Resume Suggestions
Below includes suggestions to use when creating your resume. The important things to remember is to clarity, consistency, and professionalism. This is a music education resume, not a business resume. You do not need to include paragraphs explaining your duties, everyone understand what it means to take an ensemble to UIL or to conduct somewhere. A short bulleted list should work if you want to include duties associated with an item. Use the whole paper (you do not want to have a lot of white space or stripes) - your resume should not look like a zebra laying down.
Do not use a template from Word or the Internet - they will restrict you and ultimately you will become frustrated! In Word, go into paragraph settings and change before to 0 pt., after to 0 pt., and line spacing to single. You are in control of how many spaces you have between each item - do not allow default settings to rule your life!
Show your resume to others for suggestions; however, you need to make the final decision about your resume. You have to like your resume to be able to sell it.
Name Address
Phone Number
Professional Email Address – no hyperlink
[Create a letter-head out of your name & address – make sure your name is the biggest font! Put your name in the center, right-justified, or left-justified, and you can add a line – it doesn’t matter, just look professional.] This is not the time for you to be artistic and add a colorful border (save that for your bulletin board once you have a job).
[Right justify your dates so you use the whole paper. Make sure they line up and look professional!]
Education
Bachelor of Music with Teacher Certification December 1866
University of Texas at Arlington
Major: All-Level Instrumental or Choral (choose one)
TExES Music Exam: Passed (Only list the TExES Exams if you have taken them)
TExES PPR Exam: Pending
Teaching Experience
[List most recent first with dates – what, where, when]
Student Teacher (K-5) Fall 1866
Walt Disney ISD
Dalmatian Elementary School
Cooperating Teacher: Cruella DeVille
Student Teacher (Band) Fall 1866
Walt Disney ISD
King Triton Middle School
Cooperating Teacher: Sebastian Crab
Private Lessons
Glockenspiel Instructor 1863-Present
Neverland ISD
Peter Pan High School
Leadership Experience
[List offices held in organizations]
Marching Band Section Leader Fall 1864
University of Mickey Marching Band
Radiator Springs Vice President Fall 1863-Spring 1864
Lightning McQueen Chapter
Hundred Acre Wood Treasurer Spring 1863
Winnie the Pooh Chapter
Page Two:
Leadership Experience Continued
[Do not have one item continue onto the next page – either have it fit, move it to the next page, or do what is listed above with continued.]
Then, list other leadership experience here
Awards
[List scholarships – with name and date received – and other awards or special recognition.]
Outstanding Musician Award Fall 1865
University of Mickey Marching Band
Dean’s List for the College of Liberal Arts Fall 1863, Spring 1864, Fall 1865
University of Texas at Arlington
[Only list seasons: fall, spring, summer and not months]
Memberships
[List CTME, TMEA, SAI and so on with dates of how long you have been a member – write out the name of the organization.]
Donald & Daisy Duck Chapter Fall 1864-Fall 1865
Professional Band Service Fraternity at
University of Mickey
Texas Music Educators Association 1865-Present
Collegiate Texas Music Educators 1863-Present
Adjudication Experience and/or Applied Studies
(choose one or both and put the appropriate heading)
[List where you volunteered or judged at Region competitions, or this is the name dropping section if you studied with someone who has a big name in the area or your field. If you do not have adjudication experience, do not list it – create a new heading if necessary.]
High School All-Region Glockenspiel 1865
Region 007 – Do not list like this – list like this instead – Region 7
Voice 1800-1860
Student of Ariel
Other Work Experience
Sales Associate 1864-1866
Nemo’s Fish Shop
Sydney, Australia
Page Three:
References
Name
Title/School (This may need to be on two lines or one line – just be consistent.)
Phone (Ask what number to put on the resume – I do not want my office phone)
Email (Ask what email to use – make sure you remove the hyperlink. No blue lines allowed)
Example:
Dr. Diane Lange
Professor, Music Education
University of Texas at Arlington (Do not use UTA)
XXX-XXX-XXXX (Ask your reference what phone number to use on your resume)
lange@uta.edu (notice, no hyperlink)
Other Suggestions:
Ask someone if he/she would be willing to be a GOOD reference on your resume (have a list of about 5 people to use to rotate in and out). Only list 3-5 references on your resume!
Organize references
-
List the names in order of importance – list cooperating teacher first because he/she watched you teach the most.
-
You want to list those who have observed your teaching, can speak to your academic ability, and can talk about your character – maybe a boss who can say that you were a good employee.
-
If you are applying for a high school job, list that cooperating teacher first.
-
School districts must talk to three references, so make sure they are reliable and in the country (some of your professors may not be available in the summer).
Your resume should not be longer than 2 pages with the 3rd page reserved only for your references.
Use good quality paper – not an obnoxious color (hot pink with purple polka dots is completely out of the question). Use white or off-white paper with matching envelopes (when snail mailing resume).
Do not 2-side your resume. Use separate pieces of paper!
Do not use a strange font or an extremely small font. This is a professional document! I would recommend Times New Roman 12-point font.
Do not staple your resume. Since you have your name on every page, you will not worry about the pages being misplaced.
When emailing your resume, it must always be sent as a PDF! Do not ever send your resume as a Word document. Also, make sure you label your resume correctly. For example, I would label my resume "D. Lange Resume" so the person that I am sending it to can save it and be able to access it quickly.