What skills should a Musicians and Singer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Musicians and Singer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Acoustica Mixcraft, Apple GarageBand, Appointment scheduling software, Audacity, and Avid Technology Pro Tools. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Musicians and Singer work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Choir Member, Musician, Singer, and Violinist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Musicians and Singer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 29% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Musicians and Singer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Musicians and Singer resume example

A resume for a Musicians and Singer needs to show the work itself: play one or more musical instruments or sing. Day to day that means work like this: perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings; sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Choir Member
Musician
Singer
Violinist
Chorister
Gospel Singer
Opera Singer
Orchestra Musician
Percussionist
Vocalist
Accompanist
Bandperson
Baritone
Bass Player
Bassoonist
Bell Ringer
Bugler
Bull Fiddle Player

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings.
Sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment.
Interpret or modify music, applying knowledge of harmony, melody, rhythm, and voice production to individualize presentations and maintain audience interest.
Specialize in playing a specific family of instruments or a particular type of music.
Sing as a soloist or as a member of a vocal group.
Observe choral leaders or prompters for cues or directions in vocal presentation.
Memorize musical selections and routines, or sing following printed text, musical notation, or customer instructions.
Play musical instruments as soloists, or as members or guest artists of musical groups such as orchestras, ensembles, or bands.
Sight-read musical parts during rehearsals.
Play from memory or by following scores.
Practice singing exercises and study with vocal coaches to develop voice and skills and to rehearse for upcoming roles.
Listen to recordings to master pieces or to maintain and improve skills.

29 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Interpret or modify music, applying knowledge of harmony, melody, rhythm, and voice production to individualize presentations and maintain audience interest, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Specialize in playing a specific family of instruments or a particular type of music, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Acoustica Mixcraft
Apple GarageBand
Appointment scheduling software
Audacity
Avid Technology Pro Tools
Avid Technology Sibelius
Blogging software
Cantovation Sing & See
Email software
Facebook
Financial tracking software
Instagram
iZotope Ozone
MakeMusic Finale

23 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Accordions
Acoustic guitars
Alto horns
Alto saxophones
Amplifiers
Audio equalizers
Autoharps
Bagpipes
Banjoes
Baritone horns
Bassoons
Bb clarinets

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Acoustica Mixcraft
Apple GarageBand

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Speaking
02Active Listening
03Monitoring
04Reading Comprehension
05Social Perceptiveness
06Coordination
07Critical Thinking

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Fine Arts
English Language

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

29%Bachelor's Degree
19%Less than a High School Diploma
17%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Musicians and Singer do?: Play one or more musical instruments or sing. Day to day that includes work like perform before live audiences in concerts, recitals, educational presentations, and other social gatherings and Sing a cappella or with musical accompaniment.
What skills should a Musicians and Singer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Speaking, Active Listening, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, and Social Perceptiveness among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Musicians and Singer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Acoustica Mixcraft, Apple GarageBand, Appointment scheduling software, Audacity, and Avid Technology Pro Tools. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Musicians and Singer work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Choir Member, Musician, Singer, and Violinist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Musicians and Singer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 29% reported their level of education as "Bachelor's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Musicians and Singer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.