obviously, this option only applies if there’s a gap in your employment at a particular company. An ATS will have no problem parsing the information in a resume formatted like this because it’s the standard resume format.

How to Show Multiple Positions at the Same Company FAQ

1. How do I list two positions at the same time with two employers on my resume?

   You list two positions at the same time with two employers on your resume by creating a different entry for each job and putting the correct dates on them. This will result in two job entries for the same period of time, and it will show hiring managers your different responsibilities in each one.

   If you’re arranging your work experience in reverse chronological order, put the job that you started most recently at the top of the page and then add the other job after that.

   If one position has very little to do with the position you’re applying for, simply put its job title in a “previous experience” section where you list all of your positions that you held more than 15 years ago or that don’t have much, if any, relation to the job you’re applying for.

2. How do I show progression on my resume at the same company?

   You show progression on your resume at the same company by listing each role you had at the company on your resume.

   You can do this in several ways, depending on how much work experience you have: You can list each position as a separate job entry, complete with a list of all its responsibilities, or you can put roles you had 15 or more years ago in a “Prior Experience” section.

   This section will just have your job titles and the dates you held each one so that hiring managers can see your work experience without getting bogged down in the details of your entry-level job from 20 years ago.

Final Thoughts

The work experience section of your resume is by far the most crucial aspect to get right. Ensure hiring managers (and ATS) can understand your professional history by implementing the options listed above, as appropriate.

Ultimately, you want your resume to tell a story about how you’ve developed as a professional, the value you’ve added in each of your prior positions, and the continuing upward trajectory of your career. By drawing a hiring manager’s attention to your promotions and job title changes within a company, you’re showcasing all the different responsibilities you’ve been entrusted with, upping your chances of receiving a job offer.

Author

Matthew Zane

Matthew Zane is the lead editor of Zippia's How To Get A Job Guides. He is a teacher, writer, and world-traveler that wants to help people at every stage of the career life cycle. He completed his masters in American Literature from Trinity College Dublin and BA in English from the University of Connecticut.

Expert

Don Pippin, MHRM, CPRW, CDCS

Don Pippin is an executive and HR leader for Fortune 50 and 500 companies and startups. In 2008, Don launched area|Talent with a focus on helping clients identify their brand. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Digital Career Strategist, and Certified Personal Branding Strategist, Don guides clients through career transitions.