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Resume writing ... for church musicians
Resume writing for church musicians is growing in importance reflecting the diversity of the work we do. You may find though that you keep better notes in your professional career than something you have usually done as a volunteer. The topics are easily transferable from one to the other. If this is new to you maybe an example would help. List your dates of serviceYou know that your resume is used something like a business card - and that the time to make an impression is limited. If I see dates of service on your resume, it communicates something tangible and differentiates you from someone else who omits this information. Generally, the more numbers and specific statements you include can help your resume writing stand out from the bland and boring resumes claiming great things but lacking the specifics to state the facts. List your accomplishmentsWith resume writing, it's better to say that you accomplished something specific than only that you were assigned a duty for a given area. I love to see accomplishments like "trained the youth worship team to craft their own service", rather than "responsible for overseeing the youth band". Numbers are importantInclude years served, dates of major accomplishments, how many people served, how many people helped, led, and trained. These all signify good resume writing. If you plan song sets or programs, how many songs or what is the length of a typical program? How many people are in the choir you directed? How many special services did you facilitate, how many people are in the music programs you directed? Summarize your qualificationsMake sure you can state your qualifications in a sentence or two. This type of quick summary may be marketing-focused, but anything you can do to communicate why you are the best person for a given job in a few words will help you remain memorable in the interviewer's mind. Include a professional summaryGood resume writing includes short sound bytes for good communication. For instance, you might say, "I have five years experience directing rehearsals, planning and facilitating services of choirs, contemporary music teams, multi-media teams, and drama coaching." Include your educationEspecially if your education has a link to what the job entails, include this in your resume writing efforts. Education in the form a completing a degree or certification lets me know you are a finisher. Also, I can see your commitment to learn how to do something well, rather than just winging it. Include your professional skillsThis is a good place to list your specific skills in the areas of musical instruments you play, software expertise for video, audio projects, midi programming, and even general office programs. Just get startedYou can do it! Work at it a little bit each day till you have something you can say faithfully represents you. Here is my resume to give you an example.
| Summary of Qualifications | |
| Director, Worship Leader with over 5 years experience equipping worship teams, bands, choirs, vocal and instrumental ensembles, including technical ministries to serve purposefully in the local church with effective implementation skills in contemporary and traditional worship settings. | | | Professional Summary | | | Grace Brethren Church, Richmond, VA 2002 - 2007 | | Worship Leader | | Music Director for a medium-size blended congregation, reporting to the Senior Pastor. | | Implemented team-approach to multi-sensory worship service programming, coordinating drama, music, Scripture reading, video and audio elements to support Pastor's message and engage the congregation. | | Responsible to facilitate Sunday Worship service element timeline and pre-service walk-through. | | Responsible to lead multi-generational congregational worship embracing contemporary and traditional styles, including music and service flow. | | Coordinated team member training. | | Conducted team member gifting/passion sign-ups. | | Published Worship Team Handbook, detailing vision, mission and strategy of the overall Worship ministry. | | Provided project management and technical consultation for audio, video systems. proposal, purchase and installation in our new building completed March 2004. | | Rehearsed and conducted seasonal choirs at Christmas and Easter. | | | Linworth Road Community Church, Columbus, OH 1998-2002 | | | Worship Leader | | Music Director for a medium-sized contemporary congregation, reporting to Senior Pastor. | | Rehearse and lead band in Sunday worship services. | | Attend programming meetings. | | Participant in Arts Conference at Willow Creek, 1999 and 2000. | | Worship service song selection and flow. | | | Education | | The Ohio State University, Bachelor of Music Education. | | | Professional Skills | | Lead worship using guitar or piano, proficient on drums, keyboards, bass guitar. Excellent music theory skills and accomplished at arranging and transcribing charts for band. Capable user of Finale and Worship Software 4.0. Proficient in Midi programming and digital audio recording including live applications. Composed over 20 scripture-based worship songs. |
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