And that is what we are here for! To tell you how exactly you should go about writing your professional content specialist resume. We will talk about how to make your resume a professional resume, how to write your resume in the right manner with the right format, template and much more. We will also give you a few tips to optimise your chances of getting hired!
So let's dive in!
Professional resume guidelines
Professional resumes are defined by many factors from language, visual presentation, information description and so on. When you are writing your content specialist resume you would want that resume to be impressive for the hiring managers. What do hiring managers look for in professional resumes, though? Well, first and foremost the hiring managers would expect your resume to look like a resume with well defined outline that fits the right format for your profile and moreover the hiring managers will look for accuracy of language, visual appeal and some basic aspects to see if you have the basic professionalism or not.
- Your resume should have the right resume format that is suitable for your profile and helps you highlight the important parts of your profile. We will discuss more later in this article.
- Your resume should be saved in the document format that is compatible with most document viewing devices and mediums as well as various applicant tracking systems/ software that the hiring managers will use to scan and filter all the resumes that they receive in their job application portal. Such formats are the PDF format and the Microsoft Word format.
- Your resume should not have any errors of grammar or spelling, grammatical mistakes and wrong spellings will immediately make the recruiter think that you are not professional because professionalism is often defined by the attribute of paying attention to details. You should proofread your resume twice after you are done writing so that no errors happen. You should also double check the factual details while proofreading your resume.
- You should also ensure that your resume is visually appealing as well as professional, which means that the margins and white space in your resume should all be edited well and made to look symmetrical and visually appealing. Good organization of information and sections will also contribute to this aspect of professional resume.
- While writing your content specialist resume, you should always make sure that you use bullet points instead of simple paragraphs because reading important information written in paragraph is a bit difficult as opposed to reading it from bullet points because of the spaces.
Where to begin?
Research
As a content specialist your whole job is about doing a lot of research for the content curation and being up to date with the social media trends and more. So you understand how research helps you with writing anything new, similarly you will also need to do some research for your own content specialist resume.
Doing this research will help you figure out what is the content specialist job market is like and which salary range you can expect for your next job. You will also explore many job description for the role of content specialist and learn which skills and experiences you already have and what are some of the things that you will need to learn for your next job, going forward in your career. The research will also help you figure out what are the usual expectations of the HR manager and what more can you offer to impress them and increase your chances of getting a shot at the job, with an interview call.
(Source: https://www.statista.com/topics/1650/content-marketing/#topicOverview)
Formats
There are 3 prominent formats that you can choose from for your own content specialist resume to ensure professionalism as well as an efficient presentation of your profile where all the important information is focused upon and highlighted.
- Functional resume format:
this resume format is suitable for those who may be recent graduates or freshers or simply professionals who do not have a lot of experience that is professionally significant. This format focuses on education and skills section where you can add description for important skills and give details about your education is relatively more in-depth and not brief.
- Reverse chronological resume format:
This resume format is suitable for those who may have significant or even extensive professional experience and/or work history. This format focuses on the professional experience of a professional to highlight the competency and capability of doing the job well. This format also allows you to highlight your skills in a list format that is easy to notice for the recruiter or any reader of the resume.
- Combination resume format:
This resume format is exactly what is sounds like, the combination of the above two formats. In this format, you can focus on your skills as well as your experience where you also add backing evidence/descriptions for your skills. This format is suitable for those who are looking to change their career field or even their role, because they will be applying for a new job for which they do not have directly relevant experience and skills, they will need to describe their transferable skills and experience aspects and prove that they are competent and capable for doing their new job.
Once you have decided upon your resume format, you may also want to explore your options of resume templates because they help you ensure that your resume is visually appealing and also professional with respect to sections and information organization.
When you are using a template, the layout will be readily available and all you will need to do is replace the sample information with your profile's information, while doing that you might move the margins and white space will get disorganized as well because of the content amount not matching the sample information. Once you have replaced the information, you will also need to edit your resume's margins etc. to ensure your resume looks perfect with symmetry and organization.
Content specialist resume outline
Now, let's get to your resume's outline which includes the discussion of every section that will be included on your content specialist resume.
Resume header
First of all, on the top of your content specialist resume you will need to add the contact information section in the resume header:
- Your first name and last name-full name with correct spelling
- Your photograph is not mandatory but if you include it, make sure it is taken by a professional and the photograph is a headshot where you are seen wearing a formal attire.
- Your email address should be formal and professional and you should check your email regularly in case the recruiters contact you through email for hiring process.
- Your LinkedIn profile link in case you are active on the platform regularly and your profile is curated as well as updated carefully.
- Your home address is not mandatory however you can choose to mention it if you want, in which case you should keep it brief.
Resume summary
After the contact information section, you will need to note you resume summary section where you will highlight the most impressive and relevant information of your resume to ensure that the recruiter is intrigued to read your resume with interest and thorough attention. You should write your summary in a way that compels the recruiter to look at your resume carefully.
Your resume summary should be short, crisp and concise as well as written in bullet points no more than 5 and no less than 3. Your resume summary should cover certain points:
- Your total years of professional work experience and a little background (i.e. Marketing industry/ advertising industry/ social media/ digital marketing/ particular one industry-medical, finance, IT etc.)
- Important aspects of your experiences that are impressive achievements and skills that are part of your career, anything that is important and very relevant to your role should be mentioned in your resume summary to create intrigue in the reader's mind for the rest of your resume
- You should also mention the kind of opportunity you are looking for and the skills and experiences that you have for the new job
In you resume summary, the details should be quantified with numbers as much as possible and you should also use a lot of action verbs in your sentences so that the language as well as the information has better impact on the reader/recruiter that comes across your content specialist resume.
Experience
Your professional experience is very important as it reflects your competency for the next job. Your experience section is where you will describe your work history and begin with your latest job experience.
In the details of experiences, you need to mention your role or designation, the full name of your employer company or organization and the employment period in terms of month and year.
You should be thorough in the description of your experience as it will reflect your work ethic as well as your capacities and skills for doing the job well. You should also mention any rewards, awards, achievements, recognitions and such that you have received.
In your experience details, you need to mention the important aspects of your job description such as using content management systems, content creation, writing web content, using Google analytics and so on.
Education
The education section should mention your high school diploma and bachelor's degree, along with the degree name you should note the educational institute from where you studied.
You can also note relevant subjects your studied and your majors and minors, you can also mention your exceptional academic performances such as GPA.
Skills
There are skills in every section! You mentioned them in summary section, in experience section and maybe even in education section so why do you need to write the skills again in a separate section?
Because, skills mentioned in other sections are not stand alone but are part of other information. Skills mentioned in this section will be described in a list format in 2-3-4 words only, this will make them easier to notice for readers.
Skills mentioned in this section are also your top most strengths that are also important and relevant for your role of content specialist. We have curated a list of skills for your content specialist resume. You can also pick up more skills from various job description of open positions.
📌 List of relevant skills for your content specialist resume:
- search engine optimization
- content management systems
- marketing materials
- content creation
- search engines
- web content
- content marketing
- google analytics
- clients social media presence
- social media engagement
- content strategy
- digital marketing strategies
- social media strategies
- website content
- social media campaigns
- marketing strategies
- marketing strategy
- organic search rankings
- content strategies
- content management system
- engaging content
- handling social media accounts
- digital marketing strategy
- digital marketing
- web analytics
- working with marketing department
- digital channels
- advertising campaigns
- company website content
- landing pages content
- website traffic
- project management
- knowledge of industry trends
- working with marketing teams
- keyword research skills
- creating content
- increase brand awareness
- handling multiple projects
- content management
- optimize content
- optimize existing content
- link building
- SEO techniques
- marketing content
- writing high quality content
- customer engagement
- quality assurance
- content curation
- press releases
- content development
- create impactful content
- edit content
- oversee the content published
- PowerPoint presentations
- customer complaints
- content manager skills
- email campaigns
- conducting research
- objective statement
- lead generation
- Google Adwords
- working with cross functional teams
- working with internal teams
- web copy
- writing content for clients from different industries (i.e. IT, programming, graphic design, finances, real estate etc.)
Extra
In case you have any more relevant information that may be important and/or can help you stand out and impress the recruiter, you can have a separate sections for such information. It may be:
- Your language proficiency
- Personal interests that are relevant for the role of content specialist such as social media marketing materials, business development, advertising etc.
- Online courses and/or programs you have attended and/or completed
- Webinars and seminars' exposure you have had
- Workshops you have participated in
- Freelance work experience
- Internship work experience
- Externship experience
Tips
Beat the keywords
You may know about the AI software that the recruiters use to scan and filter resumes that they receive in their job application portal. These software systems work on the basis of parameters set by the recruiter which is nothing but the relevant keywords to your role. As a content specialist experienced in keyword research and good keyword research skills, you might understand the important of this tip.
We have curated the list of relevant keywords that you can use for your content specialist resume. You can also include more from job description, job ads and your research of your role, designation, job title, job duties, industry and potential employers.
📌 List of relevant keywords for your content specialist resume:
- web copy
- internal teams
- cross functional teams
- Google Adwords
- lead generation
- objective statement
- impactful content
- email campaigns
- content manager
- PowerPoint presentations
- create impactful content
- edit content
- content development
- press releases
- content curation
- customer engagement
- engaging content
- high quality content
- marketing content
- SEO techniques
- link building
- optimize content
- content management systems
- multiple projects
- increase brand awareness
- creating content
- keyword research
- industry trends
- project management
- website traffic
- landing pages
- company website
- advertising campaigns
- digital marketing strategies
- web content
- web analytics
- website traffic
- digital marketing
- social media accounts
- digital content specialist
- social media management
- content management system
- content strategy
- content strategies
- organic search rankings
- marketing strategy
- content specialist
- content specialists
- content strategy
- social media engagement
- Google analytics
- content marketing
- web content
- search engine optimization
- search engines
- marketing materials
- content management systems
- search engine optimization
Cover letter
Cover letters are not mandatory however they add great value to your job application when enclosed with your content specialist resume. You can also personalize your cover letter so that the HR manager is able to connect with your letter better.
You should talk about your inspiration and journey as well as future aspirations and dreams regarding your profession in your cover letter, in addition to reiterating your skills and experience along with your knowledge. all of this will help you reflect your passion and dedication for the job which is something that all recruiters want.
Conclusion
You know all about content specialist resume now and all you need to do further is check out our extensive and exhaustive collection of resume writing guides, resume examples and templates.
You should also check out our resume builder feature, it will allow you to write your professional content specialist resume with much more ease and you will save a lot of time as well. In case, you are confused about particular parts in your content specialist resume where you need help with what to write, our feature will also provide you AI prompts (yes, like ChatGPT does) to help you out.
And that's all! Good luck with the job hunt!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Should I enclose a cover letter with my content specialist resume?
Absolutely! Cover letter can go a long way in impressing the recruiter and getting a shot at the opportunity. Cover letter helps you reiterate your skills, experience and competency for the job which in turn reiterates your genuine interest in the role which can be something that impresses the HR manager a great deal.
Do I need a particular degree for this role on my content specialist resume?
Not necessarily, content specialist resume requires skills that are relevant such as command on language, marketing and advertising, mass communication and psychology and so on. With any degree, you can get this role as long as you have the right skills that are required.
Should I include my social media management experience on my content specialist resume?
Yes, social media is inseparable part of content creation that is usually the part of marketing that is done on digital platforms, one of which is social media! Hence, social media management experience is highly relevant for your content specialist resume. So, you should definitely include your social media management experience on your content specialist resume.
