Crafting a CV that stands out in the crowded marketing field can be daunting, presenting a unique challenge as you strive to capture your diverse skill set and achievements. Our comprehensive guide provides tailored advice and practical tips to elevate your resume, ensuring it resonates with potential employers and showcases your marketing prowess effectively.
- Applying best practices from real-world examples to ensure your profile always meets recruiters' expectations;
- What to include in your work experience section, apart from your past roles and responsibilities?
- Why are both hard and soft skills important for your application?
- How do you need to format your CV to pass the Applicant Tracker Software (ATS) assessment?
If you're writing your CV for a niche marketing manager role, make sure to get some inspiration from professionals:
- Commercial Director CV Example
- Social Media CV Example
- Content Manager CV Example
- Social Media Marketing CV Example
- Marketing Assistant CV Example
- Brand Ambassador CV Example
- Communications Officer CV Example
- Content Creator CV Example
- Sales And Marketing CV Example
- Product Marketing Manager CV Example
Structuring and formatting your marketing manager CV for an excellent first impression
The experts' best advice regarding your CV format is to keep it simple and concise. Recruiters assessing your CV are foremost looking out for candidates who match their ideal job profile. Your white space, borders, and margins. You may still be wondering which format you need to export your CV in. We recommend using the PDF one, as, upon being uploaded, it never alters your information or CV design. Before we move on to the actual content of your marketing manager CV, we'd like to remind you about the Applicant Tracker System (or the ATS). The ATS is a software that is sometimes used to initially assess your profile. Here's what you need to keep in mind about the ATS:- All serif and sans-serif fonts (e.g. Rubik, Volkhov, Exo 2 etc.) are ATS-friendly;
- Many candidates invest in Arial and Times New Roman, so avoid these fonts if you want your application to stand out;
- Both single and double column CVs can be read by the ATS, so it's entirely up to you to select your CV design.
PRO TIP
Use font size and style strategically to create a visual hierarchy, drawing the reader's eye to the most important information first (like your name and most recent job title).
The top sections on a marketing manager CV
- Professional Summary highlights key marketing achievements, necessary for portraying strategic expertise.
- Core Marketing Skills section displays technical and creative capabilities, vital for the role.
- Professional Experience details past marketing campaigns and results, showing applied expertise.
- Key Campaigns Portfolio offers evidence of successful projects, crucial for practical demonstration.
- Education and Certifications underscore formal training and professional development, proving foundational knowledge.
What recruiters value on your CV:
- Highlight your understanding of strategic marketing concepts by showcasing campaigns you've designed or led that align with business objectives and resulted in measurable success.
- Detail your expertise in various marketing channels, including digital, social media, email, and content marketing, emphasising how you integrate them to create cohesive campaigns.
- Demonstrate your ability to analyse market trends and consumer behaviour to inform marketing decisions, citing examples where your insights led to successful marketing adaptations.
- Show your leadership and project management skills by mentioning specific marketing projects you've managed, how you coordinated cross-functional teams, and the outcomes you achieved.
- Include metrics and KPIs that you've hit or exceeded, such as growth in market share, lead generation, conversion rates, or social media engagement to provide tangible evidence of your marketing prowess.
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Tips and tricks on writing a job-winning marketing manager CV header
The CV header is the space which most recruiters would be referring most often to, in the beginning and end of your application. That is as the CV header includes your contact details, but also a headline and a professional photo. When writing your CV header:
- Double-check your contact details for spelling errors or if you've missed any digits. Also, ensure you've provided your personal details, and not your current work email or telephone number;
- Include your location in the form of the city and country you live in. If you want to be more detailed, you can list your full address to show proximity to your potential work place;
- Don't include your CV photo, if you're applying for roles in the UK or US, as this may bias initial recruiters' assessments;
- Write a professional headline that either integrates the job title, some relevant industry keywords, or your most noteworthy achievement.
In the next part of our guide, we'll provide you with professional CVs that showcase some of the best practices when it comes to writing your headline.
Examples of good CV headlines for marketing manager:
Head of Digital Marketing | SEO & Content Strategy Expert | Google Analytics Certified | 10+ Years
Brand Marketing Manager | Market Analysis & Customer Engagement | CIM Diploma | 5 Years Experience
Marketing Campaign Lead | B2B Lead Generation Specialist | HubSpot Inbound Certified | 7 Years in Industry
Senior Product Marketing Manager | Launch Strategies & Lifecycle Management | MBA Graduate | 12+ Years' Expertise
E-commerce Marketing Director | Conversion Optimisation | UX/UI Knowledge | 15+ Years of Strategic Leadership
Marketing Communications Executive | PR & Corporate Comms | CIPR Member | 3 Years Progressive Experience
Catching recruiters' attention with your marketing manager CV summary or objective
Located closer to the top of your CV, both the summary and objective are no more than five sentences long and serve as an introduction to your experience. What is more, you could use either to entice recruiters to read on. Select the:
- Summary, if you happen to have plenty of relevant experience. Feature your most impressive accomplishments and up to three skills that are relevant to the job you're applying for;
- Objective, if you're just starting your career off. Provide your career goals and answer how you see the role you are applying for will match your professional growth.
Judging which one you need to add to your marketing manager CV may at times seem difficult. That’s why you need to check out how professionals, with similar to your experience, have written their summary or objective, in the examples below:
CV summaries for a marketing manager job:
- Seasoned Marketing Manager with over 10 years of experience in the FMCG sector, skilled in strategic brand management and digital marketing campaigns that have consistently resulted in market share growth. Spearheaded a product launch that saw a 25% increase in sales within the first quarter.
- Dynamic professional with a 12-year tenure in telecommunications sales, transitioning into marketing management. Successfully led a sales team to achieve a record-breaking 40% annual growth, and now keen to leverage persuasive communication skills and customer insights in a marketing strategy role.
- Accomplished educator and public speaker making a strategic shift to marketing management, bringing a unique perspective on audience engagement and content creation. Developed and executed educational programs that increased student retention by 30% through targeted communication efforts.
- Experienced in digital content creation and social media management, with a keen eye for viral trends culminating in a track record of boosting online engagement by over 300%. Enthusiastic about translating these skills to a comprehensive marketing management strategy to foster brand loyalty and growth.
- Eager to embark on a Marketing Manager career, bringing a fresh Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, robust analytical skills, and a passionate commitment to creating campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences. Objective: To harness creative energy and theoretical knowledge in delivering impactful marketing initiatives.
- Aspiring Marketing Manager with a recent MBA specialisation in Marketing, ready to apply a blend of academic excellence, leadership in collegiate business associations and an enthusiastic approach to learning hands-on marketing strategy execution. Objective: To cultivate a deep understanding of consumer behaviour and contribute to strategic marketing decisions.
Best practices for writing your marketing manager CV experience section
If your profile matches the job requirements, the CV experience is the section which recruiters will spend the most time studying. Within your experience bullets, include not merely your career history, but, rather, your skills and outcomes from each individual role. Your best experience section should promote your profile by:
- including specific details and hard numbers as proof of your past success;
- listing your experience in the functional-based or hybrid format (by focusing on the skills), if you happen to have less professional, relevant expertise;
- showcasing your growth by organising your roles, starting with the latest and (hopefully) most senior one;
- staring off each experience bullet with a verb, following up with skills that match the job description, and the outcomes of your responsibility.
Add keywords from the job advert in your experience section, like the professional CV examples:
Best practices for your CV's work experience section
- Devised and implemented marketing strategies that increased brand awareness by 35%, demonstrating an ability to understand and capitalise on market trends.
- Led a team of 10 marketing professionals to successfully launch three new products, overseeing the development of multi-channel marketing campaigns.
- Managed a marketing budget of £500,000, optimising spend across digital and traditional platforms and achieving a 15% reduction in cost per acquisition.
- Built strong relationships with key industry influencers, resulting in a 25% increase in media coverage and enhanced brand reputation.
- Analysed customer data using CRM tools to tailor marketing efforts, increasing customer retention rates by 20% through targeted communication strategies.
- Directed high-profile trade shows and promotional events, increasing lead generation by 40% and effectively engaging with B2B clients.
- Implemented SEO and SEM strategies that boosted organic search rankings and increased web traffic by 30%, illustrating a strong understanding of digital marketing ecosystems.
- Collaborated with product development teams to ensure alignment of product messaging, contributing to a 10% uplift in market share within core product lines.
- Championed the integration of new marketing technologies, such as marketing automation platforms, improving process efficiency and campaign scalability.
- Spearheaded a comprehensive digital marketing strategy for the launch of a new product line, resulting in a 25% increase in online sales within the first six months.
- Managed an advertising budget of £1.2 million, optimising spend across various channels to increase ROI by 30% year-over-year.
- Led a team of 10 marketing specialists in the execution of international campaigns, engaging audiences across Europe and North America, and boosting brand awareness by 40%.
- Implemented an inbound marketing strategy, which involved the creation of premium content and utilising SEO best practices, resulting in a 150% increase in organic traffic.
- Negotiated and secured key partnerships with influencers and other brands, driving cross-promotional efforts and expanding our reach by 500,000 impressions monthly.
- Pioneered the use of data analytics to inform marketing strategies, streamlining campaigns and enhancing customer targeting precision by 35%.
- Executed a multi-channel brand repositioning that revitalised the company's image and resulted in a 20% increase in market share within the consumer electronics sector.
- Developed and launched a successful customer loyalty programme that garnered over 200,000 sign-ups within the first year, improving customer retention rates by 15%.
- Coordinated with sales teams to align marketing and sales strategies, which improved lead-to-customer conversion rates by 22%.
- Orchestrated the go-to-market strategy for a new software-as-a-service product, exceeding the year-one adoption target by 50% with over 5,000 signups.
- Led the revamp of the corporate website and e-commerce platform, enhancing user experience and lifting conversion rates by 18%.
- Crafted and executed a content marketing plan that boosted our blog readership by 200% and directly influenced the increase in the number of leads generated per month by 70%.
- Launched an integrated marketing campaign for a major event, resulting in record attendance figures and a 60% increase in sponsorship revenue from the previous year.
- Directed the end-to-end development and deployment of a mobile app that enhanced customer engagement, achieving over 10,000 downloads in the first three months post-launch.
- Instituted rigorous A/B testing for all digital campaigns, which led to a consistent improvement in click-through rates, peaking at a 32% uplift.
- Oversaw market research and analysis that informed new product development, leading to the successful introduction of three products that each captured an average of 10% market share within their first year.
- Harnessed social media platforms to create viral marketing campaigns that significantly increased brand engagement and followership on our social accounts by over 400%.
- Cooperated with the product management team to create compelling messaging and positioning for products, improving communication effectiveness with key demographics by 25%.
- Developed a strategic partnership programme with complementary brands, resulting in cross-promotional efforts that expanded market reach and generated a combined revenue uplift of 15%.
- Spearheaded the internal corporate communication strategy to enhance employee engagement with the brand's mission, which was reflected in a 20% boost in employee advocacy metrics.
- Raised the bar for customer insight by implementing customer feedback loops and focus groups, leading to more targeted marketing activities and a 10% increase in customer satisfaction scores.
- Masterminded the company's entry strategy into three new international markets, aligning with regulatory requirements and localising marketing efforts resulting in successful market penetration.
- Managed a cross-functional project team to deliver a cutting-edge augmented reality marketing campaign, which elevated the brand's technological image and increased engagement metrics by 50%.
- Led the analysis of competitive landscape and market trends which fed into the strategic planning process, aiding in the adjustment of yearly targets to achieve a 5% improvement in competitive positioning.
Swapping your professional experience (when you have none) with skills and more
Never underestimate the importance of relevancе when it comes to your marketing manager CV. Even if you don't happen to have much or any standard (full-time contract) professional experience, this doesn't mean you shouldn't apply for the role. Instead of a bespoke CV experience section:
- Showcase more prominently any internships, part-time roles, and volunteer experience that are applicable to the role and have taught you job-crucial skills;
- Feature a strengths or achievements section with your transferrable skills or talents you've obtained thanks to your work or life experience;
- Write an objective statement that clearly outlines your values as a candidate and defines your career ambitions;
- List your education or certificates that match the job profile closer to the top of your CV.
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PRO TIP
If applicable, briefly mention a situation where things didn’t go as planned and what you learned from it, demonstrating your ability to learn and adapt.
Hard skills and soft skills to showcase your unique skill set on your marketing manager CV
Did you know that your CV will mostly likely be assessed by recruiters based on skill alignment? And that means that the way you feature your key skills across different CV sections will play a crucial role in landing you that first interview. We recommend you add your:
- technical capabilities or hard skills in your CV experience, certificates, projects, etc. Use your past accomplishments to prove your technical capabilities. List up to a dozen different software or hardware in your dedicated skills section to match the job keywords;
- personal and communication skills or soft skills in your CV strengths, achievements, summary/ objective, etc. Soft skills are a bit more difficult to prove. How do you define your aptitude in active listening? So, instead of just listing the skill name, include a tangible metric to show your success.
On a final note, when you're in a hurry to create your profile, you may misspell a particular technology or soft skill. That's why we suggest you copy and paste the particular skill name (or keyword), directly from the job advert. This would also help you to pass any initial Applicant Tracker System (ATS) tests.
Top skills for your marketing manager CV:
Strategic Planning
Market Research
Data Analysis
SEO/SEM
Content Marketing
Social Media Management
Product Development
Brand Management
CRM Software
Budget Management
Leadership
Communication
Creativity
Analytical Thinking
Problem-Solving
Adaptability
Collaboration
Attention to Detail
Time Management
Project Management
PRO TIP
If you have received professional endorsements or recommendations for certain skills, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, mention these to add credibility.
CV education and certificates: your academic background as proof of your skill set
A common misconception about your marketing manager CV education is that you only need it, if you have less professional experience. That is completely false. The CV education section serves to back up your technical (and sometimes personal) capabilities, fill in gaps in your work history, and show you have the initial industry background and know-how. When creating your education section:
- List your degrees in the reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent (and relevant) ones first;
- Include your degree and university names, start and graduation dates. It's optional to also denote you received a "First-Class Honours" for diplomas that are more relevant to the role;
- Curate your relevant university coursework, projects, or thesis work if you happen to have less professional expertise and need to integrate more job keywords and skills.
Your professional qualifications don't need to stop at your academic background. It's advisable to also select up to three of your most noteworthy (and relevant) industry certificates and feature them in a dedicated section. Once more, include the certificate name, the institution that issued it out, and the date you obtained it on. You could feature both hard skills and soft skills certificates, as in the examples below:
PRO TIP
Order your skills based on the relevance to the role you're applying for, ensuring the most pertinent skills catch the employer's attention first.
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Key takeaways
Here are five things you need to remember about writing your marketing manager CV for success:
- Sort your experience based on the reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent career items, to showcase how you've grown your career;
- Include within your CV header your relevant contact details, a headline that could spotlight your unique value, and a photo - if you're applying for roles outside the UK or US;
- Decide to use the CV summary, if you happen to have more professional experience, and an objective, if you want to showcase your career goals;
- Within the experience section, write your bullets using action verbs, skills, and success, instead of just merely listing your on-the-job responsibilities;
- Prove your technical skills, using your education and certificates, and your soft skills, with your achievements and strengths sections.
