How to Create an Entry-Level Marketing Resume that Gets Results

Getting into the marketing field promises lucrative opportunities and engaging experiences. But if you’re recently starting and don’t have the right background, creating a resume from scratch may seem daunting.

But you can still craft an entry-level marketing resume that gets results, even if you don’t have experience. We’ll show you how in this article.

Add a Cover Letter to Your Application

Unless you’re a marketing guru with decades of experience, you won’t match every criterion listed on a marketing job description. The best way to get a job without having all of the requirements is to show the employer why you’d be the perfect fit. You can do that through a cover letter.

A cover letter gives potential employers a glimpse into your personality and how you approach problems. For the best possible outcome, make sure yours meets the following criteria:

• Grammatically correct and error-free
• Succinct and to the point
• Addressed to the right person
• Has information about your professional skills and relevant personal qualities
• Details why you would be a good fit for the position
• Lists your expectations as well as how you can benefit the company
• It contains an overview of your experience
• Incorporates a professional call to action at the end

Selling your skills and personality in your cover letter may be the trick that gets you to the second part of the process, which is the interview.

Use the Right Keywords

When you’re building a resume, you should have a standard format that you can use to apply to several marketing positions. However, look for keywords in the job description if you want to go the extra mile. These are the words that a company’s Applicant Tracking System seeks when it scans new resumes.

The more the keywords match the position, the likelier your resume will reach the right hands. Be careful when you do this, however. Stuffing your resume with irrelevant keywords can backfire, especially if you don’t know what they mean and can’t elaborate on your experience when a hiring manager asks.

List What You’ve Done for the Community

Volunteer work, participating in events and helping out mean that you’re a person who involves yourself with causes and cares for others. It also means you communicate effectively and get things done without needing to be asked. If you worked with community stakeholders to inspire change, that’s a great addition to your entry-level marketing resume.

Marketing is a social field and involves understanding how different factors affect people’s behaviors and choices. If you don’t have experience, you can show hiring managers how you manage multiple elements to get results without being paid or trained. This addition to your resume shows initiative and a willingness to think outside the box to solve problems.

Expand on Your Skills

Everyone has hard and soft skills acquired through personal and professional means. It would be a good idea to list every skill you believe can increase the likelihood of getting an interview. Similarly to keyword stuffing, it’s essential that you only list relevant skills, however.

For example, if you’re a good cook, that’s irrelevant to your resume. But if you’re a great planner for food-related events – that’s something you want to list on your resume instead.

You don’t have to overdo the skills segment, but you still want to show that you have potential that makes up for your lack of experience. When you highlight to a hiring manager or recruiter that your skills bring short and long-term benefits to the company, they’ll be more inclined to hire you.

Invest in Marketing Courses and Add Them to Your Resume

If you have some leeway and time to spare, use it to invest in a marketing course. Whether onsite or an online workshop or class, taking a course boosts your employment chances for multiple reasons. They include:

• Giving you the most updated information on your marketing niche
• Allowing you to discuss what you learned with a hiring manager if you get an interview
• Being able to benefit from the keywords for the course in your resume
• Boosting your confidence in your chosen niche
• It gives you an edge over applicants with zero experience

Some courses allow you to register for free, while others require a fee. If you can get a certificate of completion after finishing, you can attach it to your application.

Remember that taking the course is primarily for you and not the employer. You’ll gain information that you’ll retain permanently and use throughout your professional life. Moreover, getting that much-needed training when you’re at the entry level can increase your chances of getting a higher salary.

Consider Internships

Like marketing courses, internships open the door to many career opportunities. The added benefit of internships is real-world training and experience instead of theory. Once you complete them, you may also have the chance to seek employment in the same company. Employers notice if you did a stellar job during your tenure and will want you on the team.

Not every internship comes with a guarantee of employment, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t get a job at the company you interned in. The experience you gained comes in handy in other places and will be a great addition to an entry-level marketing resume.

Ask For References and Include Them

Throughout your life, you’ll meet people that can vouch for your professionalism and character. These people help you land your dream marketing job by describing their experience interacting with you to potential employers.

A reference helps show hiring managers that people in high positions trust your ethics and judgment, whether it's a religious authority figure, a professor, or a former boss. You can include phone numbers for the recruiter to call or have their recommendation letters ready when requested.

Triple Check for Mistakes

Once you have all your information and skills listed in one place, it’s time to check and double-check for errors. Even a skilled and experienced marketing professional may face issues if their resume has grammatical and spelling mistakes. With no experience, it is doubly challenging to land a job when you have spelling mistakes on your resume.

Fortunately, you can use multiple online checkers to ensure that your writing is clear, concise, engaging and error-free. With some effort and planning, you can still land the marketing job of your dreams with an entry-level marketing resume.

Choose the Best Resume Format

Now that you have the basics, it’s time to choose a resume format that helps showcase your skills and experience to potential employers. But not any resume does the trick; you need a CV that’s cleanly formatted and passes ATS systems without issues.

Rocket Resume is your one-stop solution for all resume formats that suit your marketing goals. With thousands of resume templates to choose from, you’ll have the tools you need to create the best entry-level marketing resume without hassle.

All you need to do is use Rocket Resume’s intuitive tools to get started. You’ll have a professional and streamlined resume ready by answering a few questions in minutes.

Forget bulky, unprofessional and irrelevant templates. Rocket Resume’s marketing resume templates let you craft the perfect document for your niche without compromising quality.

Are you ready to get started with your entry-level marketing resume?

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