How To Write a CV For Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is, like most creative fields, a highly competitive industry to break into. If you want to have a shot at the best jobs that the industry has to offer, then you are going to need a killer CV to get you noticed.

If you struggle with CV writing – don’t worry. you are far from alone. Below is a comprehensive guide on how to write a CV for marketing positions, including what every good digital marketing CV should include.

What Should Your CV Include?

Your CV should be unique and individual to you, but there are certain elements that should be present on every CV. In fact, many people find that using a pre-existing template makes the CV writing process significantly easier, and also reduces the chances of you forgetting to include important information. Below are the seven elements that anyone wanting to know how to write a CV for marketing needs to be aware of.

Personal Details

This section is, hopefully, the easiest one to do. You simply need to make sure that you include all of your vital statistics – your full name and postal address, your email address, mobile number, and any relevant URLs such as your LinkedIn profile or online portfolio.

Objective / Personal Summary

This section should briefly summarise why you are applying for the job, your key attributes, and what it is that you want to achieve in the long-term. Don’t go overboard with this section, if you overdo it then you will come across as insincere or, worse, pretentious. Keep it simple and concise – don’t overcomplicate your language or go into extraneous details.

Employment History & Work Experience

You might want to swap the positions of your employment history and education sections (below), giving the highest billing to the one that is most extensive. In other words, if you have more academic training than work experience, you should put your education history first. However, if you have more experience working in professional settings, you should prioritise your employment history.

Remember to include any work experience or voluntary work that you have undertaken over the years. Even if these positions aren’t directly relevant to the job you are applying for, they will provide a more well-rounded picture of who you are.

Education & Training

As with your employment history, don’t just include the training and qualifications you hold that are relevant to the digital marketing job you are applying for. Completing any kind of education or training will reflect well on you and your application.

Other Skills And Achievements

If you have any academic or professional achievements that don’t quite fit into either of the above sections, make sure to mention them here. Any achievements that will distinguish you from the other candidates are worth including.

Personal Statement

Your personal statement is your opportunity to show prospective employers exactly who you are. Many people who are unsure about how to write a marketing CV struggle with the personal statement in particular. We will cover how to write this section in more detail below.

References

Your references are the people that employers can contact to verify the information that you have given. References should also be people that you trust to relay a positive picture of who you are.

What Skills Do You Need For A Killer Digital Marketing CV?

Every digital marketer is different and businesses that are worth applying for will want to take advantage of your individuality. However, there is also a range of core skills that most employers will look for, assuming they don’t make them an explicit prerequisite for the role. It doesn’t matter how eloquently you write your personal statement, or even what your academic background is – if you aren’t able to demonstrate an understanding of these core competencies then you’re unlikely to reach the final interview.

Obviously, every digital marketer has to start somewhere. You can’t apply for your first job with significant experience under your belt. However, if you want the biggest and best employers to give your CV serious consideration then you will need to show them that you are coming to them with an understanding of the industry. If you don’t have a wealth of experience and qualifications to back up your application, you are going to need a tight portfolio that shows proficiency in the following areas.

Social Media Experience

Social media platforms are the most important battlegrounds for digital marketers today. Any aspiring digital marketer who doesn’t have any experience with social media marketing should be making it a priority to go and get some. Being adept at social media marketing doesn’t just mean knowing how to purchase and place adverts on each platform, it requires marketers to have a refined understanding of the nuances and specifics of individual platforms and how to best leverage them.

Different social media platforms cater to different audiences and favourite different forms of content. While many social media users, perhaps even a majority, will hold accounts on multiple platforms, they will generally head to specific platforms for specific types of content.

If your CV is devoid of any mention of social media marketing, it is unlikely that you will be making it through to the final round. Having a social media account is not a prerequisite for being knowledgeable about social media marketing, but obviously, it helps a lot. Make sure that your marketing CV demonstrates an understanding of social media marketing and its place in the modern digital marketing landscape.

Sales Experience

Needless to say, sales experience is invaluable to digital marketers. If you know how to sell things to people in person, you will already have a grasp of much of the theory that underpins digital marketing. The mediums may be different, but the underlying principles remain the same. If you have mentioned any sales jobs under your employment history, be sure to expand on your sales experience in your personal statement.

The Dreaded Personal Statement

When it comes to how to write a cv for digital marketing, getting the personal statement right is one of the trickier aspects of it. In fact, many people dread having to write a personal statement, it’s like when someone asks, “What are your strengths?” at an interview. But this section needn’t intimidate you. Once you have grasped the basic formula for writing personal statements, it becomes much easier to do in the future.

Communicate Your Interests and Personality

Your personal statement should briefly expand upon the relevant professional and academic experience that you have identified in the sections above. However, the majority of your personal statement should be given over to talking about yourself. This is the part of your CV where you can talk about your hobbies and interests and try to communicate a bit more about exactly who you are to the reader.

Show That You Have A Life Outside Of Digital Marketing

If you see an opportunity to organically bring the conversation back around to digital marketing, by all means, do so, but the primary function of your personal statement is to inform employers about who you are as a person. If your CV doesn’t reveal anything about you other than your digital marketing prowess, it is going to be difficult for the reader to make a judgement about you. Remember, businesses aren’t just looking at your academic and professional history, they also want to ensure that you will fit in with the rest of their staff and corporate culture.

Choosing The Right References

This is another aspect of a CV that many people struggle with. Even if you have a wide social circle and plenty of past employers, picking someone to potentially represent you to your new bosses can be a tough decision. Naturally, you should gravitate towards people who are going to paint the best picture of you. However, be careful about using references who you haven’t spoken to in some time. If the only person you can pick to represent you hasn’t worked with you or known you for some years, it will make whoever is reading your CV question why you haven’t picked someone more recent.

Proofread It Carefully

A CV that is riddled with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes will reflect poorly on you as a candidate. Digital marketers need to be effective communicators, and they also need to demonstrate attention to detail. Handing in a CV that is full of mistakes and errors suggests that you don’t hold either of these qualities. Proofread your text and then proofread it again, to make sure that everything is as it should be.

Keep It Updated

This is one of the most important tips for writing a CV, but it is also one of the most often overlooked. Most of us will only apply for jobs every couple of years at the most, and digital marketing is the kind of industry where people like to establish themselves for the long-term. Instead of going through a laborious CV writing process every time you want to apply for a job, it makes much more sense to write a good CV and then keep it updated so that it is always current.

As long as you remember to include all of the above, you shouldn’t have any trouble writing a digital marketing CV. Remember to keep your CV updated once it’s finished and don’t even think about submitting it without proofreading.

If you’re interested in searching for a new Digital Marketing position, head over to our Job Opportunities page and browse through our latest vacancies.

About Acquire Digital Talent

In 2018 Acquire was established by Alex Marriner who has over a decade of experience within the Digital Marketing Recruitment space.

We are dedicated to securing the very best Digital Marketing talent for some of the most exciting tech start-ups, high growth businesses & established brands in London and across Digital Hubs within Europe. These include brands such as Starling Bank, Popsa, Motorway, Houst, and Trainline.

We bring the knowledge and expertise to build highly successful Digital Marketing teams so your business can grow whilst supporting Digital Marketing professionals with the guidance required to further their careers.

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