Welcome to the CV/résumé round up: I’m detailing common blunders musicians make in their CVs and with their teaching and/or arts administration résumés. Don’t let these happen to you: here’s how to Avoid the Top 5 CV Mistakes.
Mistake #1
Failing to put yourself in the shoes of the employer.
Your mission should be to imagine that you are on the search committee. Think what details would matter to you. What are you, the employer, looking for in a résumé?
How can you know this? Read the job description again carefully, noting the specifics in both the requirements and in the responsibilities listed. Pay attention to the order of these details—this is often the employer’s priority order. And read the employer’s website to get a sense of their mission, values, and who they serve.
Without putting yourself in the employer’s shoes, you run the risk of including irrelevant or generic information that creates a lackluster résumé and fails to connect with the employer.
Mistake #2
Misunderstanding what your CV / résumé is (and what it’s not).
It’s NOT an “official” document simply listing all of your work history.
It IS, rather, a marketing tool. So yes, it has the facts, but you get to choose how you want to detail these and what specifics you include and emphasize. Since no document can possibly cover everything you’ve done, you need to select and highlight the most relevant material for the job you are applying for—so each CV/résumé you send needs to be tailored to that situation. And if you list experience that’s NOT obviously relevant, show how the experience is transferable.
Mistake #3
Using the words “duties” or “responsibilities.”
Don’t do it! Why? Because these these words imply assigned tasks that anyone in the same role would need to execute. They don’t convey initiative, leadership, or achievements beyond the minimum expected by the employer.
Mistake #4
Not using bullets correctly.
It’s easy to use bullets to detail what every other candidate writes, which will only label you as a commodity interchangeable with all the other candidates.
Instead, use bullets to highlight the value you have provided and what makes you distinctive as a candidate. Bullets should give the reader the details of what you’ve accomplished and how, along with the results (quantified appropriately).
For example, in a teaching résumé /CV, instead of simply listing “Taught private lessons,” or “Prepared students for juries and auditions,” you might have bullets detailing:
• Taught students ages 11 to 67, beginners to pre-professional
• Focused on works by Ellington, Schuller, Mozart, and Bartok [list 4/5 diverse composers whose works your students play]
• Incorporated . . . (What in lessons do you include or emphasize that you know is effective and somewhat distinct from what other teachers do? Have you created curricula or class projects that are especially engaging?)
Mistake #5
The order of the category headers does not reflect the job priorities.
Just because you earned a doctorate from a prestigious institution does NOT mean you should have that be the first thing the reader sees. Likewise, just because you’ve won many competitions, doesn’t mean you are an effective teacher. Listing your performance experience or awards first in a teaching résumé might actually signal to an employer that teaching is not your top priority.
These points may seem obvious, but based on the CVs and résumés I regularly see, apparently they are not. I fear that the reason most of CVs and résumés aren’t effective is that the people writing them have been blindly following poor samples or getting out of date advice from people who haven’t been on the job market in some time.
Especially in academia, the answer to why we are doing things a certain way is all too often, “my advisor/teacher told me to,” or “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”
In today’s job market these are not good reasons.
There should be a rationale that makes sense from the employer’s viewpoint, for every formatting and content decision you make for your résumé or CV.
Want more in-depth help?
If so, check out my self-paced Musician’s CV Master Course video course.
In this exclusive training, you’ll get 4 modules and 10 pre-recorded video lessons, plus detailed worksheets to help you avoid the confusion and self-judgment. The work is broken down to a step-by-step process with worksheets and examples from a range of musicians. You can work through all this at your own speed. In the Musician’s CV Master Course you’ll:
- Learn how search committees evaluate applications so you’re no longer second-guessing yourself.
- Create a dynamic professional letterhead to brand your materials so you stand out from the crowd.
- Structure your CV to connect with the employer’s priorities and show yourself as your most relevant best.
- Articulate what’s truly distinctive about your teaching so you’re not lost in the pile.
- Communicate HOW you teach so that employers can actually picture you in the job.
- Fine-tune your CV. Clarify what to include, what to leave out—and why.
- Learn how to tailor your CV for any opportunity.
Through the in-depth training and examples, I can teach you how to articulate and convey who you are at your very best so you can make a great first impression with search committees. That way, you’ll be one step closer to winning the job—check it out HERE.
Looking forward,
Dream Big, Plan Smart, Live Well
