A standout resume gets you ready to sell yourself. Resume is the first contact with an employer and that must be convincing enough, especially in the marketing field.
Resumes are your first contact with an employer and are very important in every field. But, in marketing, it’s not only the first contact, it’s also your first work sample. After all, you are applying for a marketing job, you must know how to market yourself. You are going to work which should stand out among others, so, your resume.
You Can Follow These Steps To Make A Perfect Marketing Resume:
1. Use A Noteworthy Resume Template
Hiring managers see a lot of resumes that look the same at once. Choose a template that stands out and grabs attention. Use some design elements that make your resume unique and compelling to the eyes.
- Colours – Keep the main text black, don’t go crazy. You can use subtle colours in headings and some text you want to highlight.
- Font – Keep the font simple and readable. Using different fonts for the heading and body will definitely improve the readability and overall look of the resume but don’t go too “Creative”.
- Two-columns – Two-column design will help you put more information without cluttering. A single column will look ancient. Columns are easy to read too.
2. Mention Required Skills Only
A resume should have a skills section, but it shouldn’t be cluttered with useless skills. Having knowledge of Microsoft Office has nothing to do with marketing. Keep the skills section to a minimum by only mentioning skills relevant to marketing. Some companies are using screening software these days. The software searches for some specific keywords, if they do not find those keywords, there is a good chance that no real person will even see them. Mention these three things:
- Proficiency in specific skills/techniques – List specific marketing skills such as content marketing, video editing, lead nurturing, web designing, etc. Again don’t clutter the section with useless skills. List skills related to the job you are applying for. If you’re applying for SEO, mention skills like keyword research and backlink building. Don’t forget to mention other skills relevant to the company; You never know what additional skills a company might consider as a bonus.
- Proficiency in specific software/tools – Lists all the software and tools that have mastery in the above-written skills. For example, if you’re a video editor, list all the important software you’ve mastered. Also, check the job description posted by the company to see if they need a candidate who is experienced with a specific piece of tool.
- Proficiency in operating systems and coding languages – List any programming and coding languages you know. Don’t forget to mention any operating systems you know to run.
Also Read – 5 Marketing Strategies for Faster Growth of Your Business
3. Add Stats And Figures
Every hiring manager wants to see solid evidence of your previous performance. So, don’t forget to mention your results from the last role. For example, mention how much traffic you brought to the website by SEO, growth in email subscribers and conversion rates, reduction in operation cost, etc.
4. Keep The Education Section Short And Minimal
List your degrees, when, and where you got them. Do not include your grade points, minor academic awards, clubs and societies membership, or studying abroad schooling. This will look amateurish, until unless you are applying for an internship. The company you are applying to needs your skills, not your academic achievements. 95% of hiring managers don’t care about your grades. Getting A grades in studies doesn’t mean you will perform similarly in a job too.
5. List A Few Hobbies
Mention a few hobbies only if you have room on the first page. Your hobbies will help the hiring manager to identify your personality.
6. Include Important Links
Listing important links to your work will back up your claims. You can claim anything on a resume, but if you have proof, your claims will solidify. You can add your LinkedIn profile. Manage your LinkedIn profile and make decent connections. If you are applying for a development, design, writing job, etc mention links to your work. Don’t forget to mention your personal blog or company’s blog in which you were involved. You can add links to contributed articles as well.
7. Keep It To A Single Page
Unless you are applying for a job where they are looking for 10+ years of experience, cut down the information to the extent that fits on a single page. Putting too much information on multiple pages will suck up the time of hiring managers and your chances of getting hired will go down. Follow these simple steps:
- Use two columns, which will help put more information in less space.
- Only include the last two-three jobs or relevant jobs. If your earlier positions are not relevant, skip them. Nobody is interested in knowing that you were a part-time waitress in your college days.
Also Read – 7 Startup Ideas That Could Actually Work in 2023
8. Add A Summary Sentence At The Top
Add a personalised summary sentence on the top of the resume to describe what you can do or why you want this job. Then Add a summary if the application doesn’t allow adding a cover letter. If they do so, consider adding a short personalised cover letter.
A good example of a summary is “Self-motivated video editor with three years’ experience, proficient in Adobe Premiere Pro and Sony Vegas Pro, aiming for challenging projects”. A small summary will describe a lot about you and will also differentiate your resume from others. Don’t write like, “I’m looking for a full-time position for a video editor.” Duh, there is no need to write the position you are looking for.
9. Add A Cover Letter
Resumes are made simple and to the point. They sometimes do not tell you everything about you, so supplement the resume with a personalised cover letter. Follow these do’s and don’ts:
Do’s
- Mention why you are interested in this particular position.
- Highlight two-three relevant elements of your work experience.
- Write your cover letter by yourself. This will reflect your personality. Copy-pasting will not do.
Don’ts
- Don’t mention you are interested in this job. (That’s why you are applying, isn’t it?)
- Don’t use slang and fancy-sounding words. Keep it formal.
- Don’t exceed two-three small paragraphs. Hiring managers are busy, they will ignore long texts.
- Don’t mention that you are doing this job to build experience for the future. They are searching for employees not trainees.
After designing your resume, proofread it multiple times. Your resume should be of high quality. Consider making it in PDF format rather than JPEG or PNG.
