Before I break down exactly what you need to do in your marketing manager resume, including which keywords you should use and which accomplishments you need to focus on in 2023 and beyond, here’s a quick shortcut version of this article: a two-page, annotated marketing manager resume example that helped double a salary offer during the negotiation process.
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, marketing jobs are expected to grow by 8% from 2018 to 2028. This is faster than other industries and may seem like good news. But how do you stand out as a candidate in an evolving industry using your resume as a marketing manager?
As a marketing manager, you need to show that you can drive the success of marketing campaigns. Your resume must show your ability to work with vendors and other departments. You must also prove your ability to manage a diverse marketing team. You are expected to optimize marketing channels and tap into the latest marketing tools and technologies as well.
Even if you do all this correctly, your marketing manager resume may not reach the employer’s hands. This happens mostly because of Applicant Tracking Systems. These are software used by employers to screen the job applications they receive. Ninety-nine percent of Fortune 500 Companies use an ATS. How do you make sure your resume doesn’t get sucked into the ATS black hole?
In this article, I will break down the most critical keywords that a marketing manager resume should have to beat ATS.
Tips on how to write an ATS-optimized resume:
- Play it safe and stick to Word documents over PDF, unless PDF is listed under “file types.” Plain-text files are also ATS-friendly. Stick to a “traditional” resume format. This will help ATS analyze your resume better.
- Don’t put important information in headers or footers. This is because ATS is unable to identify the information in the header section of the document.
- Avoid using charts and graphs in your resume. Charts and graphs may look nice. But most ATS can’t read images. As a result, your resume may become garbled.
- Elevate your resume with keywords. This is because each ATS may analyze your resume differently. Some measure the strength of your skills based on how many times you repeat that skill in your resume. Others estimate your experience for each skill based on its position within your professional experience section. Thus, restate your skills throughout your resume instead of just one section.
This article talks about three ways to make your resume ATS-compatible.
If keywords are what you’re stuck on, skip to the “Key Skills – The Keyword Extraction Process.” In that section, I will show you how to extract keywords from job descriptions. I’ll also share a list of keywords that you can add to your marketing manager resume.
How to implement ATS-friendly tips into your marketing manager resume:
Here is a step-by-step guide on improving various sections of your marketing manager resume.
1. Contact Information
In this section, make sure to include:
- an active phone number
- frequently-used email
- the location where you would like to conduct your job search.
So, if you’re planning on relocating, make sure to update your location. This way, ATS will show your resume when recruiters do location-specific searches.
For example, if you’re looking for jobs in New York, but live in California, use the New York address.
2. Marketing Manager Resume Summary
Your resume summary is going to be the first thing that the recruiter will read. Remember, recruiters skim through hundreds of applications every day. It is vital to treat your employers as potential customers and sell yourself to them.
My favorite way to do this is by looking at the company’s “about us” section. Then, I mimic that language in the summary. Here’s an example:
I colored text red that I felt could be applied to any marketing manager. Sure, this sentiment is important to convey. But, see how the “after” statement shows that this marketing manager has these skills rather than saying so.
The new summary is to the point and generates interest. Also, it is targeted toward a company’s values. It states a key accomplishment, highlighted in green. It also describes how this person achieved it. Thus, it gives context and personality to their wins.
Here’s what the complete summary section looks like:
There is a headline that includes their biggest technical skills. It is bolded to attract attention.
Following this are three major accomplishments throughout their career. Adding a bolded heading here further emphasizes their key abilities.
In the end, I add a skills list. This provides further reassurance to the recruiter about a candidate’s competency.
3. Key Skills – The Keyword Extraction Process for Marketing Manager Resume
In your resume, you need to highlight skills that align with your target job’s description. This way, ATS will be able to collect your information easily.
Marketing Manager Resume Keywords
Below are some keywords that you should consider putting in your Marketing Manager Resume. You can copy these from this pdf document.
How did I get these? Simply by condensing a few marketing management job descriptions into a list of keywords.
For example, here’s a portion of the job description for a Senior Marketing Manager role at Amazon:
What are some of the key skills you can identify here? Here’s what I got:
After that, I add the most important skills to a little skills table in the summary. Here’s an example:
Top Marketing Manager Resume Skills in 2023:
Below are some key soft skills for marketers in 2023. Make sure to add these to your resume. Also, don’t forget to back these up with proof. How did you use each of these to achieve something?
- AI-generated content
- Neuromarketing/buyer behavior
- Experiential marketing
- Programmatic buying
- Shopper marketing
- Field marketing
And here are some marketing management resume skills that will never stop being in demand:
- Market share growth
- Forecasting
- Ensuring high customer lifetime value
- Customer retention
4. Creating Powerful Accomplishments for a Marketing Manager Resume
Now, let’s discuss phrasing your marketing accomplishments in the professional experience section of your marketing manager resume.
Many writers make the mistake of stating duties on their resumes. On the other hand, context brings a candidate’s personality into the spotlight. So, if you led a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign and acquired approximately 3000 new customers within a four-month deadline by tapping into new marketing technology and optimizing multi-marketing channels, it shows you’re efficient, strategic, innovative, and profitable all in one go without having to use any of these words.
In other words, show, don’t tell.
There’s a simple way to do this. Just brainstorm the following:
- marketing challenges you experienced (e.g. building trust with consumers, making full use of data, or generating leads)
- the actions you took to resolve them (e.g. executing a hyper-localized marketing strategy or making content more inclusive)
- the effect it had on the company (e.g. improved profitability or increased customers)
Questions to Ask Yourself
If you’re having a hard time brainstorming accomplishments for your marketing manager resume, ask yourself these questions:
- When I first joined the company, what problems was I required to solve? Why did they hire me?
- Did I inherit any ineffective marketing campaigns? If yes, what did I do to optimize the marketing channels in place? What effect did it have on customer acquisition? Or, customer engagement?
- What approach did I use to further gain insight into customer requirements? Did this build customer relationships? If yes, what impact did it have on sales?
- What KPIs was I required to track? Did it represent our whole customer base?
- Did I have a test and learn strategy in place? If yes, what effect did this have on the marketing strategy in place?
- What marketing platforms did I use? How did I ensure the platform aligned with the marketing requirements? Did I tap into other channels? If yes, what impact did it have on the company’s profitability?
- Did I inherit any outdated marketing tools or platforms? If yes, what changes did I make?
- How did I integrate marketing across all channels?
- Did I align our marketing strategy with business growth objectives? How so? What impact did it have?
Asking questions like these will help remember the valuable results you achieved. Moreover, it will show how you won despite facing various challenges and obstacles in your career. Quantify results if you can. This shows that you’re data-driven.
Here’s an example:
Challenges are stated in red, results in green, and actions in blue.See how I started with the “big win”? Do the same for your resume. It will help draw the reader in.
5. Education & Certifications for Marketing Manager Resume
You need to have the right credentials to advance your career in the marketing industry. It’s preferable to have a Master’s degree in Marketing, Business, Advertising, or any other related field. Also, it is best to have 7+ years of experience for a manager-level role.
But, if that’s not the case with you, there is nothing to worry about. You can beef up your education section with marketing courses and certifications. To help you start, I’ll share some of the reputed certifications below. After that, add them to your resume with a tentative date of completion, like so:
Google Ads Certification, Expected June 2021 BA in Marketing, University of California, Los Angeles, 2015
Marketing Courses and Certifications
To move ahead in your career, consider signing up for data science courses and marketing certifications. A marketing certificate can be beneficial for formal training in marketing skills. These include the following:
Moreover, a certificate can familiarize you with marketing tools. These include social media platforms, Google Ads, Hootsuite, HubSpot, and other web analytics tools.
Here’s a list of some of the most important marketing certifications to have. Most of them are related to digital marketing:
- Twitter Flight School
Additionally, the American Marketing Association (AMA) is one of the most well-known marketing organizations in the country. The certification program consists of four courses. These include Digital Marketing, Marketing Management, Sales Management, and Content Marketing. All courses begin with a summary of the skills needed for the certification and a free practice exam.
Pulling snippets from these summaries can help you get keywords into your resume. Adding these courses will show readers that you’re always willing to learn and grow.
If you are looking to land a marketing manager role and need one-on-one help with your resume, sign up for a free 15-minute career consultation here.
Looking for something else? Check these out:
- How to write a marketing director resume
- Marketing Executive Resume
- Masters of Business Administration (MBA) Resume
For more tips on creating the best resumes, subscribe to our emails and get advice from expert resume writers, interview coaches, and networking wizards:
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