Most church music job applications require a cover letter and a resume or CV.
However, many musicians who took my survey said they didn’t need one or either documents. (Perhaps because many church jobs aren’t advertised and instead are offered to someone already known to the church?)
In this post, I’ll cover the basics of what to include in your cover letter and resume.
If you are beginning a job search, you should prepare generic versions of these documents, and then tailor them to specific positions as the opportunities come up. To read more about how to find out more about a position so you can tailor your documents, check out this post.
The terms resume/résumé and CV (curriculum vitae) mean different things across the globe. I use them here in the American usage where a resume is a shorter document summarizing and highlighting your experience and skills, while a CV is a longer document with complete career coverage.
But first: who will read your application?
Good news: most church music jobs are not flooded with applicants. So the advice online about making sure your application gets past a computer filter doesn’t apply here. In fact, about 85% of respondents said their committee received 15 or fewer applications. And a full 34% only received 1-5 applications. That means you can expect that committee members will be able to give their attention to your application materials and not just scan your resume for 10 seconds before rejecting it.
However, not every committee will have all the committee members read initial job applications, Some committee chairs filter applications before giving a shorter list to their committee. And in about 10% of committees, the committee members might not have read your application before you interview in person.
The #1 Way to Make a Hiring Committee Happy
I asked search committee members: “Did anything stand out on a resume/CV as something you wish other applicants did?”
Their responses?
An easy to read format and font was the #1 thing committee members wished applicants used in their application materials.
Other helpful suggestions from hiring committee members:
- Recordings of church music (versus music theater, opera etc.)
- Complete list of all church jobs held
- List of major work performed or conducted, list of preludes/postludes
- Statement of faith or other mention of applicant’s personal beliefs
- Online presence as relevant. Committee members were almost evenly split about whether links to an applicant’s online presence (e.g. a website) were helpful, so if you feel that your online presence (such as a professional website) will aid your application, you could include a link.
How Long Should Your Resume or CV Be?
In my survey, committee members were almost evenly split in their preferences between 1 page, 2 page, and “as long as it needs to be” documents. (This difference could be due to regional differences in what “resume” and “CV” mean). Over 50% of musicians limited their resume/CV to 2 pages and almost 40% limited it to one page. Less than 10% of musicians said that they had documents of 3+ pages.
What to make of that information?
In the U.S., general rule of thumb is 1 page for a resume and only 2 pages if necessary. However, going longer for church music applications in particular is not necessarily a no-no.
Depending on the job and your experience, you might choose to go longer than 1-2 pages. Most hiring committees are not deluged with applicants and are able to spend more than 15 seconds glancing at your documents. And a number of hiring committee members who took my survey said that they wished they had fuller/more complete listings of the applicants’ experience.
What Should You Include on Your Resume or CV?
Here are the most common elements applicants included on their resumes or CVs (respondents could select all that applied):
- Education, degrees 88%
- Education, continuing 59%
- Instruments played 60%
- Music teachers by name 45%
- Non-church-music related experience 56%
- Previous church music positions 87%
- Previous non-music positions, as relevant 39%
- Recent recitals/performances 37%
- Videos/recordings 16%
- Other materials included: compositions, volunteer experience, and specific musical skills
How Long Should Your Cover Letter Be?
You should probably limit your cover letter to one page only.
In my survey, almost all applicants (97%) submitted 1 page cover letters.
And committee members overwhelming preferred 1 page cover letters, with 88% selecting that option.
However, a small number chose 2 pages as their prefered length and 8% said “as long as it needs to be.”
What Should You Include in Your Cover Letter?
73% of applicants said they used a cover letter to describe why they were a good fit for the position. While no other category came close, two others were strong minorities: “Why I’m a skilled musician” (42%) and “Denominational background with reference to personal beliefs” (27%).
I was surprised that only 12% of applicants mentioned their “personal religious beliefs” in a cover letter. This small percentage may be due to the musician having different beliefs than the church’s. If that’s the case, then limiting your references to your experience working in a denomination makes sense. However, if your beliefs to happen to be similar to a congregation’s, you should mention it. It can’t hurt and will only help you.
You might also consider including these other elements if they seem appropriate to your situation and in line with your region/country’s norms: references to your family, willingness to move, explanation of “questionable” elements in your resume (such as a gap in employment), and your personal philosophy of ministry. For example, in my current job search, I have used my cover letter to explain that my family is moving to St. Louis for my husband’s job and that while I’ve moved multiple times recently (something I’d consider a “questionable” element on my resume), I’m very excited to be settling down long-term.
Who Should You List as References?
The references that committee members said were most useful were the applicant’s former/current bosses (84%), musical colleagues (40%), former/current music teachers (29%), and spiritual mentors (16%).
Other Application Materials
Over 50% of both committee members and job applicants said their initial application didn’t require anything besides a cover letter and resume/CV (if that).
However, many applicants included recordings of their music in their application, even though most committees (67%) did *not* listen to recordings/videos as part of their application process.
If you are in the midst of a job search, consider preparing these items in case they are required or you feel that submitting them will strengthen your application:
- Audio/visual recordings of choral conducting, solo performance, and/or hymn accompaniment
- Programs from recent recitals, either as hard copies or scans
- Programs/bulletins from recent church services that you’ve planned and/or played in
- Statement of personal religious beliefs and/or approach to church music
- Repertoire list and/or list of examples of the music you might select in the new position
- Composers: you might consider including a selection of your music or links to it in your application
Regardless of the extra materials you might submit, you should definitely include whatever the job posting requests. I didn’t get any responses from committee members complaining about additional materials (like links to recordings), but several complained about applicants not submitting requested document like cover letter.
What should your application NOT include?
The #1 complain of hiring committee members who took my survey was poor communication—a difficult to read format or font, poor grammar, misspellings and typos, and writing that was difficult to understand.
The other main complaint that committee members had was bragging and/or arrogance. Several responses mentioned this with comments like “Repeatedly telling us how loved they were at their former church.”
One detail: know the norms in your area about photos of yourself. In the U.S., you should not include a photo of yourself.
Should You Apply If You Don’t Seem Like a “Perfect” Fit?
Probably.
Not every job post accurately describes the position (something I discuss more in this post). And even if it does, the search committee might not be able to find someone whose skills perfectly match.
However, a number of people complained about unqualified applicants in my survey. Perhaps some applicants were genuinely unqualified, but maybe the job description was unclear.
For example, I’ve seen job descriptions that made the positions sound like either a pianist or organist could apply, or even someone who was primarily a choir director. But in fact, the positions required a highly skilled organist. So of course, those descriptions would attract applicants who were unwittingly “unqualified” for the post.
With that in mind, it won’t hurt anything but your pride to apply for the positions that you think you would want. If you’re truly not what the committee is looking for, then you won’t get the job, but at least you tried.
Get a Church Music Job You Love Series
This series is based on my survey of over 250 church musicians and the people who have hired them.
- I surveyed 250+ church musicians. Here’s what I learned about getting a church music job you love.
- 17 Places to Find Church Music Jobs
- 3 Ways to Research a Church Music Job Opening
- How Much Are Church Musicians Paid? Here’s How to Find Out.
- How to Write a Church Music Cover Letter and Resume (Plus the #1 Way to Make Hiring Committees Happy)
- 29 Interview Questions You Might Get (Plus 34 for YOU to Ask)
- How to Negotiate Salary and Benefits (and Why You Should)
- 4 Things You Need to Get a Church Music Job You Love (Plus 9 Big No-nos)
- Do These 8 Things to Get a Church Music Job You Love (Ep. 22 of the Music and the Church Podcast)
