SEO Resume Example

After reading this article, you'll feel confident creating an SEO resume that effectively showcases your relevant skills and experience. The guide will show you practical examples of how to structure your resume to show off your best and most relevant skills and career achievements. It will also show you how to tailor your resume according to the job description and your unique skill set. Continue reading to find the best SEO resume tips from careers experts at Jobseeker.

Key sections for an SEO resume

The key sections to include in an SEO resume are similar to those for any role or profession.

The order you present these sections can vary according to your career stage, but it's still essential to include each of the following:

Header and Personal Information

A SEO resume header contains your name and contact information. Add your first and last name, your phone number and your email address. Include your address or location, but avoid adding any other personal information. If you have a LinkedIn profile, you can add the URL to your header so the hiring manager can get a better understanding of your work history and experience. Make sure your resume header is as brief as possible and doesn't take up too much valuable space. Choose a clear, professional design that sets the tone for your application.

Make sure the email address you list in your header is professional-looking and doesn't contain any inappropriate content such as nicknames or unsuitable language. Opt for an email address based on your name or profession, or a combination of both. Finally, check your contact details before sending your resume, to ensure everything's up-to-date.

Resume Summary

Your resume personal profile is a short, concise paragraph to highlight two or three key skills and achievements in SEO specialist roles. You may also see this section named as 'resume summary' or 'resume objective'. Resume summaries tend to focus on your career experience, while resume objectives cover your ambitions and plans for the future. Always make sure your summary reflects the job description and highlights some of the key skills required for SEO specialist roles.

Alternatively, you could use this section to reference your objectives and ambitions, and how this role would fit into your career journey.

A strong resume summary focuses on two or three key skills and achievements that showcase your suitability for SEO specialist roles in a clear, quantifiable way. It also gives an insight into your personal qualities, to help the reader understand why you're a suitable candidate. You can see some positive examples of a resume summary for SEO specialist jobs below.

On the other hand, a resume summary can be ineffective if it lacks specific information about how your skills align with the job description, or fails to paint a picture of your unique qualities and talents. The visual above includes some examples of what not to do with your SEO resume summary

Work Experience

In the next section, list your employment history focusing on the most relevant previous roles and achievements that showcase your SEO specialist skills. Add each previous employment in reverse-chronological order. This means starting from your current or most recent role and working back in time from there. Include your job title, the company name, the location of the job and your dates of employment.

In addition, include a few bullet points under each job, highlighting your key achievements so the hiring manager can see how they led to successful outcomes. Back up each point with evidence to show how you meet the job description.

A good resume work experience section includes your most relevant previous jobs and highlights your key achievements in each role. To make the best possible impression on hiring managers, make sure each entry in your work experience section references skills and experience listed in the job description, and shows how you added value to each role with quantifiable evidence and outcomes. See the examples below for some ideas of what a great resume work experience looks like.

In the graphic above you can see a great example of what to avoid when writing your resume work experience section. Less effective resume work experience sections might take a more vague, descriptive approach to previous jobs. They focus on responsibilities and everyday duties rather than referencing career achievements and the value you've added for previous employers.

Education

In your education section, include details of your most relevant SEO specialist qualifications and educational achievements.

If you're applying for SEO specialist positions you'll typically need to have a degree. A Bachelor of Science in Marketing will usually help your chances of success. You could also list any qualifications that demonstrate your HTML and CSS or content management systems.

Enter the name and level of the qualification, the institution you studied at, its location and your dates of study or graduation. You could also add one or two bullet points to draw attention to your grades if they were particularly good, as well as any specialist subjects you studied. This will help the hiring manager understand your knowledge and special skills better.

If you were a member of any clubs or societies, or volunteered for any causes while studying, you could also mention these in your education section.

Hard and Soft Skills

The skills section is one of the main ways to show employers you've got the skills required for SEO specialist roles. Whether your skills include content management systems, time management or any other useful skills for the role, you'll want to list them here. Again, refer to the job description and make sure you include skills that the employer has listed as essential or desirable for employment as an SEO specialist.

Showcasing hard skills on your SEO resume

Hard skills are the key technical skills required for SEO specialist positions. They include specific industry knowledge and abilities that you could learn on the job, or through a specialist qualification. Furthermore, these skills are essential for an SEO resume as they showcase your expertise in the field. Add up to five key hard skills that show you're an ideal candidate for the role. It can also be beneficial to add context to each skill, showing how you've used it to positive effect in your career to date.

You'll make more impact with your resume hard skills list if you focus on technical skills that reflect your unique expertise and specialism, and that match the key requirements in the job description. See the graphic below for some tips on hard skills for an SEO resume.

Adding soft skills to your SEO resume

Soft skills are the personal skills and qualities that make you a good fit for the job. They include transferable skills and strengths that help you settle into the role, adapt to new challenges and build effective working relationships. Indeed, transferable skills are growing in importance in the modern world of work, so make sure you include several of these in your resume. Aim to include approximately five soft skills that reflect the skills listed in the job description.

A strong soft skills section should play to your strengths, listing skills that reflect your personal qualities while also reflecting the skills listed in the job description. For some examples of good soft skills for an SEO resume, see below.

Relevant Certifications and Licenses

Under certifications and licenses, add any further qualifications that show you're a good fit for the job. These could be official licenses required for the job or certifications that improve your employability. Therefore, add any necessary licenses and certifications in this section, along with valid dates so employers can see you're still qualified for the job.

Take a look at some example certifications for an SEO resume below:

Additional Information

If you need to provide further evidence of your suitability for the job, optional sections can be useful for a SEO specialist resume. Pick from the optional sections below to help show the employer you have the skills and experience for the job.

Personal Interests

Adding your hobbies and interests is a legitimate way of showing off your skills and personal qualities. These are particularly useful for your resume if you're short of work experience and need to showcase a particular skill or experience. Don't include hobbies and interests in your resume unless they showcase a specific interest or aspect of your personality. You'll want them to add something to your application that you can't add elsewhere.

Volunteering

Adding voluntary roles can be a useful way of showing relevant experience and skills for SEO specialist roles beyond your main employment history. Include the title of your volunteer role, who you volunteered for, as well as the dates you carried out the work. Provide brief details of your responsibilities and the impact you made.

References

Although it's rare to include references on an SEO resume, some employers may ask for it. Don't add references unless they're specifically mentioned by the employer in the job advert. Only include referees that you've had prior approval from, and notify them to expect contact from the employer.

Best words to use in a SEO specialist resume

Start each bullet point in your work experience section with a strong verb to show actions you took. Choose from the list of words below to make the best possible impression.

If you want to create a resume that stands out from the crowd, use Jobseeker's expert-designed resume templates. You can also find cover letter templates that work to get you noticed by employers.

Example of an SEO resume

Now that you know everything that needs to go into your SEO resume, let's review an example resume that you can use as a guide when creating your own:

How to make your resume ATS compliant

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are one of the key ways recruiters and employers manage the hiring process. The systems can screen candidates by scanning and ranking resumes based on each candidate's likely suitability for the vacancy. When writing your SEO resume, a few simple tips can help you pass the ATS stage with a higher-ranking resume, giving you a better chance of success with your applications.

Create an ATS-optimized resume by following these quick tips:

• Use a traditional resume format, such as reverse-chronological or functional. These will give your resume a structure that's easier for ATS systems to scan.
• Add keywords that match the job description throughout your resume, as ATS applications scan for these and well-placed, considered use can help your resume rank more highly.
• Use clear headings that break your resume up into readable, scannable sections that match the standard content employers expect from a resume.
• Adopt a clean, unfussy design that gives your content enough white space to breathe. Use professional, readable fonts and subtle use of color and other design elements.
• Make sure your resume is as concise as possible, so ATS applications can easily scan and identify the required details.

Key points for your SEO resume

An effective resume is a concise, professional summary of your relevant skills and career achievements, showcased through a chronology of your career history. Use a suitable resume format and tailor your resume for every application you submit.

Use Jobseeker's resume templates, other tools and resources to create an application that impresses employers. Sign up today to access a wealth of valuable resume and cover letter resources. Jobseeker's expert-designed cover letter generator can help your applications make a strong first impression on hiring managers. Find detailed cover letter examples to complement your resume and get your application noticed.

Sources:

(1) Tips for Writing a Federal Resume, U.S. Department of Labor: https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs/tips-for-writing-a-federal-resume

(2) Resume Tips, Duke University: https://careerhub.students.duke.edu/resources/resume-tips/