In a competitive job market, it is important tomake sure your resume stands out. Many candidates have similar-looking resumes so it’s vital to give yourself every advantage possible.Highlighting honors and awards on your resumecan be an effective way of achieving this.
What’s the difference between honors and awards?For the sake of writing a resume, the two words are interchangeable. Resumes often include an ‘honors and awards‘ section with a list incorporating both.
However, there is a smalldifference betweenhonors and awardsin terms of definition. An honor is when someone is officiallyrecognized and respectedfor their accomplishments. An award is aprize someone receivesfor something special they have achieved. The definitions are very similar and often something can be both anhonor and an award.
In terms of resume writing, there isno difference between honors and awardsas they are included in the same section. It is not always necessary to include them and it is not the most important part of your resume. Both yourwork experienceand yourskills sectionshould be more prominent.
Which honors and awards to put on a resume?
You should onlyinclude an honors and awards sectionif you have three or more items to include.Where should awards and honors go on a resume?If you have one or two you can include them in your professional experience section, or in your education section if they’reacademic awards.
Remember that your resumeshould be concise. It should only be a page long which means you need to be selective about what you include. It may be the case that yourexperience and qualificationshighlight why you a better suited for a position than your honors and awards. If this is the case exclude them.Don’t waste valuable space.
Honors and awards examples to include
When should you include honors and awards on your resume?If you are a recent graduate and have receivedacademic distinctionsor achieved outstanding exam results, including them can be a way of making your resume stand out over hundreds of identical resumes.
You should alsoadd honors and awardswhich clearly demonstrate why you are the right person for the job. For example, if you are a hairdresser and received a ‘Best Young Hairdresser Award‘, it will clearly help.
You have to think whether aprofessional awardis relevant. The same hairdressing award is unlikely to help someone applying for a job in a bank. However, if you are able to write a list ofthree or four honors and awardsit will show that you’re an adaptable achiever who possesses a range of skills.
Using honors and awards to demonstrate different types of skills
You shouldinclude honors and awardswhich highlight that you have the required technical hard skills for a job. These are easy to identify. However, you should also think about thesoft skills that honors and awards highlight.Soft skills are abilities which are related to your personalities such as communication skills and social skills.
It can be difficult to demonstrate soft skills on a resume buthonors and awardscan be a good way. Winning an award for giving a presentation at college shows that you have a range ofdifferent types of communication skillsand it is much more convincing than simply stating that you’re a good public speaker or have good communication skills.
Similarly, if you have won anysporting awardsfor team sports, it demonstrates that you have strongteamwork skills. It can also show that you’re determined, and even haveleadership skills.
Tailor your resume to include honors and awards
You need to tailor your resume to each position in order to meet the individual specifications and requirements of each position. Using aresume builderis a time-effective way of achieving this.
Read thesetips for building your honors and awards sectionfor more information.
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