Guide To Creating A Great Marketing CV + Example

Wondering what the secret to a great marketing CV is? We’ll share our top tips with you in this guide.

And if you’re looking for a marketing CV example, we’ve created a template for you too.

Every business engages in marketing activities – and in the UK over 2,000 companies are incorporated every day!

According to a recent IPA Bellwether survey, 36.6% of companies’ total marketing spend should increase in the year ahead, with only 16.9% expecting cuts.

However, there’s plenty of competition for the best jobs – so you need to make sure your CV ticks all the boxes to give you the best chance of landing interviews.

Here’s our advice for creating a great marketing CV that helps you stand out.

The basics of a marketing CV

As you would expect, in some ways a marketing CV is no different to any other – you need to get the basics right.

Whether you’re a junior marketer or an experienced veteran, there are a few quick wins. For example – use a clear layout, avoid complicated formatting and send as a PDF.

Always customise your marketing CV to each role you apply for, tailored to the job advert. 

For more information on getting started, here’s our comprehensive guide to writing a CV. We’ve also written about the importance of outstanding CV headlines and how to choose the perfect CV ending.

Marketers need to demonstrate attention to detail and your CV is the first step. Check it thoroughly – fix spelling and grammar mistakes, or anything else that will make hiring managers stop reading.

Marketing CV skills

All marketing job adverts will mention a mix of hard and soft skills. Some are must-haves, others are nice-to-haves.

Including a key skills section is a quick, easy way to show employers you have what it takes.

It will also help your marketing CV bypass any applicant tracking system (ATS) software. Typically, this filters out up to 75% of CVs.

For example, marketing skills mentioned on job descriptions may include some of these: 

• CMS expertise
• Content / copywriting
• Data analysis and analytics
• Display advertising
• Email marketing
• Market research
• Project management
• SEO and SEM
• Social media engagement
• Website management

Some of your skills will be more relevant for the role than others, so tailor them to the job description.

Remember, never lie on a CV – don’t include any skills that you don’t actually have.

Substantiate your claims

Sometimes it’s not easy to find statistics for a CV to show how much impact you’ve had in previous roles or during your studies. 

But the digital marketing tools you have used may be able to help – for example, by showing impressive metrics for campaigns or activities you were involved in. 

Always mention how many staff you’ve been responsible for, or how many client accounts you’ve managed and so on.

Also include relevant financial examples too, such as an efficient use of a marketing budget or sales figures you can directly attribute to marketing efforts.

These facts and figures will have more impact in the right context. If you’re struggling to explain your best ones, use the STAR method – make sure you’ve covered the:

• Situation: This should be clear from the company or your job role
• Task: Specify the problem you needed to solve
• Action: Be precise about how you addressed the issue
• Result: Share the results of your actions, using statistics if possible

Strong CVs feature plenty of evidence to back up claims, otherwise the achievements can sound too generalised, so employers struggle to see how the candidate stands out.

If you need to give a long or complex STAR example, consider including it in your cover letter or supporting statement instead.

Taking all of the above into account, here’s a marketing CV example to help you get the ball rolling:

Marketing CV example

Xavier Doyle

[Address] – [Phone number] – [Email address]

Personal Statement

Use 6-7 lines to promote who you are, what you can offer and your career aims. Be concise and personalise it – show how you stand out and what makes you unique. For example:

Results-oriented marketing manager with 8 years’ industry experience. Proven track record of achieving a strong ROI on quick-turnaround marketing campaigns for global brands…

Key Skills

If your skill section looks strong, include it here – otherwise, put it after your work history section. Relate your skillset to the job description and use bullet points – for example:

• Data analysis
• CMS expertise
• Budget oversight
• ROI analysis
• C-Level reporting
• Line management

Work History

List your previous roles or companies worked at, in reverse chronological order, starting with your current or most recent position – also include the dates. 

Then, add bullet points, to describe your most relevant achievements and responsibilities – for example:

[Role, company] [Dates]

• Executed marketing campaigns for global brands and managed 10 members of staff
• Presented regularly to C-Level stakeholders to negotiate marketing budgets and campaign strategies
• Designed and rolled out new marketing materials for a high-profile campaign, achieving a 90% ROI
• Oversaw regular market research projects within budget to track brand perceptions

[Role, company] [Dates]

• Managed the content marketing budget and improved overall share rate by 65%
• Co-designed new brand guidelines and templates rolled out company-wide
• Managed 5 marketing freelancers and mentored 2 interns

Qualifications and Education

Start by listing any relevant marketing qualifications, then your education details: 

• [Marketing qualification(s) / certification(s) obtained] [Dates]
• [University name, degree subject, grade] [Dates]
• [School name, A-Levels, grades] [Dates]
• [School name, GCSEs, grades] [Dates]

Interests

This section is optional if you’re short of space. Any interests you include should ideally strengthen your overall application in some way – for example:

Music and film – I manage all marketing activities for my reviews website (xavierdoyle.net)

References available on request

Summary: Creating a great marketing CV

There’s plenty of competition for the most desirable roles, so give yourself the best chance possible, with an outstanding marketing CV.

Start with the basics, then focus on including the right skills based on the job description. Provide some evidence to back up your claims and achievements.

Remember that hiring managers have lots of CVs to look through, so make sure you have a strong opening to hold their attention.If you need any help, we’re experts at writing professional CVs – and that includes marketing CVs – so please don’t hesitate to contact us for more details.