From the course: Writing a Resume

Marketing resumes

From the course: Writing a Resume

Marketing resumes

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- Of all the industries, the marketing industry is one where you would expect to find the most creativity and originality within a resume. But unfortunately, your marketing resume has to use the same job application process as someone applying for an accounting position. Therefore, it will have to follow the same rules. Your first impulse may be to make your resume different and stand out from the crowd, but don't go overboard. Remember QR codes? If you're in marketing, you know what a QR code is, but just in case, the QR in QR code, stands for quick response. QR codes are those black and white pixelated boxes, you'll sometimes see on marketing materials that look like this. Specifically for your resume, adding a QR code would allow you to point someone to additional information about you. If you're in an area of marketing where your expert use of a QR code will make you stand out by all means, do it. But if you haven't used a QR code before, your resume should not be the place to start. So what about infographics? They're a marketing professional's dream and going with the premise that a picture speaks a thousand words, wouldn't the use of an infographic be an excellent way to showcase your skills? Unfortunately, studies show that hiring managers find infographic resumes to be pretty terrible. They're confusing, hard to follow and generally just considered to be overkill. Don't try this hard, stay away from the infographic resume that takes the visuals too far. With that being said, your resume is your ad. If you're in marketing, you do need to showcase your ability to create and sell yourself. So here are a few ways to show just what you're capable of. Create a personalized website, which includes a visually appealing version of your resume. Create a portfolio, as a reputable marketing professional you should already have a marketing portfolio. So you simply need to decide what among your portfolio is applicable to the job you want. You can use a personal website to create customized pages for each company you apply to and then include that link within your resume and point them towards your work. If you're employed in a marketing role and you haven't been keeping track of your personal stats and successes, please start immediately. Marketing, isn't just about creativity, it's about results. You can create a wonderful ad, but if nobody ever views it, it would not have been successful. So keep track of your click through rates, your increase in social media followers, increased engagement, metrics around time spent viewing ads, SEO improvements, et cetera. There was nothing worse than being unexpectedly laid off and realizing that you no longer have access to the metrics you thought you would have time to capture. It's important for me to say a word about privacy and confidentiality. Don't include anything in your portfolio that isn't publicly available, don't include client names and don't use specific numbers. Instead, you can use comparative results, percent increases and other creative ways to provide the detail a prospective employer will need without divulging company secrets. As a marketing professional, how you use your creativity to showcase your work is the first glimpse a prospective employer will get of how you potentially might use your creativity to showcase their work if hired. Rise to the challenge and you too can provide that great blend of corporate professionalism and creativity.

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