Audio engineer CV samples to land a dream music job

Audio engineers (also known as sound engineers) are a fundamental part of the music industry, and live performance and sound recording would not be possible without them. As this is a role that demands creativity as well as technical know-how, your hard skills and experience, as well as key soft skills, are crucial to highlight in your CV. Focus on technical abilities such as:

• Experience with sound design, sound editing and creating sound effects 
• A background using recording equipment during live events 
• Knowledge of digital audio workstations such as Logic Pro X and Pro Tools
• Experience in audio recording, studio recordings and voice recording
• Knowledge of music production
• Understanding of analog and digital mixers 
• Experience using midi inputs and sound equipment

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Deciding on a CV format is essential when applying for an audio engineer job, as you need to focus on your strengths, whether they be your skills or your experiences. The three structures you could choose from for your CV are:

• Functional: Focuses on the specific technical skills for the relevant job role. This could include a more extensive education section if your studies were centred around sound engineering. The work experience section is emphasised in this format. 
• Chronological: Focuses on your work experience and history, going reverse-chronologically with your most recent position at the beginning of your CV, alongside a skills section.
• Combination: Combines your skills and work experience to form a CV that covers all bases of your professional experience and knowledge.

Unless you have years of experience as a sound engineer, functional or combination CV templates would be best. This is because you can further detail your skills and knowledge, which is vital in such a technical role. Whichever structure you go on to choose, make sure you include these sections:

• Header
• Summary
• Skills
• Work experience
• Education 

Header 

The first section of a perfect CV should include a header section that briefly covers the contact details that recruiters need to know. You will need to have these details:

• Your full name
• Email address
• Contact number
• Address (city and postal code)

For a creative role such as audio engineering, it is advisable to include a LinkedIn profile or a link to a portfolio that features audio samples, so hiring managers can review your previous accomplishments in audio production. 

Professional summary

Next, your CV should include a summary. This section is brief and gives recruiters a quick snapshot of your top experiences, skills and achievements. For example, you could include an exciting career highlight or a major qualification in this section for a sound engineering CV.

“Seasoned sound engineer with two years of experience mixing audio professionally. Recently delivered high sound quality during summer live shows, including the Reading Festival.”

Skills 

To land a job in sound engineering, you will need to be skilled in your field. To understand the requirements of this role, it is always recommended to pay close attention to the relevant job descriptions, below are a few commonly listed requirements of sound engineers:

• Interpersonal skills such as teamwork, problem-solving, troubleshooting and active listening
• Experience in music recordings 
• Knowledge or experience using DAW consoles such as Nuendo 
• Understanding of audio mixing in both live and post-production settings
• Experience using audio equipment such as amplifiers 

Work experience

Feature a rundown of your work experience in this section, including your most important duties and achievements. Even if your work experience doesn’t exactly align with your sound engineer goals, you can pick out skills from previous roles that will be transferable to being a sound engineer. For example, if you displayed excellent attention to detail when working in restaurant management, this skill will still be applicable and desired for a sound engineer role.

Education

Proven experience and skills in sound engineering are a top priority when it comes to audio engineering. However, it also is desirable to have a relevant music or engineering diploma or certification. The education section of your CV doesn’t need to be extensive – just list your top academic credentials, the name of the institutions you got them from, and their location. If you want to go more in-depth about your studies, you can do so in a cover letter.

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Do:

• Focus on your best skills throughout your CV, including in your work experience section. Even if your experience isn’t in your desired field, transferable skills are essential.
• Use brief bullet points to present your experiences, technical skills and knowledge (e.g., listing your abilities with DAW software and soundboards).
• Use CV templates to help you create an easy-to-read CV that follows a professional structure. 

Don’t:

• Include irrelevant personal information or previous experience that dates too far back (usually featuring jobs from within the past 10 years is best).
• Make sentences long and hard to read. ATS systems will not pick up all of your relevant information if you do this.
• Include inaccurate information about your experiences or qualifications

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