Music Teacher Resume: 11 Examples and Writing Guide

Music Teacher Resume (Text Version)

Contact Info:

Sharon Rogers
[email protected]
1 (719) 469-2218
Colorado Springs, CO 80916
linkedin.com/sharonrogers

Summary Statement:

Music Teacher: Skilled music teacher with ten years of teaching experience across a variety of skill levels. Familiar with both private and public school teaching environments with a background in music history, composition & arranging, and performance ability on several instruments including violin, cello, flute, piano, and clarinet.

Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise

• Composition & Arranging
• Music History
• Communication
• Music Theory
• Organization
• Kodaly Method
• Lesson Plans
• Classroom Management
• Time Management
• Learning Strategies

Professional Experience:

Prairie Hills Elementary School | Colorado Springs, CO
Music Teacher | August 2016-Present

• Organize and optimize teaching schedules based on class size and structure
• Create customized curricula based on specific student needs
• Instruct elementary students ages 5-12 in violin, cello, flute, and clarinet
• Develop interactive exercises to teach youth music theory

Pikes Peak Music | Colorado Springs, CO
Music Teacher | June 2013 – May 2016

• Conducted weekly private lessons with K-12 children
• Coordinated with other teachers to encourage participation in student recitals
• Communicated with parents about student goals to create education plans
• Specialized in piano and violin instruction on an expert level

Briargate Middle School | Colorado Springs, CO
Secondary Music Teacher | August 2010-May 2013

• Assisted primary music teacher as needed
• Subbed for primary music teacher when required
• Formatted music segments for school productions
• Evaluated student abilities and suggested suitable instruments

Education/Certifications

Bachelor Of Arts In Music / Concentration: Music Theory
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Class of 2010

Colorado State Teacher Certifiation
Grades K-12

The format of your music teacher resume is the structure that holds everything together.

Just like the art of music, the art of writing still has “rules” that, if not followed correctly, can cause even the best and most creative ideas to fall apart.

The format is the first thing a hiring manager is going to notice when they take a look at your resume, and since they only spend about 6 seconds reviewing each resume, it is crucial to get it right.

A well-structured resume format will generally follow reverse chronological order.

Listing your most recent jobs and accomplishments first will allow those details to stand out more and get noticed.

Your layout should also give plenty of room for proper spacing so that the resume is an easy read and pleasing to the eye.

Utilizing bullet points to highlight key details and allow for separation between sections is usually the way to go.

Mix all that in with a legible font, and your resume will look professional – and that is half the battle.

Now that you have decided on the overall look of your music teacher resume, it is time to get started actually writing things down.

To start things off, it is best to include a summary explaining who you are as a music teacher.

This summary should keep things simple and short (about three sentences) while lending specific details to grab the interest of your reader.

Let’s take a look at a few examples.

The “Yes!” summary lends specific examples and descriptions of what experience and abilities the candidate has when it comes to teaching music.

The “No!” example attempts to remain to the point by cutting out useful details that would paint the picture of an experienced and capable candidate.

PRO TIP: Sometimes, writing a summary of a resume is the most challenging part. If you are struggling to come up with what details are the most valuable to list first, start by writing your work history and then come back to this section. You will likely have an easier time sorting things out.

While a summary helps get a good description of yourself out on the page, it is always a good idea to include a list of key accomplishments and skills.

Listing things in a brief set of bullet points is excellent at catching the eye of a busy hiring manager.

Just make sure that you include the best and most relevant details because this list is likely to stand out the most of any section at first glance.

Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise

• Composition & Arranging
• Music History
• Communication
• Music Theory
• Organization
• Kodaly Method
• Lesson Plans
• Classroom Management
• Time Management
• Learning Strategies

As you decide what things are most beneficial to include on this list, make sure that you consider there are two main types of skills – hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills, or technical skills, are the kinds of skills that can be taught, practiced, and quantified.

Soft skills, or people skills, are more like personality traits and are a bit more subjective.

As a music teacher, having the right balance of both kinds of skills is essential.

You need to understand music composition and know various facts about music history, but you also need to be organized and work well with students.

Your resume should reflect that you can handle both sides of music and education.

PRO TIP: Always reference the job posting while you are deciding what skills to include on this list. Most times, jobs will say outright what they are looking for in a candidate, and you want to make sure that you match up.

(See below for a helpful table of some suggested hard and soft skills to include in your resume.)

With your introductory information out of the way, it’s time to get started on the section of your music teacher resume that will lay out your experience.

Listing your job history is usually going to take up the bulk of your resume (depending on your experience level).

While this section might be seen as a simple list of previous jobs to some, it is actually a great opportunity to show off and back up the skills you just listed above.

When selecting what jobs to include, you should always pick jobs that are related to both music and education.

So if you are just starting out, do your best to avoid including the job you had in college as an Uber driver.

As a general rule of thumb, list your work in reverse chronological order so that your most recent work comes first – it is usually your most impressive.

Then, for each job, include a detailed description of what your duties and tasks consisted of in about three to five bullet points.

The “Yes!” example uses precise and varied diction to show off the versatile and experienced aspects of the candidate’s teaching style.

The “No!” example reuses basic wording and lays out daily tasks in a way that doesn’t highlight the candidate’s unique abilities.

(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)

More About Bots

It is possible that before your resume gets to the hands of an individual to review it, it will be passed through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), or bot.

A bot is a system designed to sort through resumes to weed out the “bad” from the “good”.

A resume that is likely to get flagged by a bot for having “good candidate potential,” will include the use of many powerful and varied keywords that the program associates with a skilled music teacher.

Some resume experts have started recommending that people write their work history in paragraphs, as opposed to using bullet points, in order to include more keywords in their resume.

Standard Bullet Point Format:

Pikes Peak Music | Colorado Springs, CO | Music Teacher | June 2013 – May 2016

• Conducted weekly private lessons with K-12 children
• Coordinated with other teachers to encourage participation in student recitals
• Communicated with parents about student goals to create education plans
• Specialized in piano and violin instruction on an expert level

Paragraph Format:

Pikes Peak Music | Colorado Springs, CO | Music Teacher | June 2013 – May 2016

Conducted weekly private lessons with K-12 children. Coordinated with fellow teachers to host student recitals to encourage music participation throughout the school. Communicated with parents concerning student goals to create education plans and suggest appropriate instruments. Specialized in piano and violin instruction on an expert level with over 20 years of personal experience.

Or, some choose to utilize both paragraph format and bullet points.

Pikes Peak Music | Colorado Springs, CO | Music Teacher | June 2013 – May 2016

Conducted weekly private lessons with K-12 children. Coordinated with fellow teachers to host student recitals to encourage music participation throughout the school. Communicated with parents concerning student goals to create education plans and suggest appropriate instruments. Specialized in piano and violin instruction on an expert level.

• 20+ years of piano and violin experience
• Department Chair

At Big Interview, we believe it is possible to create a resume that includes an adequate amount of strong and varied keywords in bullet point format, and that is what we recommend.

Listing your education on your music teacher resume is necessary, especially in educational careers.

When you list your degrees (Master’s, bachelor’s, associates), always make sure you include their full title, the school you attended, and the year you received them.

Example:

Education

Bachelor of Arts in Music

Concentration: Music Theory
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
Class of 2010

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
Class of 2009

If you have any certifications to include, list those in this section as well.

Colorado State Teacher Certification
Grades K-12

Possible Sections to Include

If you have more experience and abilities that didn’t quite fit in the sections we have gone over, it is always possible to include those things in an additional section or two.

Some sections to consider including are:

• Awards and honors
• Publications
• Noteworthy Projects
• Social Media Influence
• Speaking Engagements
• Hobbies/Interests
• Volunteer Work

What if You Have No Experience?

If you are a recent graduate or are switching career paths, you might find that you have a lack of applicable work experience to mention on your music teacher resume.

While this can feel like a challenging predicament, it is always possible to work your resume around this situation.

Moving your education section just after your summary is one of the first steps many take in altering their resume to fit their needs in this situation.

You can also give more detail within your education section.

Did you graduate with an impressive GPA?

Did you earn any honors or awards?

These details can highlight your abilities and make you a more viable candidate despite a lack of experience.

Outside of improving your education section, you can focus on adding additional sections.

Specifically, volunteer work and internships are a great way to set you apart from other “new to the field” applicants.

Get creative with it and portray confidence in your abilities, and you will still have a great shot.

Stand out to fit in

Every time you begin a new bullet point, start it with a new and impactful keyword that describes a relevant strength or talent in your field. Make sure that you are looking through the job posting to come up with ideas.

Get to the point

Don’t wait to save your most impressive qualities for last. Assume that your resume won’t be read in its entirety and say what matters the most as quickly and directly as possible.

Review your work

It’s one thing to read through your resume or do a quick spelling and grammar check in Word, but you should always take the time to really review what you have written. If you can have a trusted friend read through your resume, that’s even better.

Don’t forget your name

As any teacher knows, it is easy for students to get caught up in writing the best paper of their life only to get counted down for not including their name. Unfortunately, adults are not immune to this issue. Make sure that you are always making sure the basic details like name and contact information are listed front and center.

Don’t bore anyone

Always, always, always keep your resume on one page. If you hand in a resume that goes on to a second page, the hiring manager might pass it up for that reason alone. If you aren’t going to narrow things down, don’t expect someone else to do it for you.

Use creativity wisely

Make sure that you are letting your words do all the talking. Trying to show off with a “unique” format or a “fun” font can be a bit of a distraction. Make sure that things are always easy to read and follow.

(See below for a helpful table of some suggested power words.)

Music Teacher Resume Power Words

• Administered
• Founded
• Adept
• Formulated
• Built
• Implemented
• Created
• Improved
• Consolidated
• Initiated
• Coordinated
• Launched
• Developed
• Pioneered
• Designed
• Organized

Music Teacher Resume Skills List