The COVID-19 Pandemic has affected the world’s job market, unlike anything we have ever seen. Everything from remote working to the Great Resignation has shifted the paradigm of the industry on its head.
With everything in such a flux, having a stunning resume allows you to stand apart in a milieu of applicants, all vying for the same great position and package.
Marketing is an interesting area of expertise. Marketers are expert sellers that can practically sell a comb to a bald person. Yet, when it comes to marketing or selling themselves, they are always found wanting.
We all know how showcasing oneself in our best light can be incredibly tough. In fact, once you start, you realize the mountain you have to climb.
If you are someone that is looking to create a new resume or brush up on an existing one for a highly desirable position that has just made its way to your LinkedIn feed, read on to know what we have to offer in this article.
Sit back and allow us to guide you to your dream marketing job with an excellent resume that helps open doors and attract the attention of recruiters.
Writing a Marketing Resume: What are some Best Practices?
If you are a seasoned pro, or someone new to this game, you do not have anything to worry about. In this section, we are going to help you brush up or fine-tune your resume with minimum fuss and gear it for maximum results-
1. Always start with a winning template-
While this might look easy, the fact is that nearly 75% of marketing professionals get this wrong. When choosing a template, the first thing you need to do is look for credible platforms and websites.
If you are going with industry leaders like Make your CV, you can rest assured that you are starting off on the right foot. Make sure that it is a marketing template and nothing else.
2. Understand who you are writing for and what is your target audience-
Just like the products or services you were marketing/selling, here too you need to draw up the demographic profile of your target audience.
Is it an MNC with an already thirty-strong marketing team, or a small business where you will be leading the division? Does it require knowledge of offline and online mediums? This will help you understand your target audience.
3. State what your USP is and what you will be bringing to the business-
Every company wants rockstars to lead their different verticals. Marketing is no different. By identifying and highlighting your USP, you will be creating a differentiating marker with other applicants.
Is it a specialized course that you have done, or experience in taking a bootstrapped start-up to a unicorn status? Whatever your USP, make sure that you use it on the resume.
4. Sell your benefits over your marketing features-
Recruiters and businesses are more interested in how your association will benefit their brand rather than knowing what your features are. This is true even when products or services are concerned.
Make sure that you are able to paint a rosy picture of the benefits a business stands to gain after they hire you. Show the impact of your past experiences for better results.
5. Don’t screw up the basics of your marketing resume-
No matter how much we hate it, we cannot overlook the importance of grammatically correct copy, proper formatting, PDF conversions, and font colors. Some things were and will always remain.
Make sure that you focus on creating a single-page resume that is formatted, has pleasant font sizes, and appeals to the recruiters in a traditionally correct manner.
Reasons why Professionals Fail at Marketing Resumes:
In the last section of the article, we covered some of the elements and best practices that can help you craft an award-winning (or at least job guaranteeing) resume.
To be honest, best practices don’t mean anything unless you eliminate the mistakes. In other words, for the best practices to shine in your resume, you first need to get rid of the mistakes.
So, here is a list of mistakes that you need to avoid on your marketing resume-
1. Overcomplicating things on your resume–
You need to understand that this is not a resume whose intention is to send the recruiter into a tizzy. You need to have clear and concise messaging that drives home your point. Make the resume as direct as possible.
2. Having a four-page long resume–
In this day and age, nobody has the time or energy to go through a four-five-page resume. Ideally, stick to just one page. If you have too much information, use a second page, but nothing more than that.
3. Complex formatting that is difficult to grasp–
In most cases, recruiters are looking for the clarity of mind of the applicant. The same needs to be reflected in their resume formatting. Don’t do something unnecessarily just because it is going to look creative.
4. Failing to proofread for spelling errors–
It does not matter whether you have an MBA from Harvard or if you have a couple of spelling mistakes on your resume. Proofread what you are writing and if possible, use grammar software.
5. Not including bullet points in the resume–
Human beings are trained to read briefly and grasp knowledge as they do so. When you include everything from your educational qualifications to your experience in bullet points, it just becomes very easy.
In addition to the above mistakes, you need to make sure that you are placing the correct names and titles of past companies and designations.
Make sure that you are being truthful about the joining and leaving dates as far as past experiences are concerned. Almost all companies run background checks by speaking to past recruiters.
The Bottom Line
No matter what kind of a position you are applying for, make sure that you are not plagiarizing from any other source. Companies these days are not too keen on personal objectives or glorified statements.
They care for someone that can get the marketing job done in the best way possible. If you have any other questions, you would like us to address on the subject, please let me know in the comments section below.
Read Also:
