The digital marketing industry is continuously growing and is a highly competitive sector. That means it's important to stand out from the crowd in order to land your dream marketing job. Having the perfect resume is essential.
What do recruiters look for?
Your resume needs to communicate your value to employers quickly. Recruiters spend 80% of their time looking at only six areas:
- Name
- Current title/company
- Previous title/company
- Previous position, start and end dates
- Current position, start and end dates
- Education
The remaining 20% is spent looking for keywords that match the job position.
What to include in your resume
The format of a digital marketing resume varies, but it's essential that it is concise and easy to read. It should include the following:
- An introductory paragraph – a summary of yourself and the benefits of hiring you
- Core skills - bullet points of your core skills, qualifications and anything else that relates to the role
- Your achievements - past campaign successes and previous projects including your responsibilities in the projects, the results you achieved and the impact your project had on the organisation. Quantify your value by adding data, facts and figures to back up your achievements
- Links - share your LinkedIn account and other relevant social media profiles, and include links to recent publications, etc.
- Continued professional development (CPD) – show the employer that you are dedicated to continuous learning by including recently attended conferences, certifications, etc.
Some examples of excellent digital marketing resumes: example 1, example 2, example 3.
Improving your resume
In some cases, you won’t meet every criteria for the job but being able to show your commitment to learning and development will show employers that you are a motivated and capable candidate.
Three ways to do this:
1. Get some free experience by volunteering at digital marketing events.
This will allow you to gain experience and give you a chance to network with other digital marketers.
2. Gain more specific digital marketing skills by enrolling in a digital marketing course
There are many digital marketing course options available that will allow you to improve your knowledge.
3. Set up your own blog
Creating your own website showcases your personal interest in the industry. Include samples of your work, ideas and thoughts for future projects. It also demonstrates that you are comfortable with content management system (CMS) technology.
This Deloitte report highlights the importance of continued learning.
Tailoring the resume
Customising your resume to the company you’re applying to is fundamental. Showing employers that you’ve researched the role and the company indicates that you are motivated and enthusiastic. To do this:
1. Read the entire job description
Make a list of the key job requirements and go through your resume to find matches. Ensure that you tweak your resume so that the job requirements are prominent throughout all sections.
2. Cut down on irrelevant information
Your resume should be as concise and as scannable as possible. On average, employers spend 6.25 seconds reviewing each resume so be sure to make those seconds count by listing the skills and knowledge that are relevant to the job.
Get another perspective
Finally, a top tip is to give your resume to a friend or family member with no knowledge of digital marketing. Give them one minute to read your resume and ask them what sections jumped out and what they thought were the key points from your resume. This will give you another perspective and allow you to understand the areas that might need to be improved.
Remember, when you get an interview, check out our tips in the blog “How to succeed at your digital marketing interview”.
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