How do you list awards and achievements on a CV?
Give each award its full name, the body that gave it, the month and year, and a short reason if space allows. Academic honours go under Education, workplace awards under the job, and anything else in an Awards section.1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
Sort what you have: award, honour or achievement
Start by separating three things that people often lump together. An award or honour is recognition someone else gave you, with a name and a date. An achievement is a result you produced, such as a target beaten or a process fixed; it belongs in your experience bullets, not in a list of prizes. A certificate of completion shows you finished a course; it goes under Certifications or Training.
| What you have | Example | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Academic honour or scholarship | Dean's list, merit scholarship, first-class prize | Education, on the line of that degree |
| Workplace recognition | Employee of the quarter, sales club | Under the job where you earned it, as a bullet |
| Competition result | Hackathon winner, debate final, case competition | Awards section, or the project it came from |
| Personal development award | Duke of Edinburgh's Award | Awards section, especially early in a career |
| A result you produced | Cut invoice errors by half | Experience bullet, not Awards |
| Course completion | An online course certificate | Certifications or Training |
When a separate Awards section is worth it
UC Davis Career Center says Honors and Awards can be its own section or sit under Education. A separate heading earns its place when you have three or more awards, or when one is significant enough that you want it seen without hunting through the page. With one or two, fold them into Education or the relevant job.
The four parts of an award line
- The exact name, as the giver writes it. UC Davis lists the name of the award, grant or scholarship as required.
- Who gave it: the university, employer, professional body or organiser, if the name does not already say.
- The date received, month and year or year. UC Davis lists it as required too.
- If space allows, a short description: what it was for, or how selective it was.
Showing how selective it was, without inventing numbers
Readers cannot judge an award they have never heard of. Scale helps: "one of three winners from 60 teams". But use a number only if the organiser published it or you can show where it came from. If you do not know the field size, describe the criterion instead: "awarded to the top-ranked student in the final year" or "nominated by customers".
Explain internal names
An award called "Star Performer" or "Blue Ribbon" means something inside one company and nothing outside it. Add a few words: what it recognised and how many people received it, if you know.
Weak award lines rewritten
The core of this page. Each row is a line of the kind career advisers see, then a rewrite for an invented applicant. The award names, organisers and numbers are made up; write your own exactly as you can prove them.
| Weak line | What is missing | Rewrite (invented example) |
|---|---|---|
| Won an award at work | Name, giver, date, reason | Customer Service Award, Q3 2025, a coastal hotel group: one of 4 staff chosen from 120 by guest feedback |
| Scholarship | Which one, from whom, why | Entrance Merit Scholarship, Northgate University, 2023 to 2026: awarded for A-level results, £2,000 a year |
| Hackathon | Result and scale | Winner, City Health Hackathon, March 2025 (organiser lists 22 teams); built a clinic queue tracker |
| Employee of the month (x3) | When, and what for | Employee of the Month, a 40-store retail chain, Jan, Jun and Oct 2024, for stock accuracy |
| Duke of Edinburgh | Level and year | Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Silver, 2021 |
| Dean's list | University, terms | Dean's List, College of Engineering, Northgate University, Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 |
| Certificate of participation | It is not an award | Drop it, or move it to Activities if the event matters for the job |
A complete Awards section for a graduate (invented)
- Winner, City Health Hackathon, March 2025: built a clinic queue tracker with two teammates (organiser lists 22 teams).
- Entrance Merit Scholarship, Northgate University, 2023 to 2026: £2,000 a year for entry grades.
- Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Silver, 2021.
The same idea for an experienced applicant (invented)
A mid-career sales manager has no Awards heading at all. Her two awards sit inside the jobs that earned them: "President's Club 2024, one of 9 reps out of 140 to exceed annual quota by 20%" under her current role, and "Rookie of the Year 2019" as the last bullet of her first job. School prizes have gone; the page is better without them.
Where these rules come from
Read on 13 October 2026; links under Sources.
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| Award name and date required; brief description if space allows; own section or under Education | UC Davis Career Center, Resume, CV and Cover Letter Guide |
| Prompt: did your company recognise you or your team through awards | UC Davis Career Center, same guide |
| Awards and honours can sit on the Education line | Harvard Mignone Center, bullet-point resume template |
| Certificate of Achievement for three sections; can go on a CV or personal statement | The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Certificates |
| Back up claims with evidence; do not exaggerate | Prospects, How to write a CV |
| A CV summarises skills, achievements and experience | National Careers Service, CV sections |
Duke of Edinburgh certificates
The DofE site says a Leader can give a Certificate of Achievement to someone who finished three sections, and that it can go on a CV or personal statement. Certificates download from the My achievements area of eDofE or the DofE app, so you can produce one if asked.
What to leave off
- Participation certificates and attendance prizes. They show you were there, not that you were chosen.
- School prizes once you have a degree and a few years of work, unless the job is in that field.
- Awards you cannot name, date or prove. Prospects warns you will have to back up claims at interview.
- Nominations dressed up as wins. "Shortlisted for" is fine and honest; "awarded" is not, if you were only shortlisted.
- Old employer awards with internal names you cannot explain in a few words.
Other places an award can work
- In a two-line summary, if it is the single strongest thing about you for this job.
- In a cover letter, with the story behind it, when the award shows exactly what the advert asks for.
- Under a volunteering role, for a volunteer of the year or similar recognition.
- In an application form question about achievements, where you have room for context.
CitedCV writes award lines only from the details you enter: the name, the giver, the date and any number you supply. If a detail is missing, it asks rather than filling the gap. For the order of sections across the whole CV, see the how-to-write-a-resume page; for tailoring which awards to keep, the tailoring page.
Questions people ask
Should I put awards on my CV?
Yes, if you can name, date and prove them and they say something about the job. Leave out participation certificates and, later in a career, school prizes.
Where do awards go on a resume?
Academic awards under Education, workplace awards under the job, and anything else in an Honors and Awards section. UC Davis says the section can stand alone or sit under Education.
How do I list a scholarship on my CV?
On the line of the degree it funded: name, giver, years and the reason it was awarded, such as entry grades or financial need if you choose to say so.
What is the difference between awards and achievements on a CV?
An award is recognition someone gave you; an achievement is a result you produced. Awards get a list, achievements go into your experience bullets with numbers.
How do I put employee of the month on my CV?
As a bullet under that job, with the months and what it was for. If it happened several times, say so in one line rather than repeating it.
Should I put the Duke of Edinburgh Award on my CV?
Yes, early in your career. Give the level and year. The DofE says even a Certificate of Achievement for three sections can go on a CV.
What if I have no awards to put on my CV?
Then leave the heading out. Put your achievements, the results you produced, in your experience and education bullets; that evidence matters more than a prize.
Should I include awards from school or high school?
Only while you are a student or recent graduate, or if the award is directly relevant to the job. Once you have degree-level or work awards, the school ones can go.
Sources
- UC Davis Internship and Career Center, Resume, CV and Cover Letter Guidecareercenter.ucdavis.edu/sites/g/files/dgvnsk15461/files/inline-files/CRM%20Resume%2C%20CV%2C%20and%20Cover%20Letter%20Guide%20%28Print%29.pdf
- Harvard College Mignone Center for Career Success, Bullet point resume templatecareerservices.fas.harvard.edu/resources/bullet-point-resume-template/
- The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, Certificateswww.dofe.org/do/certificates/
- Prospects, How to write a CVwww.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/how-to-write-a-cv
- National Careers Service, CV sectionsnationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/cv-sections