You understand how to creatively promote goods and services, but do you know how to sell yourself effectively on your CV?
If the answer is no, you’ve come to the right place.
In our detailed writing guide below, we’ll teach you how to create an attention-grabbing application. We’ll also share an advertising CV example for inspiration.
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Advertising CV example
This is a good example of an Advertising CV which is professionally formatted, and structured in a way that allows recruiters to easily find and understand the candidate’s key selling points.
Take some time to look at this CV and refer to it throughout the writing of your own CV for best results.
Advertising CV format and structure
Think your CV is just about the content within it? Think again.
Your CV needs to look professional and be easy for recruiters to read, meaning the structure and format of your CV are just as important as the written content within it.
Facilitate ease of reading by using a simple structure which allows anybody to easily navigate your experience.
Tips for formatting your Advertising CV
- Length: While there’s no ‘official’ CV length rule, the majority of recruiters agree that less is more. Aim for two pages of A4 or less. This is just enough room to showcase your suitability to the role, without overwhelming recruiters with irrelevant or excessive content.
- Readability: Recruiters appreciate CVs that they can quickly scan through without trouble. Ensure yours makes the cut by formatting your headings for attention (bold or coloured fonts should do the trick) and breaking up long paragraphs into smaller chunks or short, snappy bullet points.
- Design & format: When it comes to CV design, it’s best to keep things simple and sleek. While elaborate designs certainly command attention, it’s not always for the right reasons! Readability is key, so whatever you choose to do, make sure you prioritise readability above everything.
- Photos: Headshot photos aren’t required in a CV by most employers, but some creative and artistic industries like to see them. If you decide to include one, make sure you look smart and professional in the picture.
Quick tip: Creating a professional CV style can be difficult and time-consuming when using Microsoft Word or Google Docs. To create a winning CV quickly, try our partner’s CV Builder and use one of their eye-catching professional CV templates.
CV structure
As you write your CV, work to the simple but effective structure below:
- Name and contact details – Pop them at the top of your CV, so it’s easy for recruiters to contact you.
- CV profile – Write a snappy overview of what makes you a good fit for the role; discussing your key experience, skills and accomplishments.
- Core skills section – Add a short but snappy list of your relevant skills and knowledge.
- Work experience – A list of your relevant work experience, starting with your current role.
- Education – A summary of your relevant qualifications and professional/vocational training.
- Hobbies and interests – An optional sections, which you could use to write a short description of any relevant hobbies or interests.
Now you understand the basic layout of a CV, here’s what you should include in each section of yours.
Contact Details
Kick-start your CV with your contact details, so recruiters can get in touch easily.
Here’s what you should include:
- Mobile number
- Email address – Make sure it’s professional, with no silly nicknames.
- Location – Your town or city is sufficient, rather than a full address.
- LinkedIn profile or portfolio URL – Ensure they’ve been updated and are looking slick and professional.
Quick tip: Avoid listing your date of birth, marital status or other irrelevant details – they’re unnecessary at this stage.
Advertising CV Profile
Your CV profile is the first thing recruiters will read – so your goal is to give them a reason to read onto the end of the document!
Create a short and snappy paragraph that showcases your key skills, relevant experience and impressive accomplishments.
Ultimately, it should prove to the reader that you’ve got what it takes to carry out the job.
How to write a good CV profile:
- Make it short and sharp: Aim for a short, snappy paragraph of 3-5 lines. This is just enough room to showcase why you’d make the perfect hire, without going into excessive detail and overwhelming busy recruiters.
- Tailor it: Not tailoring your profile (and the rest of your CV) to the role you’re applying for, is the worst CV mistake you could make. Before setting pen to paper, look over the job ad and make a note of the skills and experience required. Then, incorporate your findings throughout.
- Don’t add an objective: Leave your career objectives or goals out of your profile. You only have limited space to work with, so they’re best suited to your cover letter.
- Avoid generic phrases: “Determined team player who always gives 110%” might seem like a good way to fill up your CV profile, but generic phrases like this won’t land you an interview. Recruiters hear them time and time again and have no real reason to believe them. Instead, pack your profile with your hard skills and tangible achievements.
Example CV profile for an Advertising CV
What to include in your Advertising CV profile?
- Experience overview: Start with a brief summary of your relevant experience so far. How many years experience do you have? What type of companies have you worked for? What industries/sectors have you worked in? What are your specialisms?
- Targeted skills: Ensure that your profile highlights your key skills that are most relevant to jobs in Advertising, and tailor them to match the specific job you are applying for. To do this, refer to the job description to closely align your skills with their requirements.
- Important qualifications: If you have any qualifications which are highly relevant to jobs in Advertising, then highlight them in your profile so that employers do not miss them.
Quick tip: If you are finding it difficult to write an attention-grabbing CV profile, choose from hundreds of pre-written profiles across all industries, and add one to your CV with one click in our partner’s CV Builder. All profiles are written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset.
Core skills section
Create a core skills section underneath your profile to spotlight your most in-demand skills and grab the attention of readers.
This section should feature 2-3 columns of bullet points that emphasise your applicable skills for your target jobs. Before constructing this section, review the job description and compile a list of any specific skills, specialisms, or knowledge required.
Important skills for your Advertising CV
Market research – Conducting market research to gather insights and analyse consumer behaviour, market trends, and competitor activities.
Creative thinking – Generating innovative ideas and developing creative concepts for advertising campaigns and brand promotions.
Copywriting – Creating compelling and persuasive advertising copy for various media channels.
Digital advertising – Utilising knowledge of digital advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, social media advertising, and programmatic advertising, to effectively reach target audiences.
Campaign management – Planning, implementing, and managing advertising campaigns from concept development to execution, ensuring timely delivery and meeting campaign objectives.
Data analysis – Analysing advertising campaign performance metrics and using data-driven insights to optimise campaigns for better results.
Brand management – Developing and maintaining consistent brand messaging and visual identity across different advertising channels.
Project management – Managing multiple campaigns simultaneously, coordinating with different teams, and meeting deadlines.
Presentation – Pitching advertising strategies and campaign ideas to clients and stakeholders.
Cross-functional collaboration – Working collaboratively with cross-functional teams, including designers, copywriters, media planners, and clients, to ensure seamless execution of advertising campaigns.
Quick tip: Our partner’s CV Builder has thousands of in-demand skills for all industries and professions, that can be added to your CV in seconds – This will save you time and ensure you get noticed by recruiters.
Work experience
Next up is your work experience section, which is normally the longest part of your CV.
Start with your current (or most recent) job and work your way backwards through your experience.
Can’t fit all your roles? Allow more space for your recent career history and shorten down descriptions for your older roles.
Structuring each job
The structure of your work experience section can seriously affect its impact.
This is generally the biggest section of a CV, and with no thought to structure, it can look bulky and important information can get lost.
Use my 3-step structure below to allow for easy navigation, so employers can find what they are looking for:
Outline
Start with a brief summary of your role as a whole, as well as the type of company you worked for.
Key responsibilities
Next, write up a punchy list of your daily duties and responsibilities, using bullet points.
Wherever you can, point out how you put your hard skills and knowledge to use – especially skills which are applicable to your target role.
Key achievements
Round up each role by listing 1-3 key achievements, accomplishments or results.
Wherever possible, quantify them using hard facts and figures, as this really helps to prove your value.
Sample job description for an Advertising CV
Outline
Responsible for leading a portfolio of key accounts for one of the UK’s top advertising agencies, driving the development and execution of integrated advertising campaigns across multiple channels for leading brands in the automotive, FMCG, and tech sectors.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and implement effective advertising strategies that align with client business goals
- Provide leadership and mentorship to junior executives and support teams
- Manage client relationships, ensuring customer satisfaction and retention
- Work closely with the creative and media teams to develop compelling content and media plans
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our partner’s CV Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
Next up, you should list your education and qualifications.
This can include your formal qualifications (a degree, A-Levels and GCSEs), as well as sector-specific Advertising qualifications and/or training.
While school leavers and recent grads should include a lot of detail here to make up for the lack of work experience, experienced candidates may benefit from a shorter education section, as your work experience section will be more important to recruiters.
Hobbies and interests
Although this is an optional section, it can be useful if your hobbies and interests will add further depth to your CV.
Interests which are related to the sector you are applying to, or which show transferable skills like leadership or teamwork, can worth listing.
On the other hand, generic hobbies like “going out with friends” won’t add any value to your application, so are best left off your CV.
Creating a strong Advertising CV requires a blend of punchy content, considered structure and format, and heavy tailoring.
By creating a punchy profile and core skills list, you’ll be able to hook recruiter’s attention and ensure your CV gets read.
Remember that research and relevance is the key to a good CV, so research your target roles before you start writing and pack your CV with relevant skills.
Best of luck with your next application!