Creating a marketing resume for an entry level job? Here is my seasoned advice.
I think I have read 2,132 entry-level marketing resumes in my career.
Well, maybe not exactly, but it feels that way.
During my career hiring new talent, I’m often surprised at how poorly these resumes market the individual applying for a marketing job. When a marketing resume visually looks like it could be one hundred years old, I know something is wrong.
My test for boring is if your resume looks like the one I created in college in 1975, you are in trouble.
When asked for advice from friends and family on how to build a resume for an entry-level marketing job, I share the following recommendations. I’m posting them here with the hope it helps one person get a great entry-level position to start their marketing career.
The Employer or Hiring Manager Is Thinking What Can You Do For Me?
As the hiring manager, I am interested in what you can do for the brand and me as a manager. Make sure you tell me a story, not just facts.
Let me repeat that:
Tell a story. Don’t assemble facts.
Your headline on your resume should be a sentence or a few phrases that help me position you in my head so I understand what you might do to help my company or department. Creative Collaborator. Data Wizard. Graphic Guru. Email Savvy. Infinitely Curious. Ridiculously Hard Working. Numbers Savant.
The hiring manager may only glance at your resume. Be memorable. Keep it simple. Tell me in a few words what you think is your most remarkable ability that will help my brand or business grow if I hire you.
What is Your Relevant Skillset?
Does your resume highlight areas of competence and skill related to my needs? If you are applying to an agency solely focused on website development or social media – make the resume fit the opportunity. I want to know about your experience in my area of interest. If you are applying to an agency that does lots of things for clients – a more all-purpose marketing firm- communicate your ability as a generalist to do many things. Yes, your resume should be tailored to a specific job you are applying for – one resume won’t cut it.
Not Just a Waitperson
You may have a section on your resume that tells me about your job as a waitperson or retail clerk during high school or college. Please help me understand what you learned from those summer jobs that show who you are.
A waitperson job can be a great place to learn how to deal with demanding customers and help manage their experience. That’s valuable to me if I’m hiring you to help work with my customers.
A clerk at a pharmacy might speak to the value you brought to a team by being the face of a brand so that the customer left happy at checkout. Tell me a quick story about service or kindness and how you took an ordinary job and made it uncommon and of value to your employer.
Can you write?
Tell me about your competencies as a communicator through your writing. You may have been an editor of the high school newspaper or the school’s blog. It doesn’t have to be work-related, but I want to understand if I can use you to help write copy. Can you creatively write emails to prospects or summary notes of meetings?
Since writing is a part of every job, don’t underestimate how much employers value that. Great communicators are always in demand. By the way, the same is true about public speaking. If you are comfortable speaking or presenting in front of an audience, tell me a story about that because it has value for a marketing team.
Can you Manage Logistics at Events?
Have you ever run or assisted in managing a live event? I don’t care if it’s for your college chess club or with a non-profit fundraiser. What did you do on the team to help make sure everything was successful? Maybe you did an outstanding job organizing tasks and deadlines. Talk about how you learned on the job so that the next event, you got to help lead.
A marketing team job will require lots of collaboration and task management. When you consider all the elements of managing an event, from booking spaces, renting hotel rooms, creating invitations, scheduling team meetings, and distributing name tags – you can see how much you can juggle toward a time-sensitive goal.
Can you demonstrate you could help me with my live events or get goods to the right place at the right time? Or that one of your superpowers is organizing time-sensitive activities. That has a lot of value to owners and managers in marketing agencies or brand teams.
Do You Speak TikTok?
What experiences and projects have you executed in social media? Do you understand the ins and outs of TikTok, Snap, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn? Can you run summary reports in Google Analytics? Have you ever built a website, even if it is with Wix or Square Space or some simple ‘plug-and-play software? Do you know the basics of updating a WordPress site with content? Even if you experience is thin and limited – tell me that you have some experience working within a CMS (content management system).
Do you have experience with Mail Chimp or iContact, or other email marketing software? Don’t be afraid to brag about some successful posts that increased engagement. Use numbers to tell me your campaign posts about a non-profit event increased engagement or awareness by 32% and helped grow attendance by 15% year over year. Be specific as possible when you talk about something you did. Tell me about the outcome (grew sales) not just the imput (made sales calls).
Have You Ever Created a Video?
Did you help your softball team produce a fundraising video in Animoto software using an iPhone? Have you written a script or blocked out a storyboard for a short video to promote classes at your synagogue, church, or mosque? How skilled are you using YouTube or Vimeo, and have you had experiences that might relate to the work my company does? Be smart – explain your competency with video, as it is a vital skill set for marketing brands and services. Even if your experience is limited, demonstrate your aptitude for video and understand the basics.
Have you ever guided a graphic artist or small design firm?
Most brands have lots of brochures and design projects. Do you have experience working on flyers, simple brochures, or posters? Have you learned how to write a brief or provide clear instructions to an artist doing a sign for your event? Marketing Directors want to hire team members who can manage creative services, even if what you did was simple and basic.
Remember – as an intern, you aren’t expected to have years of experience, but maybe you have helped develop materials for your band or cub scout group and gotten skillful at it. Tell a story showing that you can direct others and give clear guidance – even for a high-school dance or fundraiser with a local charity.
Did you ever work on a research study?
No one expects an entry-level candidate to have years of experience in market research.
But what has been your role if you ever participated in any research? Maybe you crafted a questionnaire for a cross-country team. What was your role in recruiting or helping develop the questions? Did you sit in on insight analysis from a third party and get a general understanding of an issue as a participant or in some leadership role? Do you have a basic knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research? Ever sit in on a focus group or conduct a survey and summarize the results? If true, find a way to share your experience with consumer or business research.
Show Your Work.
Demonstrate in your resume that you are digitally savvy. Link to an article about an event you helped organize. Link to a sample of your writing on a blog (yours or a guest post). Link to photos from you in the local newspaper helping clean up the environment. Show me you get it digitally. Show off an Instagram post that got amazing engagement.
A few years ago, a candidate for an entry-level job had created a website posting writing samples, video samples, and event activities that she was involved in during her college years. It wasn’t content that could fit on a resume – but with that link, it was proof that her skills were unique from all the other candidates.
What Are Your Practical Skills?
For entry-level candidates, I want evidence that you have some practical skills. Tell me that you created a video for a church group. But I also want to get some proof of conviction and work ethic. For example, maybe for seven consecutive summers, you participated in the Alzheimer’s Walk event and helped organize it with other students.
I would like to know that you volunteered for four consecutive years to help clean up a creek or pond as part of a community project. I will be interested if you tutor students at night during college. Give me some practical examples that help me see the person, your values and competencies.
Testimonial Quote:
Since you don’t have much work history, get a few quotes from teachers, people you worked for, non-profit managers where you volunteered. These quotes can be a simple sentence like:
“Heidi always showed up ready to work and give 100%.” John Smith, Manager at Alzheimer Walk Event
“Jaime always surprised me with his ability to quickly figure out how to get software to work.” Manager at local pharmacy.
“Donna’s ability to get along with everyone and be a true team player impressed me all throughout high school. She’ll be an outstanding employee for some lucky company.” Ms. Grey, Donna’s history teacher in high school.
Don’t underestimate how a few testimonial quotes can help someone see you like people who know you do.
In Summary:
An entry-level marketing resume should tell a story.
Instead of traditional headings – consider this format where you demonstrate traits even with your limited years of experience.
I am Curious. Give an example that demonstrates your curiosity.
I am Collaborative. Give an example showing your ability to be a team player.
I am Detailed Oriented. Tell a story about obsessing over a detail.
I am Tech Savvy. Illustrate a natural proclivity toward technology.
I am a Quick Learner. Show me one example of how you learn something new in a short time frame.
I am Hard Worker. Give a concrete example of your diligence, persistence and hard work ethic.
A resume is still the most accepted way to tell a story about yourself, but it isn’t the only tool. Plenty of great templates to turn a blah resume into something visually striking and brilliant.
Check out www.enhancv.com for some great examples and help. They offer a modern design that helps make your resume look like the 2020s, not the 1920s. Consider how you can do something unusual to get a notice like Karly’s resume she printed on a cake and delivered to Nike.
Entry marketing level jobs are available – the folks who get hired show they get it and understand how to market themselves.
Hiring managers want you to tell them a story.
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You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com Call me. 919 720 0995. The conversation is free, and we can explore if working together makes sense. Watch a short video about working with me.
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash
