Written by The OtterCV Team
If you talk to enough people who hire social media specialists, you’ll start to notice a pattern. You hear a lot of “I never hire someone unless they…” and “I only hire people who…”
If you’re having trouble getting hired as a social media specialist, there’s a good chance you’re falling into one of these traps.
For example:
In my experience, employers like to hire well-rounded social media candidates, so it’s important to highlight your writing and design skills. At the same time, pursuing a degree focused on writing or communications is key.
—Amy Newton, senior social media manager, Ignite Visibility
We’ve analyzed thousands of social media specialist resume examples and spoken with hiring managers to identify the most common pitfalls.
This guide walks you through the steps to create a strong social media specialist resume.
Start by choosing the right resume format.
If you have years of formal work experience as a social media specialist, a reverse-chronological layout is usually the best choice. It puts your work experience front and center, where your strongest accomplishments are most likely to appear.
If you are a more junior social media specialist or most of your experience comes from side projects, a hybrid layout is a better fit. It highlights your skills and the projects you have completed.
Here’s the first trap that’s easy to fall into: leave your personal and professional profile links off your resume header, and you can go straight to the reject pile.
Aspiring social media marketers should include both their professional and personal social networking links on their resume. Potential employers will find them anyway, so listing them demonstrates savvy and initiative.
—Damien Basile, founder of an eponymous digital media agency
This advice came up again and again in conversations with people who hire social media specialists, so it’s worth emphasizing. Your resume header is also a strong place to include one or two key certifications. If you have more than that, list them in a separate section. Here are two examples of what this can look like in practice:
Adding social media links, like your LinkedIn profile, and certifications can make a big impact on hiring managers reading your resume.
Your professional summary is one of the best places to show that you can tell a compelling story in just a few lines. Hiring managers expect social media specialists to be strong copywriters, so this is your chance to demonstrate that skill.
Keep it concise and explain
When you’re working across different marketing disciplines, you’ll naturally gravitate toward one that appeals to you most. It will probably take up most of your time and be the thing that causes you the most stress—but also the most excitement.
—Lauren Mallett, head of social media, FireCask
Make it clear where your passion and skills lie, and what results you can achieve with them.
The second example is less effective because it is vague, does not appear tailored to a specific position, and uses first-person language.
When it comes to including your work experience, there are more pitfalls to watch for.
Mike Hudack, co-founder of blip.tv, often says he only hires people if they have a side project they feel passionately about. He wants every hire to be innovative and entrepreneurial. I like that approach.
—— Soraya Darabi, General Partner at Trailmix Ventures
Whether you’re describing a side project or something else, hiring managers want to see the same things:
Be specific about what you did and the results you achieved. Anyone can “manage” social media, but companies want to hire someone who can create real value from it.
This experience addresses those three key points in sequence: independence, creativity, and results. Now look at how the same experience can be expressed differently:
However, there are also some pitfalls when it comes to including your social media pages.
Don’t include your follower count, ratio, or “influence” score. A potential employer can find that information when they search your social profiles.
—Damien Basile, founder of an eponymous digital media agency
In other words, don’t try to BS or fluff your way into a job. Trust that a hiring manager or social media manager will usually see through it.
But what if you’ve never worked as a social media specialist before?
As Mike Hudack mentioned earlier, he wouldn’t hire someone without a passion project. The good news is that you don’t need a formal social media job to build one. Even without work experience, you can do three key things:
A strong side project and a few key certifications can make you a fantastic hire.
Include your passion projects. This is what sets you apart and helps tell your story.
—Kimberly Aguilera, Partner, Recruiter at Tangerine
In short, no. A degree in marketing, business, communication, or a related field can help, but it is not required. As Beth Cooper explains, a degree is not a requirement:
This field changes so quickly. If you graduated with a degree years ago, the information is already out of date.
—Beth Cooper, director of marketing and social media for KNB Communications.
It’s that simple. A degree can demonstrate management, writing, or analytical abilities that are useful in a social media role, but it is usually a nice-to-have rather than a requirement.
If you’re a recent graduate, you can add a few details about what you learned or achieved, using a format similar to your work experience. Otherwise, simply listing your degree is enough.
Before creating a resume skill section, first understand the role you’re applying for. Is it a social media manager position or an internship? Is it for a B2B or B2C business? Will you be expected to create strategies independently or carry out strategies developed by someone else?
Your answers to these questions will shape which social media marketing skills you should highlight.
If you’re applying for a managerial role, emphasize independence, strategy development, and team management. For a more junior role, show that you can execute strategies effectively.
Here are some soft skill that are helpful to have, along with the technical skills needed to do the job.
Certifications are one of the most powerful tools you can use as a social media job applicant. Many are free, and they help demonstrate knowledge in a specific area even if you do not yet have direct job experience.
If you find a role that asks for familiarity with Twitter marketing, getting certified can be a practical way to show that qualification.
Certifications also show that you go above and beyond, are a self-motivated learner, and actively work to build new skills.
We used AI to analyze thousands of social media specialist resumes and uncover insights you can use. Below, you can see which skills appear most often on social media specialist resumes and which skills are most in demand among companies hiring for these roles.
Explore additional Social Media Marketing resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.
Explore additional Social Media Marketing resume samples and guides and see what works for your level of experience or role.