With most everyone “plugged in” nowadays, it might be hard for someone to understand how a social media expert can affect their business instead of them just handling it themselves. However, you understand that it isn’t as simple as making a few posts here and there; you see social media for what it truly is – the biggest platform to make or break a business. You know that there is so much more that goes into creating marketable content. You need to research (oh so much research), you need to know the best times to post, the things to remove from posts, the way to word things, the best pictures and videos to draw someone in; you are basically making countless ads and interacting with your community non-stop. People could shrug it off as unimportant, but it would be their loss. Some say that social media is the wave of the future, and if that’s true, then you know the difference between someone who just bought a nice surfboard and you, a genuine surfer. While social media management is one thing, marketing yourself to a company through a resume is entirely different. You likely have plenty of useful skills surrounding this topic, but allow us to cover some of the aspects you might not have considered.
Summary
- Resume Example
- Formatting
- Writing Your Resume Summary
- Areas of Expertise
- Writing Your Work Experience
- Writing Your Education Section
- Additional Sections
- Resume Points to Remember
- Resume “Don’ts” to Remember
- Some Helpful Tools
Let’s begin with a sample social media manager to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best social media manager resume you possibly can.
Social Media Manager Resume Example (Text Version)
Contact Info:
Heidi Burge
[email protected]
1 (402) 333-0066
Omaha, NE 68007
linkedin.com/heidiburge
Summary Statement:
Social Media Manager: Experienced Social Media Manager with thorough knowledge of social media platforms, algorithms and analytics. Skilled in curating relevant, on-brand content across social media platforms, and increasing engagement, brand awareness and conversions via ad campaigns and strategic product marketing.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise
- Social Media Analytics
- Digital Marketing
- Product Positioning
- Google Adwords
- Hootsuite
- Google Analytics
- Demographic Targeting
- ROI
- AD Creation
- Creative
- Excellent Communication Skills
- Adaptability
Professional Experience:
Gyro Surf Store, San Diego, CA
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER | March 2017 – Present
- Produce and manage intriguing Facebook product posts that led to a 25% increase in website traffic
- Update branded Instagram page with product images related to social media trends in a timely fashion
- Set-up social events via Facebook and Twitter to increase customer engagement
- Edit and post digital newsletters on Facebook on a weekly basis
- Manage ads utilizing Google Adwords to create an increase of social media shares by 20%
Bradley Manufacturing, San Diego, CA
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER | October 2015 – February 2017
-
- Created Facebook ads to display offered services
- Posted YouTube videos to company channel on a monthly basis
- Attended bi-weekly meetings with management to discuss social media presence
- Gauged customer interest via analytics across various online platforms
- Coordinated marketing campaigns on social media
- Monitored LinkedIn and created job postings
Camila’s Boutique, Oceanside, CA
CONTENT MANAGER | June 2013 – December 2015
- Maintained store Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages creating a strong branded presence
- Increased online conversions by 15% through the use of social media ad campaigns
- Organized and adapted older website content for social media platforms
- Brainstormed with employers and implemented social media ideas and marketing strategies
Education/Certifications
BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN MARKETING
CONCENTRATION: DIGITAL MARKETING
Stanford University, Stanford, CA,
Class of 2015
Formatting
You know how important it is to catch someone’s attention and catch it fast.
Just like the layout of a webpage or posting something at the ideal time, you know just how many factors play into whether or not your content is going to catch someone’s eye.
When it comes to your social media manager resume, the format is the key aspect that can decide whether or not your resume will get noticed or passed up.
The format you select should be straightforward and easy to follow, and it should allow for your most valuable aspects to stand out from the rest.
Hiring managers only spend about 6 seconds reviewing each resume and since that clearly isn’t enough time to read an entire page, you’re going to have to make the format count.
Selecting a legible font that is easy to follow and listing the most important information first by placing things like your work history in reverse chronological order is the key to getting noticed.
Aside from those basics, utilizing things like bullet points, bolding, or italics to highlight the information you want to stand out can go a long way.
For all the things you think to include in your resume, don’t forget the impact the empty spaces have – use the blank space to isolate essential details.
If you follow these basics, you should be off to a great start.
Start with Your Resume Summary
Now that we have covered the “look” of your social media manager resume, it’s time to write a proper introduction.
While you might have a good grasp on promoting other companies, talking about yourself can feel a bit awkward at first, so starting with a short summary is an excellent way to jump in.
The summary of your resume should list out your most notable skills and qualities as a social media manager.
Yes!
Experienced Social Media Manager with a thorough knowledge of social media platforms, algorithms, and analytics. Skilled in curating relevant, on-brand content across social media platforms, and increasing engagement, brand awareness, and conversions via ad campaigns and strategic product marketing.
No!
Social Media Manager with good knowledge of social media platforms, algorithms, and analytics. Good at making relevant content across social media platforms via ad campaigns and strategic product marketing.
The “Yes!” example uses powerful and specific wording to explain how well versed the candidate is with social media and how they create results.
The “No!” example uses basic descriptors and fails to describe how what they do impacts a business.
Key Accomplishments/ Skills & Qualifications
The second half of your introduction is a list of skills and qualifications that should catch the eye of a hiring manager.
While you likely have a good idea of what your best skills are, make sure that you are tailoring this list around the job you are applying to.
This list is likely going to be the first thing a reader will notice at a glance, so make this section count.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise
- Social Media Analytics
- Digital Marketing
- Product Positioning
- Google Adwords
- Hootsuite
- Google Analytics
- Demographic Targeting
- ROI
- Ad Creation
- Creative
- Excellent Communication Skills
- Adaptability
Before deciding what to include in your own list of skills and qualifications, make sure you are aware of the two different kinds of skills – hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills:
- Teachable
- Practicable
- Easy to Quantify
- Technical
Soft skills:
- Personality Traits
- Subjective
- Harder to Quantify
- Innate
- Not necessarily teachable
Your hard skills often feel more natural to note because they require less self-interpretation to know what they are.
Like any job that is centered around technology, you will likely want to make sure you include an ample amount of hard skills on this list.
However, soft skills are still essential to include; after all, you need to be personable in order to create relatable content online.
Soft skills require you to look inside yourself and think about what you are good at but also what best suits the job you are applying to.
Don’t let either one of these categories of skills fall by the wayside – they are both imperative to have in a well-balanced social media manager resume.
PRO TIP: When deciding what skills to include on your resume, always look at the job posting to decide what is most important to include. Often, job posts will tell you particular skills and traits they are looking for in a candidate – make sure you include those things (use specific words and not synonyms).
(See below for a helpful table of some suggested hard and soft skills to include in your resume.)
Writing Your Work Experience
With your introduction out of the way, it’s time to get into some serious content – your job history.
Your job history is a tricky section because it sounds easy enough to list a few jobs and describe what you did there.
However, what sets a great candidate apart is a resume that uses this section to do two main things: reinforce the skills you previously listed and show that you have experience directly related to the job to which you are applying.
Make sure that each job you include is related to social media management and that you are listing them in reverse chronological order so that your most recent and impressive work comes first.
Once you select the best jobs to include, write a brief description (three to five bullet points) for each one detailing your regular duties in that position.
Yes!
Gyro Surf Store | San Diego, CA | Social Media Manager | March 2017-Present
- Produce intriguing Facebook product posts that led to a 25% increase in website traffic
- Update branded Instagram page with product images related to social media trends
- Set-up social events via Facebook and Twitter to increase customer engagement
- Edit and post digital newsletters on Facebook on a weekly basis
- Manage ads utilizing Google Adwords to create an increase of social media shares by 20%
No!
Gyro Surf Store | San Diego, CA | Social Media Manager | March 2017-Present
- Make daily Facebook posts featuring products
- Update Instagram page with product images
- Set-up social events via social media
- Post digital newsletter on Facebook
- Manage ads and product marketing
The “Yes!” example lends specific examples of what the candidate did on social media platforms and included quantified results due to their social media expertise.
The “No!” example lists basic duties and tasks completed by the candidate in a way that fails to highlight their skills and expertise and the impact they had on the company.
PRO TIP: Make sure that when you can quantify or qualify details of a previous job, you take advantage and do so. Lending these specific and descriptive details allows the hiring manager to gain a better understanding of what you did/do and the impact it can have.
(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)
More About Bots
With today’s competitive job market, it is becoming increasingly more common for businesses to use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), or bots.
Bots are used to sort through resumes and pull out ones that appear to have “good candidate potential.”
When a bot “reads” through a resume, it is usually looking for specific keywords to tell it whether or not someone has what they are looking for in this position.
If your social media manager resume fails to get flagged by a bot, then it will likely never be seen by a hiring manager.
Some resume experts have tried to deal with this by recommending applicants draft their resumes in paragraph format instead of with bullet points, to pack in more keywords.
Standard bullet point format:
Camila’s Boutique | Oceanside, CA | Content Manager | June 2013-December 2015
- Maintained store Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages, creating a strong branded presence
- Increased online conversions by 15% through the use of social media ad campaigns
- Organized and adapted older website content for social media platforms based on proven marketing tactics
- Brainstormed with employers and implemented social media ideas and marketing strategies
Paragraph format:
Camila’s Boutique | Oceanside, CA | Content Manager | June 2013-December 2015
Maintained store Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages, creating a strong branded social media presence. Increased online conversions by 15% through the use of social media ad campaigns. Organized and adapted older website content for social media platforms based on proven marketing tactics. Brainstormed with employers and implemented social media ideas and marketing strategies
Or, a third option is to write out your job description in paragraph format and then add a few bullet points below.
Camila’s Boutique | Oceanside, CA | Content Manager | June 2013-December 2015
Maintained store Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages, creating a strong branded social media presence. Increased online conversions by 15% through the use of social media ad campaigns. Organized and adapted older website content for social media platforms based on proven marketing tactics. Brainstormed with employers and implemented social media ideas and marketing strategies
- Employee of the Month (named over five times)
- Increased online purchases by 15%
At Big Interview, we suggest sticking with bullet point format because it is easier to read and more pleasing to the human eye.
You can still catch the attention of a bot with bullet points as long as you are intentional about using strong keywords and phrasing.
Writing Your Education Section
The education section of your social media manager resume is seemingly straightforward.
If you have a good amount of work experience related to social media, this section is going to be pretty basic.
However, no matter where you are in your career, your education section will always include a list of your most relevant degrees in order of impressiveness (e.g., Master’s, bachelor’s, associates).
For each degree you include, make sure to list the full title of the degree, the school you attended, and the year you graduated.
Example:
Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing
Concentration: Digital Marketing
Stanford University, Stanford, CA,
Class of 2015
Depending on your background, you might have other certifications or workshops that are relevant to social media management to add.
Example:
-
- Google AdWords Certification
Udacity(2014)
-
- Social Marketing Certification
Hootsuite Academy (2015)
Possible Sections to Include
If you have additional qualifications or skills that you feel will give you an extra edge on your social media manager resume, yet they don’t seem to fit in any of the previous sections mentioned, it is acceptable to include additional sections.
Some additional sections to consider including are:
- Awards and honors
- Publications
- Noteworthy Projects
- Social Media Influence
- Speaking Engagements
- Hobbies/Interests
- Volunteer Work
What If You Have No Experience?
If you are new to the game because you just recently graduated or you switched career paths, you are not alone.
The saying that “everyone has to start somewhere” is true, and you are not alone in this endeavor.
While it is always ideal to have work experience, there are still ways to land an interview despite a lack of proven practice.
In many cases, you will want to move your education section below your summary so that this section will come before your job history.
Listing your education first is helpful if/when your education is more related to social media management than your previous jobs have been.
You can also improve this section by adding in more details that make you stand out.
List any honors or awards you received or an impressive GPA.
You can also list out any specific coursework that you know to be particularly important to the job in which you are applying.
Of course, if you have any volunteer experience or internships or your own impressive social media ventures, make sure to include those details as well.
Remember that unpaid work still counts as experience.
If you can dig deep, you will likely find that you have more to work with than what you initially thought.
Stay positive and confident, and you will have as good a shot as anyone.
Resume Points to Remember
Review and revise
Just like you wouldn’t put out a Twitter post without looking it over at least once, you will want to check over your social media manager resume properly before handing it in. Make sure that if you can get someone else to double-check it, you do so. If you are unable to get a second set of eyes on your resume, try reading it aloud to yourself.
Include your basic info
It might sound silly to point out, but make sure that you are including your name, contact information, and any links to relevant social media sites. You would be surprised how easy it is to get caught up in creating a great resume, just to forget the little, yet most important, details.
Keep it short
Make sure that everything you write on your social media manager resume fits nicely on one page. If you allow your resume to spill over onto a second page, it is likely that you did not narrow things down to the most pertinent details. A hiring manager barely has time to spend reading a one-page resume, and they aren’t going to be impressed if you hand in a two-pager.
Try to Avoid
Don’t wait
When it comes to resumes, the idea of “saving the best for last” is a no go. If you have something impressive to say, then say it first and say it fast. Simple as that.
No need to repeat
When you are revising your social media manager resume, make sure you keep an eye out for any repetitive words. No one wants to hire a candidate if their skills sound repetitive; make sure you are keeping your diction diverse and distinct.
Use caution with first-person
While you are writing your social media manager resume, you are going to be writing about yourself. However, a general rule when it comes to resume writing is avoiding the use of the words “I” and “me.” It might feel a bit unnatural at first, but trust us, it sounds more awkward when you use them in this particular context.
(See below for a helpful table of some suggested power words.)
Helpful Tools:
Power Words
- Administered
- Founded
- Adept
- Formulated
- Built
- Implemented
- Created
- Improved
- Consolidated
- Initiated
- Coordinated
- Launched
- Developed
- Pioneered
- Designed
- Organized
Skills List
| Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
| Social Media Analytics | Excellent Written Communication |
| Google AdWords | Creative |
| ROI | Adaptable |
| Hootsuite | Detail Oriented |
| Digital Marketing | Organized |
