Strumming up a career in music means your resume needs to hit all the right notes, showcasing your talents and gigs to potential collaborators and employers.
We’ve tuned up a guide that’ll help you amplify your achievements and harmonise your career highlights.
Check out our conversational musician resume example below, perfect for setting the stage for your next big break.
Contents
|
Musician Resume Example
This example Musician resume showcases the optimal structure and great content to include in your own resume.
Designed to be professional and easy for recruiters to read, it serves as an excellent example of a good Musician resume.
Next, we’ll guide you through the process of developing a compelling Musician resume of your own.
Musician resume structure & format
Resume structure
Structuring your resume correctly is key to making a strong impression on recruiters.
Your resume should consist of the following sections:
- Contact details: Your personal contact information.
- Resume summary: An engaging summary highlighting your suitability for Musician jobs.
- Core skills: Specific skills pertinent to your field in a bullet-point format.
- Work experience: Recent and relevant job positions in reverse chronological order.
- Education: Detailed educational background applicable to your field.
- Additional info: Optional but useful details like languages or relevant hobbies.
How to format your Musician resume
A well-formatted resume catches the eye of recruiters and makes it simple for them to review it.
Follow these resume format guidelines to ensure your resume is both attractive and easy to navigate.
- Resume length: Keep your resume short and sweet, ideally around 1 to 2 pages, as recruiters have loads to get through daily and not much time to read each one.
- Font & colour scheme: Opt for a straightforward font that’s easy on the eyes, avoiding fancy ones that could be hard to read. Stick to a black-text-on-white background, but don’t hesitate to add a touch of colour to make your resume pop.
- Page layout: Ensure your page is divided into clear sections with bold headings or borders, as this enables readers to quickly pinpoint the information they’re interested in.
- Break text up: Break up text with concise bullet points and brief paragraphs, ensuring busy recruiters can easily absorb the info.
- Photos: Photos are not mandatory in Australia but you can add a small headshot to the top if you like.
Quick tip: Achieving a professional look for your resume can be difficult and time-consuming. If you want to create an attractive resume quickly, try our Resume Builder and use one of our eye-catching professional resume templates.
Contact Details
Being reachable and identifiable is essential for any job seeker which makes the contact details section a fundamental part of your resume. Although simple, it’s crucial to execute this section correctly.
Be sure to include these vital details clearly at the top of your resume, and be economical with the space you use:
- Your name and professional title: Adapt the title (e.g. Marketing Asssitant or Junior IT Manager) to suit the roles you’re aiming for.
- Email address: Use a professional-sounding email (e.g. shane-smith@gmail.com) and steer clear of nicknames or informal tags (e.g., shanzeybwoySmitho200@gmail.com).
- Phone number: Provide your mobile number for direct contact. Double-check to ensure it’s correct.
- Location: Include the general area you are targeting for work, such as Canberra, Brisbane.
You might also consider adding these optional details:
- Webpage links: Connect to a professional online presence such as a LinkedIn profile or a personal portfolio, making sure they are properly maintained and professional.
- Photograph: In creative sectors, a professional photo can be helpful, though it should not dominate your resume’s layout.
It’s advisable to omit personal information such as your date of birth, full home address, or gender from your resume as these do not enhance your job application and occupy precious space.
Musician Resume Summary
Your resume summary is a short introductory paragraph at the top of the page, designed to give recruiters a high-level overview of your suitability.
If you want to hook recruiters attention and encourage them to read more of your resume, do the following:
- Keep it short: Aim for a concise summary of 3 to 5 sentences, ensuring it can be quickly scanned. You can elaborate on details later, in the work experience section.
- Tailor to target jobs: Enhance your resume’s impact by incorporating key skills and keywords from the job adverts you’re applying for, making it easier for recruiters to notice your relevance.
- Avoid using cliches: Avoid falling into the trap of labeling yourself as a “go-getter” or a “people person” – these phrases are overused and lack substance for employers.
Musician resume summary example
What to include in your Musician resume summary
- Summary of your experience: Summarise the range of positions you’ve held and the companies you’ve been associated with to offer employers a complete understanding of your professional experiences.
- Relevant skills: Showcase your key skills, emphasising those tailored for Musician roles.
- Qualifications: Ensure to briefly note any qualifications relevant to Musician roles, indicating your suitability for the position.
- Benefits of hiring you: Employers want to know what value you will bring them, whether it’s increasing their revenue or helping them to complete projects ahead of schedule.
Quick tip: Choose from hundreds of pre-written summaries across all industries, and add one to your resume with one-click in our Resume Builder. All written by recruitment experts and easily tailored to suit your unique skillset and style.
Core skills section
To catch the eye of recruiters, include a core skills section on your resume.
This should be a bullet-pointed list showcasing your most sought-after skills specific to Musician roles.
Limit each skill to four words to ensure they stand out clearly to busy hiring managers.
Skills for your Musician resume
Instrument Mastery – Demonstrating expert ability to play one or multiple musical instruments with technical proficiency and artistic expression.
Music Theory Application – Applying knowledge of music theory including harmony, rhythm, and melody to compose, arrange, and perform music.
Sight-Reading – Reading and performing written music accurately and fluently at first sight, an essential capability for studio sessions and live performances.
Aural Skills – Possessing strong aural skills to identify pitch, intervals, melody, chords, rhythms, and other elements of music by ear.
Audio Production – Utilising audio production software and equipment to record, mix, and master tracks to produce high-quality recordings.
Music Composition – Creating original music compositions, developing musical ideas into completed works for various ensembles and genres.
Live Performance Techniques – Engaging audiences with dynamic live performances, including stage presence, audience interaction, and live sound management.
Music Arrangement – Arranging existing music to fit different musical contexts or ensembles, adapting compositions to suit various performance settings.
Improvisation – Excelling in spontaneous musical creation, improvising melodies and harmonies within a given structure during live performances or recordings.
Repertoire Development – Building and maintaining a broad repertoire of pieces and songs across various styles to meet diverse performance demands.
Quick tip: Our Resume Builder contains thousands of in-demand skills for every profession that can be added to your resume in seconds – saving you time and greatly improving your chances of landing job interviews and getting hired.
Work experience section
Use your work experience section to highlight the value you offer to employers.
Arrange your employment history in reverse chronological order, concentrating primarily on your experiences from the past 3-5 years.
Structuring your jobs
Help recruiters quickly understand your past job duties by organising them in the following way.
Outline
Introduce each job with a concise 1 to 2 line outline that covers the employer’s business, your role within the structure, and the key goals of your position.
Key responsibilities
List 5-8 bullet points detailing your main responsibilities within the job, highlighting important skills, knowledge and tools that you use.
Keep each point brief and show who you interact with, and how you contribute to the organisation.
Key achievements
Conclude each job description by detailing 1-3 major achievements that significantly benefited the employer, such as cost reductions or early project completions.
Aim to quantify these achievements with specific data to demonstrate their impact.
Example job for Musician resume
Outline
Lead the violin and wider string group to ensure outstanding tempo, note quality, and cohesion at events, for a 100-strong regional orchestra that performs a various global concerts.
Key Responsibilities
- Perform exceptional quality music at live events of various size and acoustic quality.
- Lead the string group during performances and deliver own solo pieces to high standards.
- Adapt to a variety of classical pieces, including classical versions of modern pieces.
- Work alongside the first charis and conductor to decide on pieces and arrangements.
Quick tip: Create impressive job descriptions easily in our Resume Builder by adding pre-written job phrases for every industry and career stage.
Education section
Include your education near the bottom of your resume.
List your academic qualifications in bullet points, focusing on those most applicable to Musician positions.
If you possess considerable experience, you can keep this brief, however if you have less experience you should provide detailed insights into how your education has prepared you for the position.
This section can include:
- University degrees
- Industry specific qualifications for Musician jobs
- Vocational education and training (VET) diplomas
- Senior Secondary Certificate of Education (SSCE)
Additional information (optional)
At the end of your resume, you can consider incorporating a section for additional information.
This part is suitable for hobbies, interests, awards, publications, or technical skills that could enhance your appeal to employers.
When adding content here, ensure it is either directly relevant to your profession or exceptionally impressive.
Avoid listing everyday activities like watching television or casual socialising, as they are unlikely to influence hiring decisions.
While writing an exceptional Musician resume is demanding, the steps outlined above should guide you in crafting a document that engages recruiters and brings in many interview requests.
It is crucial to proofread your resume thoroughly and tailor it for each application to ensure you are seen as a fitting candidate.
Good luck with your job search!