INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Communication Manager positions are at a 10% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 316,800 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 31,800 to 348,600 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Communication Manager jobs was $141,490 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $74,620, and the highest 10% more than $208,000.
Our conclusion? The Communication Manager job market is wide open for candidates.
Top Communication Manager sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Communication Manager resume experience section
Communication Manager Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Communication Manager resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- project coordination among the EU Partners (the project partners were located in Italy, but also in Austria and Germany)
- execution of the communication plan: coordination with the advertising agency - content generation for all the promotional materials - events organizations (press conferences and other meetings) - PR activities
- project monitoring and reporting
- Leading the brand communications team in developing an integrated communications strategy for the company incorporating PR, Marketing and Online
- Implementing communications plans to increase brand awareness and recognition for the company
- Collating and analyzing current communications and messages and ensuring consistency
- Developing and leading the company’s internal communication strategy across the country
- Responsable de comunicación de las 15 marcas distribuidas en España. Gestión de prensa especializada, publicidad (on y off-line) y RRPP.
- Desarrollo de herramientas comerciales: catálogos y PLV.
- Puesta en marcha y gestión de redes sociales (comunidad +25k usuarios). Responsable del ecommerce de la empresa (B2B/B2C).
- Coordinación de eventos corporativos y comerciales (ISPO Munich, Fira de la Marató, Unibike, UTBCN).
- Corporate Communication: responsabile della comunicazione aziendale e promozione della corporate identity attraverso piani di comunicazione interna ed esterna, relazioni con stakeholder e partner;
- Digital Communication: piani di comunicazione digitale per l'azienda e i suoi principali clienti. Alcuni clienti seguiti: Rai, Il Sole 24 Ore, Radio 24, Giro d'Italia, Sky, Enel, La7, Mediolanum;
- Media Relations e Ufficio Stampa: relazioni con testate nazionali e di settore con l'obiettivo di instaurare collaborazioni editoriali di valore, redazione di comunicati stampa, coordinamento dell'agenzia esterna;
- Osservatori di Analisi Digitale: ideazione, progettazione e coordinamento operativo di osservatori di ricerca dedicati all'analisi del mondo digital con l'obiettivo di promuovere la metodologia e la tecnologia di Reputation Manager, scrittura di articoli sugli studi condotti, planning, creazione e gestione di collaborazioni editoriali;
- Social Media Management: gestione e coordinamento della comunicazione sulle social properties;
- Adv e Analytics: gestione campagne adv su Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, Linkedin Ads, monitoraggio dei risultati, planning e report;
- Eventi: organizzazione e preaparazione dei materiali per la partecipazione a eventi, workshop e speech del CEO;
- Didattica: attività di docenza presso corsi e master universitari (Sole 24 ore, Università Cattolica, IULM), primo master italiano in Reputation Management promosso in collaborazione con Università IULM.
- Internal communications strategy created and implemented.
- Improved alignment with corporate communication strategy
- Established succesfull relationships with a.o. Sikkens partners like Carré, Concertgebouw and Rijksmuseum.
- Change management projects
- Content creation and editing
- Editorial planning for online publications
- Intranet design
- Events planning
- Collaborate with management to implement an effective communications strategy for audience.
- Write, edit, and distribute content, including publications, press releases, website content, annual reports, speeches, and other marketing material that communicates the organization's activities, products and/or services.
- Respond to media inquiries, arrange interviews, and act as a spokesperson for the organization.
- Establish and maintain effective relationships with journalists, and maintain a media database.
- Seek opportunities to enhance brand reputation and coordinate events as required.
- Maintain records of media coverage and collate analytics and metrics.
- Proficiency in design and publishing software.
- Drafted and implemented communication strategy and plan
- Launched online presence for the administration : website revamp, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube
- Content creation and management: posts, videos, articles, etc
- Ran multimedia campaigns : billboards, radio, video, digital/social ads
- Bilingual communication FR/NL
- Manage a +300K€ budget covering projects such as hackathons with NUMA or inauguration event with Minister of the Economy
- Lead all press relations with more than 20 articles in 6 months
- Built from scratch social media channels and a TumblR website
- Launched the Digital Shadow Committee in Europe - 13 young leaders - fostering innovative projects and reporting to the CEO in Europe
- Wrote and presented a prospective analysis on the agrochemical market by 2030 for the Executive Committee
- Realized +20 product sheets in coordination with 10 gobal BUs
- Organized with Syngenta a customer-oriented Tech Day with 5 keynotes and 5 roundtables
- Develop, manage and measure brand campaigns B2C and B2B with a customer-centric approach
- Translate consumer en shopper insights into a shopper strategy, develop and implement in-store activation plan in offline channels and strengthen brand loyalty
- Partner with Channel Manager on developing yearly marketing and activation plans & budgets
- Responsible for creating retail programs based on the customer journey of our clients in different channels. By using storytelling I express the value of the product lines and I stimulate cross-selling & increase sales.
- Project management
- Develop and guidance of the marketing communication strategy EMEA based on the Global Strategy and team up with the 29 countries to incorporate the EMEA approach Inc.
- Build on Customer Journey, adapt user stories and create new stories
- Build EMEA toolboxes & create new imagery, in line with the guidelines
- Lead for media-agency in EMEA, resulting in good relationships and effective Media plans
- Responsible for Brand identity and approval of all EMEA communication
- Project leader key project on Lock-in Consumers Journey Result: an advanced Customer
- Responsible for quantitative research based on data tracking EMEA and qualitative research
- Launched multiple 360 brand campaigns BtoC including managing advertising materials, media, online and PR
- Successfully developed and implemented new product introduction and promotions
- Led the development and implementation of the brand communication strategy based on the global marketing strategy
- Head of communication and online team 4 FTE
- Responsible for the successful campaign named ´kleur je clubhuis´ which has been honored with both an Esprix and a SAN award
- Responsible for A&P (budget), resulting in healthy finance.
- Successful integration of new corporate design Hema Website
- Developed internet promotions
- Developed Internet websites for Tesco and other 3rd parties
- Developed creative and target group-oriented consumer promotions
- NPD implementation of new products
- Developing and shaping the brand within 14 countries: 360° campaigns (creation of microsites, videos & content marketing, social media & media presence, mailings, participation to fairs, etc.)
- Follow up & analysis of the actions within the CRM system.
- Organisation of internal events- worlwide.
- Enhance the CSR policy messages in all communication channels & tools.
- International communication manager LACOSTE L!VE
- International digital communication LACOSTE Licenses
- Event project manager
- International PR
- 360° operational marketing & communication plan.
- Digital marketing, web analytics & email marketing.
- Internal / external ressources coordination : Graphics / Web / Mobile application (UI/UX) / Event / Print / Photo & Video teams.
- PR & Social campaigns management.
- Budget management.
- Shaped the global marketing & communication strategy
- Enhanced CINET's brand power within its sector
- Led the Global Best Practices Awards Program: 45 countries, reach - 5 million people
- Improved and led the content creation and social media platforms
- Crafting strategies for Branding and Positioning B2B2C
- Setting strategic guidelines for the Group with a customer-centric approach
- Define Portfolio strategy in cooperation with Sales team
- Setting marketing intelligence activities to understand customers
- Ensuring consistency of marketing strategy on all channels
- Identifing opportunities to reach new segments
- Working closely with Sales team to reach objectives
- Full responsibility of Marketing budget - P&L
- Defining business marketing strategy: from insights definition to marketing automation platform
- Setting strategic guidelines for the Group with a customer-centric approach
- Setting marketing intelligence activities to understand customers
- Ensuring consistency of marketing strategy on all channels
- Identifing opportunities to reach new segments
- Full responsibility of Marketing budget - P&L
PRO TIP
Include quantitative data throughout your Communication Manager resume to impress the hiring manager. Real facts and figures that show off your competency as an audit manager go a long way. Did you reduce the costs of audits? Manage a large team? Boosted efficiency? Show off the real numbers!
Action Verbs for your Communication Manager Resume
Recommended reads:
Communication Manager Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Communication Manager resume
- Google Analytics
- Wordpress
- SEO
- HTML
- Social Media
- Communication
- Creative problem solving
- Analytical thinking
- Influencing
- Team work
PRO TIP
Avoid getting sidetracked by Applicant tracking software by including a tech skills' section matching the job description and your own qualifications.
Communication Manager Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Communication Manager Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Communication Manager resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
Communication Manager Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Communication Manager resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a brief but informative introduction to your experience section. In this section you should go into more depth about what you have done, and how you did it.
Recommended reads:
Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Communication Manager resume
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Communication Manager Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Communication Manager Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Sometimes you’ll want to go after a job which requires more experience than you have. Instead of using a typical Communication Manager resume layout, you can use a creative layout. Getting noticed is the most important challenge and a creative resume layout might help you get invited for an interview as most of other accountants have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Communication Manager resume:
Communication Manager Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Communication Manager resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Communication Manager Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
