INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Music Director positions are at a 24% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 131,000 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 31,600 to 162,600 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Music Director jobs was $76,400 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $36,070, and the highest 10% more than $184,660.
Our conclusion? The Music Director job market is wide open for candidates.
Top music director sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
Writing a strong music director experience section
Music director resume experience section: ultimate checklist
- Use no more than 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List relevant positions and situations that add value to your application;
- Describe situations, tasks, actions, and results (the S-T-A-R method);
- Remember to include numbers in whatever form you like (e.g. the number of projects you’ve finished);
- Begin each bullet point with an action verb.
Check out the examples below when building your experience section. They will help you stand out!
- Maximize the quality of music instruction including private lessons and shows
- Roll out the music curriculum and oversee all product execution
- Oversee all aspects of shows, ensuring that show productions are well executed
- Market the school by keeping excellent relations with parents and students and engaging in describing the programs to prospective students
- Support lessons and rehearsals as necessary to boost school profitability and operational efficiencies
- Work with the General Manager to open school punctually according to hours of business and staying later when necessary during show season and summer camp
- Maintain all music equipment
- Communicate and interact regularly with parents on student progress and address any questions and issues about the music program
- Partner with the GM to recruit and manage Music Instructors and Show Directors
- Coordination and partnered with visual production team for enhancement of performance during worship services
- Scheduled guest singers and musicians to participate in church worship services
- Music Director during weekly scheduled rehearsal Bassist
- Creating the sound of BOOM Radio
- Music Scheduling
- Leading the Music Team
- Part of Creative/Production team
- Proficient in G-Selector & RCS-Zetta
- Experience in conducting market research
- Networking with music industry
PRO TIP
In writing your Music Director resume, you will no doubt want to list your previous duties - as you should. But steer clear of just listing your duties, instead of your achievements. Make your resume stand out by communicating what you have done, and not merely what the job needed you to do.
Action verbs for your music director resume
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Writing a strong skills section for your music director resume
Checklist for your Music Director skills section:
- Include all relevant skills from the job description to pass ATS;
- Focus on skills that show your expertise;
- List your technical skills in a clear and concise manner;
- Leave room for transferable skills related to teamwork, communication, negotiation, and conflict management.
Top skills for your music director resume
Basic Finance
Public Speaking
Technology Solutions
Writing
Hand-crafts and Repairing
Self confidence
Creativity
Humor
Innovation
Storytelling
PRO TIP
Add a Talent Section to your resume, where you can pick your top 3 soft skills and describe how you used them to complete a project or balance departmental communication.
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Music director resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your music director resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have policies about identifying information like photos on your Music Director resume. Be sure to check all the relevant rules before submitting yours. If you’re in doubt, you can always try contacting the company’s HR department to ask for their policy.
The ideal summary for your music director resume
Mastering the Summary Section: Checklist
- Mention the total years of experience you have in the field;
- Focus on 2 to 3 of your top achievements;
- Highlight the things that make you the best fit for the position;
- Go for short, easy-to-read sentences to keep the recruiter’s attention.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
You’re not going to get hired simply because of a good summary or objective. However, your recruiter can bump you up in front of similarly experienced candidates who didn’t demonstrate such passion and drive.
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Things to include in your music director resume education section
Music director resume education section checklist:
- Mention your highest education degree;
- Add the duration of your course and the institution you attended;
- List the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- Feature your certifications if they are relevant to the position;
- Entry-level positions: Share more about projects and classes.
Top certifications for your music director resume
Music Theory for Electronic Music COMPLETE: Parts 1, 2, & 3
Electronic music theory, digital music theory, and dance music theory. Learn music theory with ableton live and more!
Music Theory Comprehensive Complete! (Parts 1, 2, & 3)
A Complete College-Level Music Theory Curriculum. This edition of the course includes levels 1, 2, & 3.
Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers - Complete Guide
This is the only Music Theory for Electronic Music Producers you will ever need. Learn Music Theory the Easy & Quick Way
World Music 101: Basic Music Theory For Bedroom Producers
Make your beats better with knowledge of the science behind music
Music Theory Comprehensive Complete: Part 4, 5, & 6
Learn music theory through this music theory course app, music theory exercises, and music theory tutorials.
Recommended reads.
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Formatting your music director resume
What’s worse than a .docx resume? A resume with a poorly chosen format.
In general, there are three basic resume formats we advise you to stick with:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Choosing between them is easy when you’re aware of your applicant profile – it depends on your years of experience, the position you’re applying for, and whether you’re looking for an industry change or not.
The reverse-chronological resume format is just that – all your relevant jobs in reverse-chronological order. It’s great for applicants with lots of experience, no career gaps, and little desire for creativity.
When working with less experienced applicants, we suggest the functional skills-based resume format. It’s great for recent graduates or people with large career gaps. Functional skills-based resumes focus on your personality, the skills you have, your interests, and your education. Ultimately, the idea is to show you’re the perfect fit without putting too much emphasis on your work experience (or lack thereof).
If you’re in the middle or are generally looking to make your resume feel more modern and personal, go for the combination or hybrid resume format. It offers the best of both worlds by combining sections focused on experience and work-related skills and at the same time keeping space for projects, awards, certifications, or even creative sections like ‘my typical day’ and ‘my words to live by’.
Music Director Resume Formatting Checklist
- Choose the resume format based on your level of experience and the company you’re applying for
- Go for a traditional 10-12p font
- Stick to 1-inch page margins to ensure high readability
- Match the length of your resume to your experience, but don’t go for more than two pages!
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Additional sections for your music director resume
In some cases, especially when it comes to entry-level positions, adding more sections beyond the usual ‘experience’, ‘skills’, and ‘education’ works well in your favor. Such additional sections will help you paint a fuller picture of who you are in the recruiter’s head.
Here’s a list of fun yet informative additional sections for your resume:
Making your music director resume creative
We know too well that recruiters go through tons of resumes every day. The worse part is, they often need to hire people for different positions and teams. So how do you make yourself stand out in such cases?
By adding a dash of creativity to your Music Director resume. It can be in the form of a colorful layout, a section describing your typical day, or even a picture of your favorite book – you decide!
Just make sure that the levels of creativity match the industry, company, and position you’re applying for.
What makes a great music director resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
