Marketing managers have a high earning potential, are in demand in any industry, collaborate with interesting people, and can work remotely. Moreover, there’s a stable demand for these professionals – according to BLS, employment of marketing managers is expected to grow by 6% by 2032.
To succeed in your marketing career, you need to master the skill of promoting yourself to target employers. In particular, your resume should clearly reflect your strengths, biggest accomplishments, and areas of expertise as a marketer. If you feel that your old resume undersells you, follow the tips below to create a persuasive document that attracts the recruiter’s attention.
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7 game-changing resume tips for marketing managers
Start with a strong summary
Summary of Qualifications is the very first thing the recruiter sees on your resume. Use it to “sell” your qualifications to the target employer, focusing on the areas of expertise that are most relevant to the employer’s needs. Keep this section to 3-5 sentences. Highlight your title, years of experience, and 3-4 main specializations. Specify your knowledge of the particular industry if the employer asks for it.
You may also add achievements with figures and percentages, a newly obtained degree, an award you won, and any other details that will help you look like a top candidate for the role.
List skills relevant to marketing positions
For marketing managers, it is recommended to create a dedicated Skills section. In it, you should list 10 to 18 skills that align with your target role. You may include both hard and soft skills, but be sure to focus on specific skills over generic ones (such as time management, organization skills, and teamwork).
Here are some good examples of skills to include on your marketing resume:
- Email marketing
- Funnel management
- SEO
- SMM
- Copywriting
- Creativity
- Analytical skills
- Market analysis
- Leadership
- Marketing strategy implementation
- CRM
- HTML/CSS
- WordPress, and more.
Include enough bullet points for each role
For each role you include on your resume, add enough bullet points. Thus, the prospective employer will accurately assess your scope of responsibility. Ideally, you should include 6-8 bullets per role, covering both your duties and professional accomplishments.
Start each bullet with a strong action verb, such as Designed, Implemented, Achieved, or Streamlined. Powerful language will highlight your active contribution and initiative, and draw the reader’s attention. Give context when describing your experience. Don’t write “Directed marketing campaigns”. Say “Directed three marketing campaigns for an e-commerce brand, resulting in exceeding sales targets by 38%”.
Focus on achievements above job duties
When scanning resumes, hiring managers pay attention to achievements and numbers in the first place. Specific results of work show them that you are proactive and eager to exceed expectations. Thus, including at least one accomplishment per role will surely help you get noticed. Focus on accomplishments relevant to your target position – thus, the hiring manager will be more motivated to interview you.
Saving the company time and money, training new employees, improving processes, increasing customer satisfaction, and exceeding sales targets can be listed as accomplishments. Add figures and percentages where possible to make your statements sound more credible.
Keep it to 1-2 pages
An optimal resume length for a marketing specialist is one page if you have less than 3 years of experience, and two pages for experienced candidates. If your resume is longer than 2 pages, consider removing jobs you had over 10 years ago, as employers are interested in your most recent positions in the first place. Plus, this trick will help you avoid age discrimination.
To make your resume shorter, you can also remove outdated and irrelevant skills and shorten the job descriptions if they are very detailed. On the flip side, if your resume is too short (say, you’ve worked for the same employer for years) consider adding volunteering, hobbies, and personal projects to make it longer and more detailed.
Include certifications and training
The digital marketing niche is changing and evolving rapidly, so continuous learning is a must to succeed in the profession. Highlight relevant education, training, workshops, and online courses on your resume. Thus, you will show the employer that you keep your skills up-to-date and are aware of the most recent changes in the industry.
Here are some good marketing courses to add to your resume:
- HubSpot Content Marketing Certification
- Google Analytics Certification
- Copyblogger Certified Content Marketer
- Python for Marketers
- Online Marketing Certified Professional.
Optimize it with keywords
Today, over 98% of Fortune 500 companies and the majority of smaller ones use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to sort out incoming resumes. This software rejects resumes that look irrelevant and don’t have the necessary keywords. Thus, you should always optimize your resume with keywords and adapt the resume for a particular job posting.
Use the keywords from the job ad in your resume, incorporating them in all sections naturally. You can add keywords to the list of skills to increase the relevance of your resume. Apply with an ATS-friendly file format, such as DOCX or PDF.
Proofread before sending
59% of hiring managers are ready to reject a resume that has grammar or spelling mistakes. Many employers see mistakes as sloppiness and lack of interest in the position. Proofread the resume before sending it to ensure error-free, accurate writing. Make sure you’ve capitalized all job titles and company names, and formatted the document neatly for the perfect impression. Don’t use first-person pronouns and double-check all contact info to avoid typos. Be consistent with punctuation – if you use a full stop at the end of the bullet, do so throughout the document.
Be careful with templates – some of them might be ATS-unfriendly. Use plain, professional formatting, as some recruiters might be confused if your marketing resume looks too bright and creative.
With the above tips, you’ll create an attention-grabbing, informative marketing resume that positions you well for the job. If describing your experience or listing your accomplishments sounds confusing, do not hesitate to contact professional resume consultants for advice. Good luck with your job search!
