Listing two job titles at the same time for the same company on the same résumé could be warranted when:
- you were promoted at a previous employer;
- you were transferred or changed departments in the same organization
- you had more than one job title at a single, typically smaller, organization
The advantages of listing two job titles at the same time can demonstrate:
- you learned and grew during your career in the workplace
- your previous employer liked you enough to promote you and hire you for work of increasing responsibility
- you are ready to hit the ground running because you held different jobs with increasing or parallel responsibilities—and you’ll require minimal training and a break-in.
The best way to list two job titles at the same time on a résumé depends on your career goals and how you want to demonstrate where you are on your career journey. You do that with a résumé, depending on the type of résumé you are preparing:
The Chronological Résumé is Your Career Biography
If you are preparing a chronological résumé, you can list both job titles beneath the same organization in your work history list. Chronological résumés are the most common, and are generally preferred by most HR managers. The chronological résumé begins with your work history, and as discussed below, has a short list of responsibilities, and, most importantly, achievements—or the value you can bring to a new position.
Note: If you have periods of unemployment, the chronological résumé will immediately raise a red flag because of gaps in your work history. You can bridge a period of unemployment or absence from the workforce with an explanatory statement. Alternatively, you can explain the gaps in a cover letter. Or you can opt for a functional résumé that emphasizes your qualifications.
Read More: How to Answer “What Are Your Professional Likes and Dislikes” in a Job Interview
The Functional Résumé Stresses Skills
If your résumé is functional, i.e., focuses on your skills and experience rather than your employment history, you can split out those job responsibilities beneath separate skill areas you want to highlight on the résumé. If you choose to include a chronological work description with your functional résumé, you can follow the advice listed below in listing two job titles for the same company.
The most effective functional résumés begin with a summary at the beginning—a brief statement that highlights the most relevant qualifications and sets the tone for how you wish the prospective employer to see you from the start.
First, Some Pointers On Listing Professional Experience
Before we get into résumé formatting advice, let’s talk about how you should list your job experience and accomplishments. In her book Happy About My Resume, résumé expert Barbara Safani has some straightforward tips for the professional experience category of your résumé. That advice is highlighted as follows:
The company description
When listing your job history, for each organization you should include information and a brief description of the company. This is particularly important, especially if you have worked for lesser-known firms. Check the company’s “about us” link on its website and write a brief description of the industry, its location, size, and niche.
Example:
Research Associates, Inc., Denver, CO,
A New Denver, Colorado-based affiliate of Research Associates, Corp., a Wall Street firm providing industry research for capital investment clients through a network of independent consultants and experts
Your job responsibilities—Why you should minimize them
As a minimum, list your operating budgets, staff and account sizes. This gives the reader an understanding of the scope of your responsibilities.
Example:
Peak Revenues: $14.5M – Staff: 35 – Facility Size 10,500 square feet. Operations open 365 days a year
However, and this is very important: be as succinct as possible and convey only a brief overview of your job tasks. But remember, detailed job task descriptions do little to set candidates apart from those with similar experience. According to Safani, “What makes (candidates) unique and memorable is the accomplishment within the task.”
So, Safani recommends you devote no more than three to six lines to talking about the details of the job tasks of each job title you list. Instead, save space on your résumé to describe accomplishments.
Your role overview should be described right after the job title. It should be a concise paragraph-form description. Finally, it should show the description is different from the accomplishments you will list immediately following the role overview.
Example:
Research liaison and technology specialist. Supervised and developed leading-edge efficiencies in existing research support systems. Supported a team of 30 capital research specialists in a time-sensitive, face-paced environment.
Your job accomplishments—Why you should maximize them
If you are interested in guiding the conversation during the job interview, remember that prospective employers are keenly interested in knowing about your accomplishments.
In the Forbes online article Six Traits Employers Are Looking For In New Hires, trait number 6, Drive, describes how employers value people who “are driven to succeed in their roles, focused on driving business impact” with an emphasis on teamwork that drives them and their employers to succeed.
In listing your job accomplishments, be sure to:
- begin accomplishment statements with powerful action verbs— avoiding the boring and mundane phrases like “Responsible for..” in favor of power words that have the understood subject of “I” and always have a direct object.
Example: Don’t say “responsible for supervising…” Use the action verb “Supervised.”
- front-load the accomplishments with the most significant and powerful information that is relevant to your accomplishments.
Example: Slashed administrative costs by 25% by streamlining workflows with automated process tracking software.
- quantify the accomplishments with numbers
Example: Trimmed an average of two hours off each research project by adopting an automated dashboard-driven, transparent project monitoring system.
Suggested techniques for listing two job titles at the same time
Now that we have covered substance, let’s talk about form. Once you have decided which résumé format is best for you, and you’re ready to focus on the accomplishments that you feel will add value to any employer, consider the following strategies for listing two jobs together for the same company:
1. Group similar job responsibilities together.
Often, assuming a new position in a company won’t mean taking on new obligations. For example, if your company underwent a reorganization or consolidation and you ended up with the same job, but in a different department, don’t waste valuable résumé space by listing the same job description twice.
Instead, list the two job responsibilities in chronological order followed by a single brief listing of responsibilities. Then go for the gold and list your accomplishments.
This strategy works best when you held the two jobs one after the other, but you should only group, or stack, those job descriptions when describing roles that were consecutive.
Example:
(Company Name) Research Associates, Inc., Denver, CO
(Job Title 1) Research Liaison and Development Supervisor, 2018-Present
(Job Title 2) Research Liaison and Development Specialist, 2015-2017
(List general duties and group accomplishments by type.)
The ATS exception
If you are applying for a job from a company that uses the ATS (applicant tracking system)–software that many large companies now use to scan résumés–it is best not to group two titles together. Otherwise, the ATS will bypass double entries. Don’t forget to focus on résumé keywords.
2. List one company, followed by each position with separate job descriptions and accomplishments.
This works if you have been promoted or transferred to roles that have changed or increased, or are very different responsibilities. Each position you list will require its own job description and accomplishments. You only need to list the company once, which will save you a line, but the jobs must be sequential.
Example:
(Company Name) Research Associates, Inc., Denver, CO
(Job Title 1) Research Development Specialist, 2018-Present
(List general duties and group accomplishments by type)
(Job Title 2) Research Analyst (2015-2017)
(List general duties and group accomplishments by type)
3. List the same company twice
If you had “broken service,” i.e., worked for the same company after an absence or with another company in between, it would be appropriate to list the same company twice. For example:
- You worked at Company 1 from 2017 to present as Chief Information Officer.
- You worked at Company 2 as IT Department Manager from 2014 to 2017 as IT Department Manager.
- You worked at Company 1 from 2008 to 2013 as IT Security Manager.
You are listing Company 1 twice on the same résumé, but with a different listing of responsibilities and accomplishments.
To Recap
Listing more than one job title on the same résumé, even with the same employer, shows the hiring manager that you are a seasoned, experienced employee. It adds weight to your job application and can help your résumé stand out from those of similarly qualified applicants.
While listing job responsibilities and tasks is important, save space for listing accomplishments, which, again, helps you stand out from others.
Ways to list multiple positions at the same company include:
- grouping (or stacking) similar job titles together
- creating separate entries for dissimilar consecutive roles
- listing the same company twice if there is broken service
Related Article:
No Comments