I’m not sure if it’s the recession or just that time of year when all the schools let out, but I have recently been inundated with a boatload of resumes from out of work audio engineers and technical personnel.
A few of these resumes come from some very qualified people while many others are from the new graduates of the Full Sail and Institute of Audio Research programs, but regardless of anyone’s experience, the resumes I receive are always exaggerated. Inflated resumes are par for the course, and while it is known that there are those professional resume writers who will resourcefully inject your resume with steroids, there are some ways of inflating a resume that work better than others.
The resumes I receive from the more experienced applicants usually detail their theater and studio experience and their knowledge of the latest technology such as protools, digitalized lighting consoles and computer based programs. Other aspirant audio engineers detail some of the new digital consoles they have worked on such as the PM5D and DigiDesign’s Profile and Venue, but for the most part the boards most listed are SSLs and other studio consoles. Apparently many of these seemingly-qualified engineers have fairly extensive backgrounds in postproduction work for various film companies and commercial houses, as do the newer college graduates.
It’s implicit that when applying for a job, one needs to submit an application everywhere and anywhere that might be hiring. It is also understood that people are capable of adapting from one discipline to another — such as from studio work to live production — but with jobs being scarce and the competition for each job being at a premium, I for one am prone to scan a resume, not only for keywords indicating that an applicant possesses the specific type of skills I am seeking, but for the names of artists, venues and companies with whom the applicant may have worked. Not that working in a big name venue or with a major artist makes the candidate more capable, but it does tell the prospective employer, such as myself, that the aspirant is familiar with a certain level of the business.
Don’t Forget the “Live” Skills
Name-dropping pieces of gear such as “Protools” and “SSL” may look sexy on a resume, but as a future employer, I would also like to know that a potential hire knows how to figure-eight a snake and wrap cable as well as understand such things as psycho-promoters as well as psycho-acoustics. Packing and driving a truck may not be a course that’s taught at school, but in our line of work it certainly comes in handy, and quite often these basic “Live” skills are overlooked for the more intriguing studio expertise of mixing and editing.
Don’t get me wrong, studio skills are good to have and look good on a resume, but one needs to see that an aspiring engineer likes the excitement of being in the moment with no need for a second take or remix. An employer also needs to know that an engineer can handle the pressures and restrictions of working with a big name artist in a major venue. Therefore, while reading the name of a major venue or well-known artist on a resume is not going to ensure that the applicant is a knowledgeable audio engineer, it does tell an employer that candidate has experience in a certain market.
A word of advice to those applicants with limited experience is to not inflate the resume to increase said applicant’s importance or skills. One resume I received listed the applicant as: “Facilities engineer at large hotel; Responsibilities include management and overseeing maintenance of equipment operation; consulting and advising high profile clientele such as CEOs, CFOs and management.” Hey, while this is a nice way to write “Bathroom attendant,” in the long run, most prospective employers will see through the large words and not hire you anyway. Be to the point on your resume. If you lack experience, then your various jobs do not need fancy descriptions to impress an employer and your willingness to work and learn may be all that’s needed to get a foot in the door.
That said; most audio engineers/production people who have been in the business for a while are the kings of resume inflation. These are people who rely upon verbal resumes and don’t even give out written resumes anymore usually because they have gotten to the point where their achievements speak for themselves. These resumes read like a Who’s Who of entertainment (as I said before, it is always good to drop names on resumes), but as a practice it is not required to list every artist that passed through a club or venue that one has worked.
As a matter of fact, when the venue is a larger name than the artist, it’s better to list having worked at that venue instead of listing the artist you may have worked with at the venue. Regardless, we list artists in the same way that we as teenagers used to list our sexual conquests — just another notch on the belt. For example, a verbal resume usually has sexual overtones and a conversation between two audio engineers might go like this:
“Aa ya doin’?”
“Doin good.”
“Workin’?”
“Yeah, I’m doin’ (insert big name artist).”
“ Really? One off or tour?”
“I’m doin a couple of dates in town then I’m doin the tour. After that I’m doing the Garden with some band and then (another big name artist) has me doin’ a couple of corporate dates and after I do her I’ll be doin’ some T.V. show with (yet another star’s name). If those dates work out well then I’ll be doin’ that tour.”
“Where will you be touring?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I think I’ll be doin’ Europe and Japan.”
As you can see there are no fancy words in the verbal resume, but there is a lot of “Doin” going on. So for all the new audio graduates who might be reading this column remember that once you get your interview you should act nonchalant and talk about “doin” as many stars and famous venues as you are able. While a list of celebrity clients on your written resume can often be seen as grandstanding, your practiced insouciance of a verbal resume is sure to impress.
Just to give one last example of resume inflation; the other night I mixed a show for a charity event that was attended by many corporate executives. Since there were no real stars on the bill and the venue — though having a theater district address — is somewhat unknown, my verbal resume is, “I was mixing a Broadway show.” Notice I used the word “mixing” rather than “doin’” as it’s a little more impressive in the context. That would have been the end of my night as well as my verbal resume entry, but something happened on the way to the forum. Apparently Diana Ross is a large contributor to the charity and they dragged her out at the end of the show to thank her for her generosity. After saying a few words about the charity she thanked the crowd and left. Of course, that changes everything, including my resume. So now if you ask me what I did that night I’d tell you, “I was doin’ Diana Ross.”
