Jul 18, 2024
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12 min read
Here’s how to sell yourself as the top professional for the job!
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Marketing yourself as the right candidate for the job is the toughest brief you’ll ever have. It doesn’t matter how many exemplary skills you have or the experience you’ve got under your belt. If you don’t know how to position yourself as the perfect fit, you’ll lose out.
So, how can you sell your creative flair and professionalism in one package? Finding the balance between these two all-important traits can be tough. However, with a little help from our guide, you’ll have no problem getting it just right. We’ve got a load of expert-backed advice, plus 40 marketing resume examples, which you can use for inspiration.
Read on to learn how to tailor your resume to the job, how to highlight your most relevant experience, and what in-demand skills you need to include.
Let’s get started!
Key takeaways
Before we dive in, let’s take a look at our game plan. You want to get the most out of this writing guide—and we’re here to help. Let’s go through how to use our detailed guide to create a marketing resume that turns heads.
Guide checklist
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There’s no space for vagueness when writing your marketing resume. Recruiters want solid facts that they can sink their teeth into. For that reason, you should take a targeted approach when deciding what exactly to focus on.
Sure, there are many things you should cover. However, your focus should be on specific metrics (e.g. conversion growth), relevant certificates, leadership skills, and examples of innovative ideas and campaigns. Tick all of those boxes, and you’re onto a winner.
Let’s take a closer at each of these approaches:
What impact did your marketing work have? This is the question on every recruiter’s mind. They don’t simply want to know what you can do—they want to know about the end result, too.
To answer this question, pack your marketing resume with relevant metrics, depending on your specific marketing field. These could include conversion growth, average customer acquisition cost (CAC), organic traffic growth, and revenue per visitor (RPV).
Using numbers
Provide tangible metrics in your work experience section. Add percentages to your bullet points, for example.
Here’s how that may look:
“Increased lead conversion rate by 35% through optimized email marketing campaigns and A/B testing, resulting in a 20% boost in revenue.”
Sure, you might have a marketing (or related degree), but what other training do you have? You can include any relevant certificates when listing your education on your resume.
Certification builds trust and shows recruiters you’re serious about career progression. It displays your commitment to upskilling, which is a major bonus.
What are the most in-demand marketing certificates?
Let’s take a look at some options:
Expert marketers aren’t simply creatives who know the score. If you want to get ahead in this field, you need to be an inspiring leader. So, if you’ve reached a managerial or even supervisory position, now’s the time to shout about it.
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Include this detail in your work experience on your resume. For example, if you’ve supervised a small team, be specific about how many workers you managed.
Here’s how that could look:
“Led a team of 5 marketing specialists, overseeing content creation, social media strategy, and campaign execution, resulting in a 25% increase in engagement and a 15% boost in lead generation.”
Do you think outside the box? Prove it. Recruiters will be looking for marketers who can take things to the next level with their boundless creativity.
Throw in a few anecdotes that showcase your flair and innovation. You might also decide to link to your portfolio on your resume so that recruiters can see your work in action.
Watch your words!
When writing your resume, make sure you use creative and compelling language. The recruiter will expect you to be a wordsmith—don’t let them down.
Make sure your writing is straightforward and free from jargon. The more accessible it is, the more likely the recruiter will get the message.
Figure out which focus suits you best—or use all three. Now that you’ve got that down, it’s time to move on to the best resume format for your needs.
Which resume format should you pick? There are three main options to consider:
Each one has its merits. However, we recommend using the reverse-chronological format for most marketing resumes. This structure positions your most recent accolades at the top of the page and works its way back in time.
Many marketers worry about Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), but there’s no need to stress. Research shows that fonts, colors, columns, and even resume length don’t interfere with parsing. ATS tools aren’t designed to auto-reject—they're simply organizing applications for human review. A strong, well-targeted resume will always make it through.
Focus on reflecting the job description’s language and keeping formatting clean, especially with dates and bullet points. And since not every company uses ATS, avoid keyword stuffing—clarity and relevance still win.
If you’re new to digital marketing or you’ve hopped around in the field, your career history may not be linear. In that case, you can shake up the resume format to match it. Try using either a functional format or a combination format to position your skills front and center.
While we usually recommend the reverse-chronological resume format, this won’t work for newcomers.
Instead, try using the functional format. Group your experience by your marketing skills.
We don’t advise it.
Adding pictures to your resume can make it look messy and unprofessional.
Let your words do the talking—literally.
Always save your resume as a PDF, not a Word document.
The main problem with Word documents is that they can be altered after you send them. Plus, the formatting can change from device to device. That doesn’t happen with PDFs.
Your marketing resume can be either one or two pages, depending on how long you’ve been in the industry.
While you may be tempted to go with a “creative” font, that could be a bad move.
Your number one priority has to be readability. Choose a simple font like Arial or Rubik.
You can try—but it might not look all that professional. Microsoft Word can be hard to work with and, unless you’re a pro, you may end up with a messy resume.
Luckily, there’s a solution. Use our simple resume builder to quickly create a professional marketing resume.
Now that you picked the right format, let’s move on to the resume header.
Chances are, you already have a business card. Well, your resume header serves the same purpose. This means your basic details. If you manage to wow the recruiter with your resume, they’ll use this section to get in touch with you.
Here’s what you should include:
Your resume summary needs to convert. That means hooking the recruiter and giving them a reason to read your application. So, where should you start?
Let’s kick off with the basics. A resume summary is a short paragraph at the top of the page. It’s often the first thing that recruiters see. You only have a few lines to play with, and so you need to make every word count. Remember, you should add value and impact.
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Pepper your summary with resume action words. These dynamic words will help elevate your statement and show you have what it takes to succeed.
There’s no time for modesty. Include your biggest brags to date. For example, you might talk about the following marketing achievements:
Before you start writing, go back to the original job announcement and look at the core criteria. Align your summary with the must-haves from the recruiter or company.
Packed with major names, specific skills, and epic statistics, the above resume summary would certainly win over a hiring manager. Use this as inspiration when writing yours.
The work experience on your resume tells a career story—what do you want yours to say? Every position you include needs to be marketing or adjacent to the industry. Make sure that each role follows on neatly from the last, detailing how you upskilled and grew.
If you’re wondering how far back to go on your resume, aim for no more than 10 to 15 years. If you’ve been working in marketing for longer, leave out older positions. Not only will they make your resume extra long, but they could leave you open to age discrimination.
Start by writing down the company, location, job title, and years of employment. When you’ve got that right, flesh out this section with some core achievements.
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Add bullet points below each job title to show off your accomplishments. Use the same language that you found in the job description to describe these feats. That will help you to catch the recruiter’s attention quickly.
Let’s take a look at an example of this marketing manager:
From bottom to top, the listed positions get more and more specialized. This approach shows the hiring manager how you’ve progressed from a marketing coordinator to a director, displaying your career and gained skills.
Not sure how to get started with your work experience section? You need to play to your own professional strengths. There are many ways you might position yourself as a pro.
Let’s take a look at three approaches:
First up, focus on your creative nature. If you’re a whiz at innovation and ideation, talk about that in this section.
The online world is ever-changing. If your specialty is digital marketing, that needs to be your core focus. Tailor your work experience section to reflect this talent.
Google is king when it comes to marketing. If you’ve got Google certification and you use it on a daily basis, this should be at the heart of your work experience section. Weave this throughout your achievements and highlight your unique skill set.
Are you just dipping your toes into the marketing ocean? Starting at the entry level? Don’t worry—you can still make a pretty huge splash. If you have no work experience, you’ll need a different approach.
First up, you should use a skills-based resume format and highlight your transferable skills. Include a dynamic resume objective that explains what you plan to do in your marketing career.
Talk about any previous positions where you used skills applicable to marketing. Examples involve communication, design, and interpersonal skills for starters. You can also slide in any volunteer work you’ve completed that overlaps with marketing.
The more, the better!
However, if you don’t have experience, there are ways you can prove your worth. Try taking some online marketing courses from Hubspot or the Digital Marketing Institute.
You can intern at a marketing agency or try freelancing. Look for opportunities online.
No! You should never lie about your work experience on your resume.
If the employer finds out—and they will find out—you’ll be fired.
Knowing what skills to put on a resume is an art form. Of course, these will vary depending on the type of marketing you do—i.e. your niche.
However, there are some ground rules that apply to basically everyone. First up, you need to make sure you’re including both hard and soft skills in this resume section.
You should also match your skills to the original job advert. Use the same phrases to describe the talents as the recruiter did. That will instantly boost your chances of success.
Don’t make the mistake of simply listing generic skills. Instead, focus on the rarer talents you have or ones that apply to specific software or processes.
Let’s take a look at a good example:
Hard skills are vital to any marketing resume. What technical abilities are you hiding? Think about the software you use, the processes you understand, and your strategy approach. These things make you the expert that you are today.
Don’t take any of your hard skills for granted. You might presume a recruiter knows about them, but you need to spell it out for them. Be clear on what you can do (and to what level!).
Here’s an example of focusing on hard skills:
Of course, you should never overlook your soft skills. These are often innate traits that make you the perfect marketing candidate. Chances are, they’re the reason you ended up going into the field in the first place.
You may be a natural-born storyteller, a people-person, or a wordsmith. Whatever the case, pop these into your skills section to set you apart from the crowd.
Let’s take a look at an example:
You’ve nailed all of the above… but are you missing something? You need to list your formal education on your resume. Use the reverse-chronological approach once again here.
Here are some qualifications to include:
Begin with your college degree (or degrees), if you have them. These are super valuable, especially in marketing or a related subject. Also consider including:
Don’t have a degree? Make sure you write down your high school education. List any subjects you undertook that relate directly to the marketing field.
Have you continued your training in the workplace? If you have professional certificates—such as Google Ads Certification, Hootsuite Social Marketing Certification, and LinkedIn Marketing Labs Certification—present them in this resume section.
By this point, your marketing resume should shine. But why stop there? There are extra sections that can take your application to new heights.
Speaking a second language is always a bonus—especially if you’re working with international clients. If you can talk the talk, put a language section on your resume.
Do you want to humanize your application? One approach is to list some fun hobbies on your resume. While this isn’t always needed, it can add some color to your document.
Prioritize hobbies and interests that fit the persona of the ”perfect marketing professional.” Remember, you’re trying to sell yourself to the recruiter.
If you’ve got a bunch of volunteer work you want to share, why not create a whole section? Lay this out the same way as your work experience section in reverse chronological order.
PRO TIP
Looking for a way to make your resume stand out? Use a clean resume template that attracts the reader. Keep things simple and let your content take center stage.
Your resume is the most important marketing material you’ll ever create. Don’t let yourself down.
Use our drag-and-drop resume builder now to effortlessly design a winning document. Check out our resume examples for inspiration and get to work.
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