If you have a passion for telling the world about a product or service you love and encouraging other people to buy it, you should learn how to write a marketing resume. That way, you can land your ideal role within the marketing field. Keep reading to see how it’s done!
If you are looking for a career in marketing, start your job search on ZipRecruiter! ZipRecruiter is free for job seekers and you can apply for jobs with just a single click!
What Is Unique About A Marketing Resume?
A marketing resume is much like any other resume in that it showcases your abilities and achievements in an attempt to secure an interview for a position. However, it stands out from the rest because you specifically write it to help launch or advance your career in marketing.
Pro Tip: Even though it will be time-consuming, you should tailor your resume to each marketing role you pursue. Your extra effort will likely get rewarded through more interview invitations.
What Should Be Included On A Marketing Resume?
Name And Contact Details
The top of your resume should include your full name, professional-sounding email address, and phone number. That way, a hiring manager or recruiter can see how to connect with you. In addition, if you have a stellar LinkedIn profile, a portfolio of relevant projects, or an impressive website, you can also include links to those here.
Resume Objective Or Summary
Recruiters don’t spend much time reviewing each resume, so you must capture their attention immediately to keep them reading. You can do that by crafting a concise and compelling resume objective or resume summary that highlights what makes you noteworthy.
If you’re new to the workforce or marketing, you should opt for a resume objective that showcases your skills. But, if you’re an experienced marketing professional, you should go with a resume objective that impresses the reader with your career achievements.
Let’s take a look at an example of each:
Resume Objective
Recent marketing graduate skilled in social media management, content writing, and search engine optimization (SEO). Seeking a marketing coordinator role at XYZ, Inc. to utilize my capabilities to increase brand awareness and lead conversion.
Resume Summary
Content marketing manager with 15+ years of experience creating written, audio, and video content in the consumer goods industry. Holds an MBA and the Digital Marketing Expert certification. Increased TikTok following for my most recent employer by 500%, resulting in $100,000 additional revenue.
Work History
This section should take up the most space on your marketing resume. In most cases, you should present your work history in reverse chronological order, working backward from your most recent role.
Each entry should include your title, the company's name, dates of employment, and bullet points featuring your accomplishments. Bullet points should contain action words, quantified achievements, and keywords from the job description. That way, you demonstrate what you’ve done for other firms and what you can do for that employer.
Here’s an example entry:
Social Media Marketing Manager
123 Company, 2019-present
- Launched the company’s Instagram account and grew the follower base to 150,000 in 6 months.
- Reduced Facebook ad spend by 35% while increasing the leads generated by 20%.
- Increased social conversion on Twitter by 25%, resulting in $750,000 in new revenue.
- Trained and supervised 3 social media content creators.
Join The Break Community
Note: If you’re a recent graduate or new to the marketing field, it’s perfectly acceptable to list volunteer positions, freelance work, or internships in this section.
You can also use this area to highlight the transferable skills you gained in previous jobs. For example, if you were an administrative assistant for five years, you honed your organization, communication, and teamwork capabilities — all of which apply to your new marketing career.
Pro Tips: Keep your resume to one page (if possible), leave plenty of white space between content areas, use a reader-friendly font, and avoid fancy formatting. The time-strapped recruiter and hiring manager will thank you!
Education
If you’ve worked in marketing before, there’s no need to add much detail here. Your degree, school name, and date of graduation will suffice.
But, if you’re a recent graduate or newcomer to the line of work, it’s a good idea to include supporting points, like relevant coursework, internships, or activities.
Here’s what that might look like:
Bachelor of Science in Marketing
ABC University, 2021
- Relevant coursework: Digital Marketing Principals, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Fundamentals, Buyer Psychology
- Acted as president of the school’s Student Marketing Association.
- Increased engagement on the university’s Facebook account by 35% during an internship.
This section is also a great place to list any relevant certifications you’ve earned, such as the American Marketing Association’s Professional Certified Marketer® in Content Marketing.
Skills
You’re almost done writing your marketing resume! In this section, you should insert a short list (no more than 10) of your most relevant competencies. That way, the reader can see what you’re good at with a glance. Keep scrolling to see a list of skills you could potentially include.
Awards
This optional section is where you should list any awards you’ve won. For example, if you were named Marketing Professional of the Year, you should briefly brag about that here.
What Should Be Left Off Of A Marketing Resume?
You have limited space to convince a recruiter or hiring manager that you’re the best applicant for a job, which means every word on your resume must support that goal. That means you should leave off any irrelevant details, such as an unrelated job you held twenty years ago or your interest in craft beer (unless you’re applying to work for a brewery!).
Important Job Skills For Marketing Resumes
Here are some job skills you should consider using on your marketing resume (but only if you possess them):
Hard Skills
- Social media strategy and management
- Content writing and copywriting
- Podcasting
- Video creation and editing
- Graphic design
- Email marketing
- Paid ad creation
- Keyword research
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- SEO tools knowledge (such as Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush)
- Content management system knowledge (ex., WordPress or Squarespace)
- Email marketing platform knowledge (like MailChimp or ConvertKit)
- Google Analytics knowledge
- Graphic design tools knowledge (such as Canva, Figma, or Photoshop)
- General software knowledge (think Microsoft Office or Google Suite)
Soft Skills
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Creativity
- Organization
- Attention to detail
- Time management
- Training
- Leadership
Remember: You should pepper in your capabilities throughout your resume — not just list them in the skills section. For best results, include competencies referenced in the job advertisement. That way, you’re more likely to make it past the company’s applicant tracking system (ATS) filters and catch the reader's attention.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully, you now have a firm grasp on how to write a marketing resume. But, if you’re still feeling baffled, take a moment to explore our preferred providers for the best resume writing service. These companies can help you create a compelling resume that you can use to apply for positions on ZipRecruiter and other job boards.
