One may find it ironic, but it is a fact that marketing professionals are sometimes least successful at selling themselves on their resume. People who have made their living developing successful marketing strategies for other brands seem to have the hardest time applying the same strategies to selling their own personal brand.

What do hiring managers look for? Whether you are just beginning your marketing career or have been in the marketing business for years, there are a few things which hiring managers look for in the resume of a marketing professional. Being able to grab the attention of the hiring manager is essential. It’s important they feel confident you are the right person to compliment their company’s marketing and sales efforts, if you hope to land the marketing job.

First impression: Your resume may be the only chance you have to present yourself, and research has shown that most people form their first impression in the first three seconds, on average. Because of this, it is important that your resume starts off with an exciting beginning that will make them want to read more about you.

Highlighting the correct objective: Many job seekers make the mistake of listing an objective statement that is all about what they are looking for in an employer or a job, when it should be a benefit statement that shows what you can offer an employer. The objective statement should show your best highlights and career accomplishments and list quantifiable results. Show the benefits you offer, not your features—just like selling products to potential customers in marketing.

Use bullet points to list how you improved sales or market shares, directed sales forces, or successfully launched new products in your work experience listings. Avoid listing what your job entailed, because responsibilities don’t necessarily mean proven results. If you “increased a company’s sales by 60 percent,” it is a lot more exciting than saying you “directed the sales team,” for example.

If you have recently graduated with a degree in marketing and have no work experience, you will need to highlight your potential to succeed or point out any benefits you offer that would make you an asset to a potential employer. List any internships that might be related or pertinent. Including a cover letter that gives an example of marketing research you have done on a company you are interviewing with can be impressive, especially if you have some ideas you feel may increase their market share.

This brings us to another point in marketing yourself. Be sure you have researched potential employers so you can adequately show the benefits that the product, (you) can offer to the customer (employer). As your sales or marketing experience and education has shown, customers buy products for the benefit they offer, not the features. While features may be great, if they don’t apply them, they will see no benefit to buying the product. The same is true when marketing your personal brand, or building your marketing resume.

Your marketing resume is the most important product presentation you will make. When it comes to landing a marketing job, your resume should be thought of as a major part of your marketing campaign for your most important product: YOU!

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