How to Write a Marketing CV (Examples for 2024)

One thing about being in marketing is the pressure you sometimes feel to be the Don Draper of any situation that involves writing, creating, or selling. Not entirely unrelated to that pressure is the dreaded writer’s block that plagues marketing professionals of all stripes from time to time.

Writing a marketing CV is its own kind of challenging, too, but doesn't have to be. In this guide, we will walk you through the process, showing expert marketing CV template and marketing CV examples for the UK market. You'll also get expert tips on marketing skills for a CV that make all the difference.

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Need a different CV example apart from a marketing CV? Check these guides:

• Customer Service CV
• CEO CV
• Designer CV
• Digital Marketing CV
• Graphic Designer CV
• Marketing Manager CV
• Manager CV
• Project Manager CV
• Sales CV
• Sales Assistant CV
• Team Leader CV

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our CV examples.

Marketing CV example

Now that you know what a CV should look like, it's time to uncover what makes a good CV. Here’s how to write a CV for marketing jobs step by step:

1. Create a top-notch marketing personal statement

A personal statement in a CV, otherwise known as a personal profile, is like your “elevator pitch”. It introduces you to your potential new employer, shows them what you have to offer, and tells them what you’re looking for. Your marketing CV personal statement should be 3-4 sentences in total, that’s about 50-150 words. 

Tailor your marketing CV to each job application by making sure your personal statement is in line with the job description. This means customising your personal statement by making sure what you have to offer matches the employer’s needs. Go so far as to use the same keywords wherever possible.

Your marketing CV might be parsed by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) or skimmed through by a recruiter. Both will be scanning for keywords. 

Your personal statement is where you can really let your marketing skills shine, but maybe not how you think. Restraint is key here. Keep it simple and to the point. No “marketing speak”, no pointless adjectives, no gimmicks. You want this statement to be easily read, informative, and readily parsed by an ATS.

Writing it is as simple as answering these questions:

1. Who are you as a marketing professional?
2. What are your USPs? (Think: skills, qualifications, and attributes.)
3. What are your goals, professionally speaking?

As you can see, this section opens up your marketing CV, but it’s best to write it last. You’ll be surprised at how easily it comes after you’ve written your work experience and skills sections (and that's why it's also called a CV summary). So work your way through the rest of this guide and come back to this section before writing your cover letter.

Marketing CV examples: personal statement

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

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2. Update your marketing CV work experience section

The personal statement may be the hook, but the work experience section is definitely the meat of your marketing CV. This is true whether you’re writing a marketing assistant CV, marketing coordinator CV or even a marketing executive CV. The following advice applies just as well to digital and social media marketing.

Stick to the standard chronological CV format. Start your marketing CV from your most recent experience and work your way back from there. This is the order that recruiters and hiring managers expect to see and what ATSs can parse most readily. As a marketer you know the value of keeping your message clear.

Aim for up to six bullet points per role. Don’t just make a list of all your duties. Instead, quantify your marketing CV achievements and demonstrate the impact you’ve had on your past employers. Use concrete examples and statistics wherever possible.

Start each bullet point with a CV action word, like managed, conducted, launched, or negotiated. Consider using the PAR (Problem, Action, Result) framework. It’ll make the process much easier. Using accomplishment statements rather than responsibility statements will also make a huge difference.

If you’re writing a marketing graduate CV or a digital marketing CV with no experience, then follow the above guidelines, but focus on any internships, placement work, and volunteer work you’ve done (even projects can show your transferable skills).

If you have no experience at all (we all have to start somewhere), then consider writing a student or graduate CV instead.

Marketing CV examples: work experience

3. Include an education section in your marketing CV

The education section is perhaps the easiest, after your personal details. Stick with the same reverse chronological format as your work experience section. Follow the template below for a clear layout.

You can include CIM (and similar) qualifications and certificates here or in an additional marketing CV section. There’s no need to include A-levels and GCSEs if you’re a university graduate and have some work experience under your belt. If you’re still studying, then include an expected graduation date.

When listing university degrees, include the name of your degree, the years you attended (with an expected graduation date if you’re still studying), and the name of the institution and its location.

If you do decide to include your high school education, then list all of your A-levels by subject, the years during which you studied them, the name of the school and its location. For GCSEs simply state how many you completed, the years over which you completed them, the name of the school and its location.

It’s often a good idea to mention Mathematics and English when stating how many GCSEs you’ve completed. Employers often need to see that you have passed in Maths and English as a bare minimum.

If you’ve just graduated from a university or just finished school and don’t have much experience yet, then position this section above your work experience section and add some more details such as extracurricular activities.

Marketing graduate CV examples: education

4. Use the right marketing skills for your CV

You have to customise your CV to each job opening. This is as important in the skills section of your CV as it is in the personal statement and work experience section. The skills part of your CV has to show that you’re clearly a match for the advertised position

What you want to end up with is a list of 5-10 hard and soft skills, backed up with concrete examples, that includes all the required skills from the job offer. How to get there? Set the advert aside for now and make a list of all your marketing skills (remember about your communication skills, too). There’s no limit on how many, the more the better. Save the list of your marketing skills.

Now bring that job advert back up and find all the matches from your list. Copy these across and you have the basic outline for your skills section.

Now add a sentence to each point on your list that shows how you’ve demonstrated that particular skill. Anyone can make an impressive list of marketing skills for a CV. What you’re doing is making it abundantly clear to the recruiter that you’re the real deal. Don't lie on your CV, though. An experienced recruiter will see through it.

Marketing skills for a CV example

“In today's diverse marketing field, essential skills vary depending on the company and position, making it difficult to define a one-size-fits-all set of requirements. However, key personal traits include familiarity with technology, adaptability to change, a strong willingness to learn, and staying current with industry trends. These qualities ensure that a marketing candidate can thrive in a dynamically evolving environment”.

5. Add extra sections to your marketing CV template

Your potential employer now knows quite a lot about your work history and educational background. That’s a huge part of who you are, both as a worker and a person. It’s not the whole story, though. Use additional sections in your marketing CV to fill in a little more of your portrait as a professional.

You can add sections that list your additional qualifications (e.g. CIM), achievements, awards, even hobbies and interests. Not many people do this and yet it can make such a huge difference. Just keep it professional and relevant to the job at hand and you can’t go wrong.

Do you speak any languages other than English? Speaking a foreign language is far less common in the UK than elsewhere and is a desirable skill in a huge variety of fields, whether it’s directly useful or not. There’s a wide range of reasons to add a list of languages to your marketing CV.

The only thing you don't need to list on your CV is references. It's better to save space for more relevant CV sections.

Marketing CV examples: additional sections

6. Write a marketing cover letter to go with your marketing CV

Whether it’s pitching a campaign strategy or doing any of the more realistic, day-to-day activities of a marketing professional, you know the importance of having the proper documentation prepared. Submitting a job application is like any other bureaucratic act: there are certain formalities that you cannot avoid.

A CV, be default, is accompanied by a cover letter. Actual, signed, hardcopy letters are going the way of tobacco ad campaigns, but cover letters aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Over 50% of employers still prefer candidates to include a cover letter. And if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly.

Start by using the right cover letter format. Once you have the formalities out of the way, grab your reader’s attention with a strong cover letter opening—lead with an impressive professional achievement. Showcase your marketing skills and experience. Close your cover letter with a call to action: an opportunity to discuss your candidature further.

Include a cover letter unless it’s been made clear that your potential employer doesn’t want you to. Writing an effective cover letter can be daunting at first, but remember you're not writing an essay: simple and short cover letters have the highest CTR.

7. Other things to consider when preparing a marketing CV template

As a marketing professional, you’re very familiar with the importance of making a good first impression. There’s no such thing as an insignificant detail when it comes to a document as important as your CV. Recruiters are sorting through piles of the things, first impressions are crucial.

Keep in mind the following basic CV design rules:

• Make your personal details clear and easy to find—leave them near the top of your CV. No need to include address on a CV.
• Use subheadings to clearly break your CV structure down into sections. The best CV templates have these sections outlined perfectly, making it easy to navigate and read.
• Choose an appropriate CV font such as Arial or Calibri. For a neat CV layout, make good use of white space.
• Attach your marketing cover letter and CV as a PDF file unless explicitly asked for something else.

Proofread and spellcheck your marketing cover letter and a CV to make it perfect. Ask someone else to read and proofread both documents. Use any of the apps, web apps, or programmes out there that can help you with spelling and grammar. The importance of having everything word-perfect cannot be overstated.

If that's your first CV, you might wonder how long can a CV be. If you don't have years of experience under your belt, go for a one-page CV. Otherwise, a two-page CV model is fine. 

If you're going to use a free CV template, remember to make it UK job market friendly. So don't add such details to your CV as date of birth, age and gender.

One final CV piece of advice: avoid using ‘Please find attached my CV’ when sending in your job application. It's old fashioned and doesn't sound good in the XXI century. Instead, go for 'I have attached my CV for your reference/review/consideration.'

Whether you’re just getting started as a marketing assistant or going for that elusive head of marketing post, your marketing CV is that critical first step to getting there. Congratulations, you’re well on your way!

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

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I hope you found what you were looking for in this guide—please let me know if you didn’t. Reworking your marketing CV and writing a cover letter can be daunting at first, but it gets much easier as you pick up steam. Share your comments, questions, and experiences below. Good luck!

How we review the content at LiveCareer

Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.