Capture these top marketing skills on your resume to land interviews.

Working in an organization's marketing department or working for a marketing firm that supports several different types of clients can take on many forms. You might be a graphic designer, a social media guru, a communications specialist, a website designer, a writer, a communications specialist, or one of the many other positions that fall under the marketing umbrella. Regardless of your position, several skills are necessary for virtually any type of marketing job.

What is marketing expertise?

In general, the goal of marketing for any business is to increase brand awareness and reach while generating and converting leads to boost sales. Marketing expertise implies you have knowledge, skills, and education in one of the many areas of marketing to support these types of activities. 

A range of technical skills and soft skills are necessary to succeed in a marketing role. If you're in the process of securing a new marketing position, it's essential you capture the appropriate expertise and marketing skills on your resume to land an interview. 

In this post, we cover:

  • Marketing skills to put on a resume

  • 11 marketing hard skills

  • 11 marketing soft skills

  • Marketing skills on resume examples

  • Tips to gain or improve marketing skills

What skills should I put on my resume for marketing?

When it comes to marketing skills on resumes, a good mix of both hard and soft skills is required. Hard skills, also referred to as technical skills, are tangible skills that are easily measured and learned through training and education. Soft skills, also called personal skills, are less tangible and more challenging to measure. Soft skills tend to be acquired over time through experience and are vital for success in most positions. 

Read on for a breakdown of the top hard and soft marketing skills for resumes. 

11 marketing hard skills on a resume

Here are some of the technical skills needed for success in marketing.

1. Writing

Though the most common marketing position that requires writing is a Copywriter, many other positions within marketing require the ability to write. Even if your job doesn't require a lot of writing, being able to write well and correctly will allow you to give better feedback on written content when needed. 

In marketing, written content is necessary for items like:

  • Social media posts

  • Blogs

  • Email campaigns

  • Client contracts

  • Press releases

  • Internal communications

  • External communications

  • Graphics

  • Print collateral 

2. SEO and SEM

Search engine optimization and search engine marketing are sought-after skills in the marketing realm. Even if you're not an SEO or SEM specialist, hiring teams will take note if you have at least some understanding of how SEO and SEM work. 

For example, suppose you're a writer or copywriter creating content for a website or blog. In that case, you need to understand SEO enough to know how to incorporate keywords and structure the content for optimal results. As a social media specialist, you should know how social impacts SEO and what strategies support it.

SEO and SEM are considered in areas like:

  • Website creation and content

  • Blogging

  • Social media

  • Paid advertisements

  • Lead generation

3. Customer relationship management

CRM, or customer relationship management, is a type of software used to help manage, follow, and understand the consumer's journey, much of which is automated. It also provides valuable data to help you understand what's working and not working with your processes and actions.

4. Content management system

A content management system helps companies house the hundreds to thousands of pages of content they manage. Marketing team members need to know how to use a company's CMS to update, remove, and add content. WordPress is an example of a standard CMS used by many businesses.  

5. Research and data analysis 

There are numerous ways research and data analysis are valuable skills for marketing positions. Researching what the market is doing regarding competitor and consumer behavior allows you to compare it to your internal data. It provides you with valuable insights from comparison. Collecting data on your company's marketing campaigns, like social, email, and video campaigns, can help you determine what's working and what's not working to garner the attention of consumers, as well as analyze their behavior in terms of how they interact with your campaigns, which helps you continue to adjust and improve your marketing efforts. 

Research and data analysis can help to provide insights into things like:

  • How long visitors stay on your site's various web pages, where the visitors come from online, and what web pages are the most visited

  • Consumer satisfaction ratings for interactions with your organization

  • The specific demographics that visit your website and social pages so you can tailor campaigns focused on those demographics 

Google Analytics is commonly used by businesses to understand their website traffic. Data reports are also helpful for sharing with clients so they can see valuable trends and learn what is and isn't working.

6. Design

Being a graphic designer indeed requires a unique skill set. Still, it's helpful for anyone working in marketing to have at least a general idea of the parameters of good design - like color, layout, and the rule of thirds - so they can provide feedback and input when needed. Standard design tools include Adobe Suite and Canva, which would also be types of required hard skills for those focused on design.

7. Social media

Social media is a part of our world and isn't going anywhere. It's helpful for anyone in a marketing role to at least have some knowledge of social media and how it works for business. Businesses use sites like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn to connect with consumers, build brand awareness, generate leads, and more. 

8. Online and mobile advertising

Advertising is an essential part of marketing. Advertisements allow you to tailor your campaign to reach a specific audience based on various factors like age demographic, gender, and budget. Google Ads is commonly used for website and online marketing. Mobile advertising allows you to reach your target audience where they are online, particularly on social media, through campaigns like Facebook Ads.  

Examples of online and mobile advertising might include:

  • Hiring an influencer to represent your brand for your target audience on social

  • Posting responsive web ads online targeting a certain demographic

  • Writing and recording videos to share on your social pages that highlight your products or brand

9. Video marketing

It's common for video marketing to be a part of an organization's digital marketing campaign, making video marketing some of the most highly valuable and sought after marketing skills on resumes. Having video marketing skills also means being able to use video capture equipment and editing software and being able to write scripts and sometimes even direct the individuals in the videos.

10. Project management

Almost anything you do in marketing could be considered a project. Whether you're launching a social media campaign, managing social media strategy, building out web pages, focusing on SEO, or creating videos as part of a digital marketing campaign, you need project management skills. 

Project management skills help to ensure each project has the necessary steps outlined for successful completion while also ensuring the project goals are met on time. Project management skills also allow you to assess a campaign's success and make future adjustments when needed. 

11. Email marketing

Email marketing campaigns are still a valuable part of many company's overall marketing strategy. Successful email marketing involves several factors, including:

  • Automated messaging

  • Written content

  • Lead generation

  • Understanding consumer behavior and the best time to send out emails

  • Graphics

  • Data analysis around human behavior and open rates

11 marketing soft skills on a resume

Now that we've covered the list of top marketing hard skills for a resume, let's take a look at some of the necessary soft skills for success.

1. Creativity

When we think of someone in marketing, we naturally tend to think of a creative individual. Creativity allows you to come up with new marketing ideas, add innovation to current strategies, and create various types of content for numerous mediums.

2. Listening

Those in marketing must be able to listen to consumers and read between the lines. They also must be able to listen to clients to gather their needs and goals, while also being able to listen to their fellow coworkers to effectively collaborate and create together. 

3. Communication 

Beyond verbal communication, effective communication in the form of writing, presenting, and design are necessary in the world of marketing. You have to not only be able to communicate thoughts and ideas between each other, but also through the presentation of content and graphic design of content intended for your target audiences. 

4. Analytical 

Analytical skills allow you to analyze data and apply critical thinking to determine how to improve statistics that need attention. With analytical thinking, you'll be able to identify shifts needed in marketing campaigns or other areas that might require improvement. 

5. Collaboration

An effective marketing campaign involves several players, which means healthy collaboration is essential. To create a video, for example, you might have a writer, director, producer, and editor on a single project. Depending on the video's purpose, you could also have a social media specialist, website editor, and email marketer involved. 

6. Interpersonal skills

When you play a role in marketing, you have to work with a lot of different players, both internal to your department, internal to the company, and often external to the company. As such, strong interpersonal skills that allow you to get along effectively and productively with different personality types and levels within an organization are necessary. 

7. Leadership

Leadership skills can help you manage marketing projects and collaborate effectively with others. These skills also allow you to work with leadership teams to discuss strategy and develop a marketing plan to meet the department's or organization's marketing goals. 

8. Problem-solving

Problem-solving is a necessary skill in marketing for several reasons. Strong problem-solving skills allow you to come up with new and better ways of handling campaigns and improving upon current strategies. They also allow you to analyze data for areas of improvement and resolve conflicts when parties might disagree on the approach to a campaign, design, and so on.

9. Time management

Marketers often handle several campaigns and projects simultaneously, making good time management a must. They also have to ensure that all marketing collateral is sent out or posted on schedule. 

10. Organization

With the many moving parts of most marketing campaigns, it's imperative those in marketing roles remain organized. The last thing you want to have to happen is for something to fall through the cracks or a deadline to be missed due to a lack of organization. 

11. Service-oriented

Marketing is a service-oriented function. As such, those in marketing roles need to be able to work with customers effectively and positively. Marketing skills on resume examples

Below are a couple of examples of what marketing skills on resumes might look like. We begin with an example of a resume summary and then take a look at an example of what marketing skills on a resume might look like in the Work Experience section. 

Marketing skills resume summary example

Senior-level marketing professional adept in all aspects of marketing, from website and blog development to email and advertising campaigns to data analytics and social media. Generated $22K in new revenue during a six-month period through identification and engagement of potential leads on LinkedIn. Ability to collaborate with others while ensuring projects stay on schedule with optimal results. 

Marketing skills work experience example

Marketing Specialist 

ABC Oil & Gas, Houston, TX

December 2019 - present

  • Operated social media campaigns for Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, increasing engagement by 20% on average
  • Created over 300 weekly blogs, incorporating SEO and keyword best practices, with ~25 blogs ranking regularly in the #1 spot for a collective 310 keywords
  • Launched YouTube video creation and distribution, gaining 150,000 new subscribers over two quarters
  • Developed reports to assess website analytics and consumer behavior 

Junior Marketing Representative

XYZ Marketing Associates, Houston, TX

January 2014 - December 2019

  • Handled 11 client marketing campaigns, including video, social media, and email, to increase consumer engagement and brand awareness  
  • Launched first press release campaign for client, resulting in 1500 online pickups and 10K industry-related impressions
  • Oversaw 50 projects for video content development, from idea generation and scripting to producing and editing content 
  • Presented monthly client data reports with 15 key indices, highlighting and analyzing internal consumer and business trends compared to current market trends

Tips to gain or improve marketing skills

Several methods, including certifications, volunteer work, and freelance projects, can help you acquire new marketing skills or improve upon the ones you already have. 

  • Get a certification. Certifications are an excellent way to hone in on your marketing skills or gain new ones altogether. There are numerous sought-after marketing skills you can gain through certifications, many of which are free. Here are some valuable marketing-related certifications to consider:

  • Seek out volunteer work. If you're looking to gain more marketing experience in any particular area, consider seeking out volunteer opportunities to do so. There are often local charities and community organizations that post volunteer opportunities you can apply to, or you can simply ask if there are any opportunities for you to volunteer and shadow someone in the marketing department of their charity or organization. 

  • Take on freelance projects. Many people take on side gigs these days to earn some extra cash and learn new skills. Do some research on sites like Fiverr and Upwork and see what's available for you to improve your marketing skills on a resume. 

Make marketing skills on your resume stand out

When you look over the 11 soft and 11 hard marketing skills listed in this post, which ones do you possess? Write them down, as these provide you with a great starting point for the best marketing skills to include on your resume. You can also refer to the job description of the job you're applying to and highlight the required marketing skills listed. From there, incorporate all the skills you possess from the job description throughout your resume. Good luck! 

Does your Marketing resume capture the necessary skills to help you stand out? Why not submit it for a free resume review to find out and learn from the TopResume team of resume experts?

Recommended reading:

Related Articles: