This article isn’t about resume formatting. If you’re a marketer, you know every resume must have your name, phone number, email address, portfolio website URL, and your work history. Instead, we’re going to focus on the three skills every marketing employer wants to see on a resume.
Writing Skills
You wrote an excellent cover letter. There are no typos on your resume. You’ve concisely described your past work experience. However, that should not be the only place where you’ve demonstrated your writing skills. If you’re in marketing, you have strong writing skills, but may not be thinking about ways to showcase them.
The easiest way is to have a portfolio website with links to samples of your work. You can also demonstrate your writing skills via social media posts made for clients. If you’re a recent graduate or mainly ghostwrite for other companies, it may be hard to find enough examples to demonstrate the depth and breadth of your work. You can supplement work samples with other writing samples, such as freelance articles about marketing or your industry. For example, volunteering as a writer for the AMA NJ blog is a great way to contribute to the marketing community while building up your portfolio.
Research Skills
Marketing constantly changes. The basic principles never change, yet social media and the internet are constantly changing. This means you must show potential employers that you are constantly taking classes and researching the latest marketing techniques. The best way to prove your expertise is in an interview, but to get to that point you should have some certifications on your resume. For example, Google offers free courses and certifications on Google Ads and Google Analytics. AMA members get access to exclusive events that can help them gain new marketing perspectives. HubSpot offers free courses on general marketing concepts and its software. And those are just the free options; if you are willing to spend money on certifications, Rutgers University and other colleges offer 8-to-12-week classes on marketing principles.
Critical Thinking Skills
When you’re demonstrating your critical thinking skills, it’s essential that you show your abilities. If you sent a cover letter with your resume, write about why you believe you are the right fit for the company and show that you know key details about your intended workplace. For your resume, focus on putting relevant action words in your descriptions of past jobs. Is the company you applied to team-oriented? Succinctly explain how you have successfully collaborated with others on specific projects. Are you making decisions using data? Make sure you focus on your ability to interpret data and apply it to marketing strategy. By showing how you use your critical thinking skills, your target company will see why you would be an asset.
Resumes are one-to-two-page documents that must grab a potential employer’s attention, clearly state your skills, and explain your qualifications for a job. By emphasizing your writing, research, and critical thinking skills, employers will immediately see what makes you such a valuable employee.
Author: Allison Lips
