Get The Marketing Resume – Professional Marketing Resume Examples
Thinking about starting a career in marketing? Or already kicked off your marketing career and want to ensure you’ve what it takes for a brighter future?
A solid marketing resume is your first step.
Here’re marketing resume templates you can download (Check: Marketing Resume and Simple Marketing Resume Template). They’re all in Word format but don’t forget to export your resume to PDF when it’s ready as it’s more professional and uneditable when you send them out to potential employers.
Get your template ready as you’re about to know how to nail your marketing resume.
How to write a marketing resume?
Despite what some people believe, a one-page resume could save you all the hassle of finding a marketing job. In fact, longer resumes are more likely to get completely ignored. Hiring managers don’t have the luxury of spending much time reading a single resume.
According to Glassdor, each corporate job offer gets 250 resumes, of which, only 4 to 6 will get an interview, and 1 candidate will get the job.
Most hiring managers take no longer than 6 seconds to scan a resume, as stated in TheLadders.
That’s why your marketing resume shouldn’t just be short and to the point but also well-written and formatted. At the same time, you should highlight your unique skills, previous work experience and related education.
“Emphasize your strengths on your resume, in your cover letters, and in your interviews. It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people simply list everything they’ve ever done.” the English author, motivational speaker and business consultant Marcus Buckingham, said.
A helpful tip is to provide your LinkedIn profile as a hyperlink in the resume so hiring managers can find more information once needed. Actually, 87% of recruiters check candidates on LinkedIn as Jobvite Recruiter Nation Report 2016 asserted.
Essentially, even before starting writing your marketing resume, put some thought into what makes you stand out.
“In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is a failure. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible,” the entrepreneur, best-selling author and speaker Seth Godin, said.
Think about your uniqueness through your previous work experience. For instance, producing creative content is a skill that could be under your skills section. Still, it has to be reflected on your previous jobs.
Based on that, you can decide on the layout, structure and the keywords that potential employers will look for in the received resumes.
Seems complicated? Don’t worry; we’re here to guide you step by step.
1. A basic Format is the best format
The elementary sections of the resume are Summary or Career Objective, Work Experience, Education, and Achievements and Awards. However, you can add another section for your Interests and Hobbies.
Your contacts, name, address, email, phone number and portfolio, should be the first thing for the employer to see. Then comes the Summary or Career Objective, and the rest of the sections could be organized any way you want.
Most importantly, the proper formatting is the gear to show off your skills and experience. Nevertheless, it’s not recommended to go very creative in your marketing resume. It will backfire for being too hard to understand.
Make it appealing, organized, and not too crowded, while leave it to your portfolio to speak for your creativity.
A readable font is a significant determinant as well. Imagine some resumes may get ignored just because the font is either hard to read or unprofessional.
The solution is easy; use readable fonts such as Calibri, Cambria and Georgia.
Avoid using more than 1 font as it seems highly unprofessional. Furthermore, use narrow margins for more space and bold text to highlight titles, companies’ names and any information you want to emphasize.
Download a simple resume template from here.
2. Proofread, proofread, proofread
Grammar and spelling errors are very frustrating for some people. While for hiring managers, grammar mistakes are unforgivable, particularly when applying for a role that involves a lot of writing.
The quality writing goes all the way to sentence length, verb tenses and used language.
Especially for marketers, you can’t say you have an eye for details and miss a couple of errors.
3. Education and GPA
Your study has nothing to do with marketing? You still have to reference it.
The education section should be crystal clear for employers. At least your major, university and year of graduation should be there. Your GPA is added to the equation if it’s high enough and you’ve studied marketing or a similar field. GPAs below 3.00 should be removed.
Also, working in a field that is not related to your education is completely normal. Only 27% of university graduates work in a job related to their major, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
So, not studying marketing in university shouldn’t hold you back.
In case that your education is not relevant to the position and doesn’t add any value to your application, it’s okay to place it at the very bottom of your resume. On the other hand, put it on top if you obtained a masters’ degree or applying at fellow alumni’s company.
The following is an example of a marketing resume with education added at last, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.
4. Previous work experience
It’s a common sense that 91% of employers prefer experienced candidates. Though, 65% of employers are okay with relevant work experience, as NACE Job Outlook 2017 claimed.
Your titles and responsibilities are to match with your desired job, or at least your responsibilities should. It would be best if you’re wise in choosing the right words that define your skills.
Some people might even slightly change the job titles, so it looks better on the resume. There’s no harm in that as long as you’re not picking a completely different title and responsibilities.
For example, content creator and content producer are basically the same thing. When choosing to do that, ensure consistency on your resume, LinkedIn profile and any other job application.
Besides, 5 or 6 bullet points or sentences, not paragraphs, are sufficient to explain each experience. Instead of listing your responsibilities, highlight your achievements and outcomes.
For instance, coming up with a marketing campaign is an accomplishment. Thus, state the outcomes of your strategy such as increased traffic, less bounce rates and better engagement.
Moreover, job-hopping and gaps oftentimes drive the employers away. You should explain any gaps saying what you were doing at that time such as studying abroad, maternity leaves or even a break.
“Sometimes legends find themselves remembered more for what they have not done than for their accomplishments. But those resume gaps can also help drive them to achieve even greater things in new arenas,” Don Yaeger, American journalist, said.
For job-hopping, it’s not advisable to add any job that lasted less than a year. Otherwise, the employers will inquire about your commitment. Ideally, try not to leave a job before a year or two.
5. Never forget the awards section
Even if unrelated to marketing, awards show that you’re a high achiever. Academic honors, student activities awards and certificates of recognition are a great bonus to your marketing resume.
6. Interests and hobbies
Don’t just state hobbies and interests haphazardly. Everything in your marketing resume should be of value.
Concerning marketers, your job requires highly creative people. Hence, you can include hobbies such as photography, painting and handicraft. Or else, omit the section if you feel it’s not necessary as you’ve shed light on your talents through your experience.
Marketing required skills
Phew! By now, you should’ve a marketing resume in your hands. Therefore, in the following paragraphs, you’ll get to know the necessary skills for several marketing jobs.
A couple of them require years of experience and advanced skills; however, it’s a chance for you to take a glance on the market to plan your career. Don’t be afraid to aim high. The sky is the limit.
But first, any marketer at any level should have the below skills.
- Verbal and written communication skills
- Negotiation skills
- Familiarity with Google Ads & SEO rules
- Knowledge of social media marketing
- Proficient Microsoft Office and Google Suite
- Proficient in Adobe programs
Here’s a marketing resume sample for an entry-level candidate.
Simple Marketing entry level resume
Social Media/ Marketing Specialists
- Creativity
- Writing skills
- Communication skills
- Content optimization
- Community management
- Knowledge of digital marketing trends
- Data analysis
Here’s a resume sample for the role. Notice the structure, format and skill categories.
Marketing Strategist
- MA in Marketing or a relevant field is preferable.
- Experience with CRM software and Content Management Systems
- Familiarity with SEO/SEM and Google Analytics
- Data-driven analytical aptitude
- Creative
- Organizational and time management skills
- Communication and presentation skills
Marketing Intern
Whereas, for a student who wants to intern for an agency, your marketing resume could be the simplest. Of course, you can include any skill you master, but no pressure to acquire advanced skills. Here’s a marketing resume sample for an intern.
Since students are being mentioned, marketing is one of the industries that require constant learning as it’s evolving extremely fast. Similarly, it’s a field that anyone could learn at any point of life given that determination and persistence are taking over.
Thanks to the Internet, eDX, Udemy, Coursera and dozens of other learning websites offer various digital marketing courses for different levels.
Also, check DigiUTM’s articles “Top 7 Most Important Marketing Channels in 2022”, and “40 Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Making Them” to enhance your knowledge about marketing in 2022.
It’s guaranteed that lifelong leaning will keep you always ahead of the pack.
As the famous British Writer C.S. Lewis, said “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”