How to list achievements on a CV? Best tips and examples!

When it comes to adding achievements to your CV, are you making yourself out to be a doer or an achiever? If you feel your CV needs to be noticed by recruiters or hiring managers, consider including achievements to stand out from other candidates. 

Imagine you were a recruiter, and you had to review a CV. What is it that you want to see? Did the candidate go above and beyond their daily duties and responsibilities? Are there specific achievements, career accomplishments, or awards that set them apart? These are the types of questions a recruiter or hiring manager will ask, which is all the more reason to showcase what you did versus what you achieved. 

At CVMaker, we aim to help you regardless of your level of experience or career path. If you struggle with identifying measurable achievements from a job, this article provides examples and tips on how to best include achievements on a CV. For more inspiration, refer to our career blog on how to write a good CV.  

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What is the difference between achievements, accomplishments, and awards on a CV?

Although these terms have similar meanings, CVMaker advises separating achievements, accomplishments, and awards into different categories. Depending on your level of experience and career goals, choosing what is most relevant to your situation and how best to display your achievements is what can make your CV stand out. Refer to the different CV section titles below. 

• Achievements refer to key achievements or measurable outcomes for each job and tend to be incorporated within work experience, education, on its own or other relevant CV sections.

• Accomplishments pertain to achievements you have accomplished throughout your carer. Often, this section is an add-on for more experienced individuals. If you are still deciding whether or not to include these, consider how many achievements you have listed on your CV and if it would be more advantageous to include a section with your top three accomplishments. Do not include too many as it will take up space, but rather briefly introduce and elaborate further within an interview.  

• Awards are a form of achievement and can be included separately depending on your field, the amount of white space you have left on your CV, and how many awards you have accumulated. Alternatively, incorporate these into other sections if you only have a few. 

Achievements on a CV 

Achievements can mean many different things to people. In most cases, achievements should be measurable, but sometimes, depending on your field or level of experience, it may be different. Nonetheless, as you write a CV, you will start to notice what was more of an achievement than a duty or responsibility. As long as you can showcase what you did daily, along with one or two achievements, you are already setting yourself apart from other candidates. 

How to list achievements on a CV?

Experts at CVMaker recommend that you always showcase what you did versus what you achieved, and if possible, try to do so throughout your CV. Consider creating separate sections if you have an array of achievements and awards. Alternatively,  if you still need to get achievements, consider adding projects, tasks, or even completed training, irrespective of whether it is certified. Sometimes, you may need to convert a duty into an achievement. 

What makes a good achievement?

Achievements are most successful when they start with a strong action verb such as led, delivered, trained, completed, implemented, or championed. Refer to work experience on a CV for more information on how to list achievements on a CV.

Examples of achievements on a CV

• Defined strategy for communication that grew engagement by 20%.

• Increased company revenue in one year from £4B to approximately £6B.

• Established 26 new distributors across the region.

• Maintained a 97% satisfaction rating over a 24-month period as a Customer Care Representative.

• Raised employee retention rates by 15% over a five-year period by implementing a tiered interview system and organising a minimum of two team outings per quarter.

• Worked with the CEO to analyse 10+ technology systems in place and worked to consolidate them into a new system that encompassed all programs needed to reach business needs.

• Reimagined business development strategy to include a 20% increase in Salesforce, resulting in $550M in increased profits YoY.

Accomplishments on a CV

Have you ever set yourself goals at work or been part of something remarkable? If so, consider converting your achievements into career accomplishments or highlights. It should be specific to your experience and relevant to your target jobs. CVMaker recommends drawing attention to your top three by including them at the very top of your CV, specifically after your personal profile. 

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How to list accomplishments on a CV

Always start by asking yourself if it is relevant. Imagine doing something impressive like running a marathon or winning a table tennis tournament. Is that worth including if you're applying for a job as a Sales Representative? Well, it's difficult to argue that your excellent stamina will help you fulfil your job successfully. Still, these types of accomplishments should be mentioned in an interview when the recruiter or hiring manager wants to learn more about your personal goals and achievements. For more inspiration, refer to the examples below or check out our CV examples articles. 

Examples of accomplishments on a CV

We understand that listing your accomplishments can be daunting, especially if you don’t know what to include, where, or even how. We created three practical examples of career accomplishments on a CV to give you some ease of mind.

Marketing Manager CV accomplishments

• Formed and led an SEO and link-building team to grow organic website traffic from 0 to 30K users in less than six months.

• Introduced a new partnership program with local advertising agencies to improve ROI on advertising for all company’s clients by 82%.

• Led data-driven outreach campaign to scale up the number of features in top-level media, resulting in 200+ local and national media mentions and publications in Forbes and Entrepreneur.

Sales Manager CV accomplishments

• Exceeded sales targets and activity metrics by 200% in 2017.

• Identified and acquired 30+ new local outlets and boosted sales by 150% in Q2 and Q4 of 2017.

• Trained a team of five sales professionals, consistently achieving targets and boosting revenue by £500K.

Human Resources Business Partner CV accomplishments

• Transformed a failing operation to deliver £5M in revenue for FY13, boosted customer quality ratings to 88%, and secured a 77% on-time delivery rate.

• Further boosted performance for FY14 with revenue improving £1.5M, quality rising to 91%, and on-time delivery increasing to 97% via introduction of departmental SOPs and resolution of safety/quality issues.

• Outperformed NADCAP/AS9100 audit expectations with minimal findings via excellence in training, documentation, and processes.

Awards on a CV

Awards come in many forms and are often given out for outstanding performance or, perhaps, successful project completion. Including awards on a CV, it depends on the company you work for or the field you are in. For example, in a sales job, your performance is reviewed on the number of leads you convert or, in customer service, how many support tickets you successfully closed. Often, awards are handed out for achieving your targets, such as ‘Salesperson of the Year’ or ‘Best Customer Support Agent with zero escalations.’ In that case, CVMaker recommends either creating a separate section or incorporating these into achievements or accomplishments. 

How to list awards on a CV?

If you are proud of your awards, consider mentioning something like ‘Award-winning Digital Marketing Specialist’ within your personal profile while making sure they are relevant to your career goals. Awards can be listed throughout a CV, in its own section, in the beginning, or incorporated into education or work experience. It depends on the number of awards you have and the spacing on your CV.

Examples of awards on a CV

• Awarded ‘Employee of the Year’ for three consecutive years.

• Salesperson of the year award for 2018, 2019, and 2020. 

• Winner of the 2021  ‘British Business Excellence Award’ at Lloyds Bank London.

Key takeaways

There is a common misconception that your CV should list all of your achievements, but that is not true; it’s all about balance. You need to make sure you are writing a CV that is clear, concise, and to the point. In the end, a CV is a personal marketing document to help you land the interview where you need to elaborate on key achievements. 

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