How to Create a Remarkable Digital Marketing Resume

2017 is here, bringing with it the motivation to make positive change and pursue fresh starts. As the digital industry continues to thrive, and digital capabilities permeate a growing number of industries, it’s a natural career progression for countless professionals. Yet with many advertised roles, digital marketing positions are often a source of stiff competition.

On average, 118 people apply for every job that’s posted publicly. Of those 118 people, only 20% of applicants are invited to an interview. That’s why a remarkable digital marketing resume isn’t just desirable – it’s essential if you want to cement your career success.

Applying for a new job can be overwhelming for even the most competent candidates. That’s why we’ve outlined a simple step-by-step process that will help you to enhance your talents and help you to stand out from the crowd.

Step One: Think like an employer

When you think about crafting an impeccable CV, it’s a safe assumption that your first thought will be how to best showcase your unique skills and strengths rather than what your potential employer wants. The best digital marketers know that effective campaigns, from messaging to imagery, are tailored to their target audience’s needs and preferences. A digital marketing resume is no different.

Before you write a single word, think about the positions for which you are applying, and the organizations for which you could potentially be working. What are their key ideologies and principles? What are their Unique Selling Points? What industries do they service? What challenges and obstacles do they face? From competitor analysis to summarizing their corporate identity, the more you know about a prospective employer, the better you’ll be able to customize your resume and the more impressive you’ll appear.

Online marketing manager Simone Fortunini created this impressive resume that resembles Google Analytics’ interface.

His aim was to create a resume that demonstrated his understanding of digital, graphic design abilities and HTML skills, as these were of primary importance within the positions and for the organizations to which he would apply.

Step Two: Produce multiple versions

Once you’ve recognized the importance of tailoring your CV to your employer’s preferences, you’ll soon realize how necessary it is to create more than one version of your resume. This may seem like a laborious prospect, but a few simple adjustments and minor rewording per iteration is all you need to create a stronger sense of suitability for prospective employers.

Again, a successful digital marketing campaign is largely dependent on the extent to which a marketer leverages personalization. When asked to prioritize one capability that will be most important to marketing in the future, one-third of marketers cited personalization. It’s a simple tactic that can provide a more tailored, targeted experience, for customers and organizations alike. Just as you can use personalization as a marketer to gain valuable visibility with the right customers, you can utilize it as a job applicant to engage recruiters at the right time.

For example, if you’re applying for three different digital marketing management jobs, each of those organizations may have slightly different priorities and job specs that reflect these subtle disparities. One may want to focus most on content marketing and social media, while another may emphasize the importance of being able to construct PPC campaigns and the third may prioritize SEO. If you use the same CV for all of these applications, it will be impossible to properly convey your relevant skills. If you produced three ever so slightly different versions, you’d be able to better highlight each ability to increase your chances of securing an interview as a result.

Step Three: Showcase your practical skills

As a nascent industry, it can often be incredibly difficult to determine a candidate’s digital skill levels. If you can showcase your skillset in a tangible way, you’ll be able to gain an indisputable advantage over any competitors.

One of the most important methods of benchmarking your abilities against other digital marketing professionals is with an internationally recognized and respected qualification. According to Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends report, the need to improve employee learning is among the top three priorities for organizations. If you can demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning and development, employers will naturally view you as a more competent and motivated candidate.

Support your industry certified skills by providing practical examples of your abilities in action. Whether you were part of a particularly successful campaign, managed a significant project or conceived some impactful creative, intersperse your CV with tangible samples of your successful work. Summarize your method and, most importantly, results (if statistics or screenshots of relevant metrics are available, be sure to include them as accompanying attachments), and you’ll be able to maximize your chances of progressing to the interview stage of the recruitment process.

Samuel Profeta wanted to create a resume that was a little different, and showcased his graphic design skills. It’s the perfect practical example of his capabilities and the creative product packaging approach sets him apart from other applicants.

Step Four: Outline your uniqueness

By providing practical examples of your work, you’ll be able to set yourself apart from your competition. Extend this concept by finding other opportunities to demonstrate your unique value and differentiate yourself from other candidates. Most prospective employees won’t go beyond listing their previous positions and key responsibilities, without thinking to showcase what makes them special.

What can you provide an employer that your competitors can’t? Regardless of your levels of self-confidence, it’s not an unanswerable question. Whether you realize it or not, yours can be a resume with unparalleled attributes. For example, you may be multilingual, and applying for a position within a small but growing start-up. Though the job spec may not stipulate it, being able to speak several languages will undoubtedly be of benefit as the company tries to infiltrate new markets.

Similarly, an organization could be looking to increase conversion rates on their product pages. If, as a digital marketing professional, you’ve had significant success in conversion rate optimization and can provide specific examples of this skill, you’ll be considered an infinitely more viable candidate than somebody who hasn’t listed any applicable talents.

Step Five: Convey your company fit

Increasingly, an individual’s ability to align themselves with a company’s ethos and culture is an important signifier as to whether or not they’ll secure a job. According to Adrian Furnham in his book The Psychology of Behaviour at Work:

A fit is where there is congruence between the norms and values of the organization and those of the person.

When looking for a new job opportunity, it’s your responsibility to find a company with whose culture you think you can identify and support. This will benefit both of you. In a 2005 study by Kristof-Brown, it was, unsurprisingly, reported that employees who fit well with their organization enjoyed greater job satisfaction, were more committed, and showed superior job performance.

Once you have found an organization whose values resonate with you, it’s up to you to convey the efficacy of this fit within your resume. Outline how you can help the company to achieve specific goals and objectives, reference any previous successes or landmark moments within the company’s history. Highlight parts of their corporate responsibility policy that especially interest you, be it a commitment to environmental sustainability or ongoing charity work. Show your enthusiasm for not only the role being advertised, but the organization itself.

Are you proud of your digital marketing resume? Have you picked up any key tips or advice along the way? Share your insights with us in the comments section below!