Marketing CV templates and a digital marketing example
A marketing CV should prove what your work achieved: the channels you ran, the budgets you managed and the results you can put your own name to. Lead each role with two or three campaign outcomes with a baseline and a timeframe, name your tools, and link examples. Sales CVs work the same way, built on targets.
By Adam Smith, EditorPublished Updated
Three templates that suit sales and marketing CVs
- Sales & Marketing
Sales & Marketing is a Pro two-column template made for results. It gives campaign outcomes, targets and tools room to stand out, which suits a CV sent to a hiring manager or recruiter; use a single column for online forms.
- Modern Professional
Modern Professional is on the free plan. Its single column suits marketing and sales CVs at every level, and it is the safer choice when you apply through a large employer online recruitment system.
- Modern Professional (Two-Column)
Modern Professional (Two-Column) is a Pro template with a sidebar for skills, tools and links. It suits content, social and brand roles where a well-set page helps, and works best when a person opens the file.
Sample CV
Free accounts open this example in the free Modern Professional template.
What a marketing hiring manager reads for
The reader is usually a head of marketing or a marketing manager, and they want three things answered quickly. Which channels can you run on your own? What happened when you did? And can you work at the size of their budget and team? A CV that lists responsibilities ("managed social media accounts, created content, supported campaigns") answers none of them. A CV that says which accounts, for what audience and with what outcome answers all three.
Your profile at the top does the same job in three sentences: your level, your channels and sector, one headline result, and the role you want next. "Digital marketing executive with four years in-house at an online retailer, running email, paid social and SEO content" tells a reader where to place you before they reach your first bullet point.
Results you can stand behind
Marketers are judged on numbers, so hiring managers read them closely and often ask about them at interview. Use your own figures, give a baseline and a timeframe, and be honest about your share of the work. "Grew email revenue" means little. "Grew email revenue from 14% to 19% of online sales over a year by rebuilding the welcome and basket-abandonment flows" gives a reader something to check and ask about. If a result came from a team effort, say what you did in it.
Keep confidential figures out if your employer would object. Percentages, ratios and ranges usually show the same thing without giving away revenue.
Channels, tools and budgets
List the channels you have run yourself, then the tools you use for each, grouped so a recruiter searching for a platform finds it: email and automation platforms, ad managers for search and social, web analytics, your content management system, SEO tools and your CRM. Say what size of budget you have managed and whether you set it or spent it. For manager roles, add the agencies and freelancers you briefed and any team you led.
Executive, manager, content, digital and social media roles
Marketing titles cover a wide range, and the CV shifts with each. An executive CV shows hands-on delivery across channels. A manager CV shows planning, budgets, reporting to the business, and people. Content marketing CVs lead with published work, audience growth and search performance. Digital marketing CVs lead with channels, tools and conversion. A social media manager CV should name the platforms, the kind of content you made, community management, how you reported on it and what it did for the business, not only follower counts.
How a sales CV differs
A sales CV is even more direct. Sales managers want your target, how you did against it, and over what period: "Achieved 112% of a £640,000 annual new business target". Add deal size, sales cycle, the type of customer and how you found them, and the CRM you use. Pipeline figures and rankings in the team help, as do promotions and awards for performance.
For sales adviser roles in retail, car sales, contact centres or telesales, use the measures your employer used: conversion rate, add-on sales, calls or appointments per day, and customer satisfaction. If you move between sales and marketing, translate: a marketer applying for sales should show commercial results, and a salesperson moving into marketing should show campaigns, content or events they ran.
B2B against B2C
Tailor the examples to the kind of business. B2C employers care about audience size, conversion, basket value, retention and brand. B2B employers care about lead quality, pipeline created, sales cycle, account-based work and how closely you worked with a sales team. If you have done both, lead with the one that matches the advert and keep the other to a line or two.
Portfolio links and qualifications
Link to work that a reader can open: a campaign case study, published articles, a social account you ran, or a short PDF of results. Put the link in your header and mention the best example by name in the role it came from. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) offers professional marketing qualifications in the UK; if you hold one or are working towards it, list it with the level. Platform certifications belong in the same short section, most relevant first.
Already have a CV?
- Check your CV free with the ATS checker: see how an application system reads it, with your top three fixes, and no sign-up.
- Tailor your CV to a job advert: paste the advert and see which parts of your CV to change.
Questions people ask
- What should I put on a marketing CV?
- The channels you run, the tools you use, the budgets you manage and two or three results for each role with a baseline and a timeframe. Add a link to examples of your work and any professional qualification. Keep it to one or two pages.
- How do I show results on a marketing CV if I cannot share figures?
- Use percentages, ratios or ranges instead of revenue, and describe what you changed. "Doubled the email click rate by rebuilding the welcome series" shows the result without giving away confidential numbers. Be ready to explain the context at interview.
- What is the difference between a sales CV and a marketing CV?
- A sales CV is built on personal targets and attainment, deal size, pipeline and customer type. A marketing CV is built on campaigns, channels, budgets and audience results. Both need your own figures and a timeframe, and both should name the tools you use.
- What should a social media manager CV include?
- The platforms you manage, the kind of content you create, community management, paid social if you run it, how you report on performance and what the work did for the business. Link to accounts or campaigns you ran, and list your scheduling and analytics tools.
- Do I need a marketing qualification?
- Not always. Many marketers start with experience or a degree in another subject. The Chartered Institute of Marketing offers professional qualifications in the UK that some adverts list as essential or desirable, so check the advert and list any you hold with the level.