Marketing Resume Revamp: What to Update Before the New Year

As the year winds down, many marketers find themselves reflecting on their careers – what they’ve accomplished, where they’ve grown, and what’s next.  

Whether you’re actively job hunting or simply keeping your options open, the end of the year is the perfect time to refresh your resume. It’s your most important personal brand asset, and it should tell a compelling, up-to-date story of your professional life.

Here’s what to capture before the new year begins:  

Highlight Your Wins

Don’t wait until you’re searching for a job to recall your biggest accomplishments. While the results are fresh, add this year’s measurable successes: campaign metrics, growth stats, or project highlights. Employers love to see outcomes, not just responsibilities. For example:  

• + “Increased campaign engagement by 35% through A/B testing strategies.” 

• + “Launched brand refresh that drove a 20% lift in website traffic.” 

Refresh Your Skills Section

Marketing moves fast. New platforms, tools, and strategies emerge constantly, and employers want to know you’re keeping up.  

Update your skills to reflect the tools you’ve mastered this year, whether that’s TikTok Ads Manager, HubSpot workflows, GA4, or AI-assisted content tools. Remove outdated or irrelevant platforms. (Goodbye, Google+!) 

Modernize Your Design

As a marketing professional, your resume should be as polished and visually engaging as your campaigns. 

A clean, modern template that balances design with readability shows employers you understand branding and presentation. And an extra tip? Avoid over-designing. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) can struggle with overly formatted resumes. Keep it sleek, simple, and professional. 

Update Your Professional Summary

Your summary should read less like a generic introduction and more like a targeted elevator pitch. In 3-4 sentences, capture your expertise, unique strengths, and career focus. What do you want hiring managers to remember about you? Be sure to customize it slightly if you’re applying for a specific role. 

Trim the Fat

If you’re more than 7-10 years into your career, you don’t need every role you’ve ever held listed in detail. Keep older roles brief and focus your energy on recent, relevant experience. Employers care most about your last 5-7 years. 

Align Your Resume with LinkedIn

Your LinkedIn profile and resume should complement each other, not conflict. Update both with consistent titles, dates, and key achievements. Consider adding a bit more personality on LinkedIn (volunteering, thought leadership, endorsements) while keeping your resume sharp and results driven. 

Proofread Like a Pro 

Nothing undermines your marketing credibility faster than a typo. Run your resume through a grammar checker, then read it aloud to catch clunky phrasing. If possible, have someone review it for clarity.  

Think of your resume as your career’s highlight reel: always evolving, always ready for the next big opportunity. By updating it now, you’ll not only close the year with a sense of accomplishment but also start the New Year ready to jump on exciting opportunities that come your way.  

Looking for Something New? 

Smart, Savvy + Associates is a recruitment agency that specializes in helping companies find and hire talented marketing, communications, and creative professionals. 

Since 2007, our team of marketers-turned-recruiters have successfully placed hundreds of qualified professionals into companies throughout Vancouver and the surrounding areas. View open positions on the job board.