Sound Technician Resume | A Complete Guide with Examples

How big of a piece you could get – depends on your skills, experience, and your resume. Though we can't help you with the first two, we can help you with the third – to create a professional resume that makes a noise about your profile and echo in hiring managers' heads.

In this complete resume guide, we address the following:

• How to write a perfect sound technician resume better than 95% of the other resumes.
• How to pick the suitable resume layout and format.
• How to write experience section, skills section, professional summary, and more.
• Pro resume tips.

Also, try our resume builder for FREE to create a modern sound technician resume in the next 10 minutes.

Isn't this the resume you were looking for? Or do you need more complete resume examples?

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How to Create a Sound Technician Resume that Stands Out

Recruiters get hundreds of resumes for sound technician jobs. If you take the resume you made when you were in high school – add your work experience and send it to the HR manager, it'll be an average resume among dozens of them.

Don't be amazed by not getting interview calls.

Resume writing has changed drastically over the years, and the current writing practices are structured, straightforward, and simple. Here're a couple of general rules:

• Keep the resume to one page or a maximum of two.
• Maintain a short and clear writing style.
• Identify the essential keywords to include.
• Use a standard layout and a format to write the resume.
• Use a modern resume template.

To write a sound technician resume, let's look at the layout and format first.

Structure Your sound technician resume

This is also called the layout of the resume. Starting with a proper layout makes your resume writing task faster and more organized. Also, it ensures you don't miss any vital information from the resume.

In the layout, write down the headings, subheadings, and other information you need to include in the resume. Also, arrange them in order.

Here's an example layout for an audio technician resume:

• Heading
• Professional summary/ objective summary
• Work experience
• Education and professional qualifications
• Skills
• Additional sections

With this layout, create a suitable template for your resume. The template defines your resume's overall look and feel – including the colors, fonts, and other design features.

If creating resume templates on Microsoft Word is not your favorite type of work, our experts have designed modern resume templates that perfectly match audio technician and engineering job profiles. You may try them for FREE.

Pick the right resume format

When you start writing your experience section, you need to decide what format you should use in organizing your experience.

There're 3 standard resume formats in use:

• Functional (skill-based): In this format, you should start your experience section with key skills. The experience is sorted based on relevancy to each skill. The work experience, case studies, and projects are added as evidence of the skills.
• Reverse Chronological (traditional): In this, your experience section should start with the most recent work experience. State the start and end dates and describe the achievements in the job relevant to the applied position.
• Hybrid (combination resume): a mix of functional and reverse chronological order.

For an audio technician resume, we suggest using a reverse chronological order to list your experience. Most hiring managers are interested in your recent experience. In fact, the chronological order provides excellent insights about your career progress and makes readers' life easy to understand the information.

Start Your Resume with the Header

You should start your audio technician resume with the header. The header should include your name and contact information.

This should be a short section, but it needs a lot of attention as hiring managers would find this information critically important, especially when they refer back to contact you.

Let's check the following examples:

CORRECT

Marry Gibson

Sound Technician

marrygbson@gmail.com

(256)270-8276

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marrygibson

INCORRECT

Sound Technician

Marry Gibson

marry@soundtech.com

(256)270-8276

34, main street, apt 706,

Washington DC

USA

Follow these guidelines to write a solid header section:

• Start with your first name and last name.
• Put the position title you're applying for.
• Clearly state your personal email and mobile number.
• Include the link to your portfolio or LinkedIn if they are updated.
• Do not write your full physical address if it was not specifically asked in the job advertisement.

Get the Hiring Managers' Attention with a Professional Summary

Just after the heading, write a short description highlighting your sound technician career. This could be called a resume summary, professional summary, or career summary.

This is not a copy-and-paste job from the internet. If you include this at the beginning of your resume, it should be something worth reading – that adds tremendous value to your profile.

Write a professional summary in two sentences. In the first sentence, showcase your relevant experience and key skills – explain how you could be a great fit for the job. In the second sentence, demonstrate how you had been a great asset to your previous employer – take examples from your achievements and accomplishments.

For your convenience, we have written a complete guide to writing professional summaries so you can concentrate on developing your sound systems skills rather than your author skills.

Also, read the following examples written for your profession.

Examples

CORRECT

A passionate audio technician with over 7 years of freelance sound mixing experience for live shows and records involved in a $150,000 music production project last year with a crew. Seeking an opportunity to use my in-depth knowledge and diverse background in technical aspects to build a solid career in sound production for special events at My Events.

INCORRECT

A sound technician with 7 years of freelance experience seeking to join an event management company to further my career. I am a fast learner and adaptable to any working environment. I would be a great asset to the company for recording sound and mixing for live events.

Resume objective

A resume objective is very much similar to a resume summary. This is also called an objective summary.

If you're applying for an entry-level audio technician job without having much experience, you could write an objective summary highlighting your relevant skills and your passion.

This will be a sales pitch to your hiring manager. When they see you don't have enough experience in the field, there's a higher chance that they will simply ignore your resume. An objective summary can change their mind and convince them to give you an opportunity.

Make the Noise in Your Experience Section

This section will be the most critical section on your sound technician resume – the one that gets you more interview calls and job offers with more salary.

Some hiring managers start reading resumes from this section to make the process faster. At a glance, they know whether the resume should be shortlisted for an interview or not.

Writing a perfect resume experience section is essential whether you're a well-experienced candidate or applying for an entry-level job.

The person who writes well always gets better job offers than someone with better work experience.

Follow these general guidelines and read the example experience sections carefully to write a perfect experience section for your next resume.

• Use action verbs, such as carried out, designed, developed, and managed, to start each sentence.
• Use numbers to add credibility to your experience.
• Keep the recent experience sections to 4-6 sentences.
• Avoid writing descriptive experience sections for unrelated work.
• Remove work experience that is 10 years+ old.

For an experienced sound technician resume

INCORRECT

Aug 2016 to Present

Sound technician

Max Entertainment

• Managed a team of audio technicians.
• Trained staff for live mixing.
• Worked with a house audio engineer for the setup of events.
• Sound equipment testing.
• Audio production.

CORRECT

Aug 2016 to Present

sound technician

Max Entertainment

• Managed the technical team in setting up events hosted by the company: 12 events in the last 6 months.
• Worked with sound mixing boards for 200+ live shows in the last 8 years at Max
• Carried out industry research to establish the requirements for new equipment to upgrade the audio quality and output: Installed a brand new mixer system worth $200,000 last year.
• Trained and managed a team of 15 sound technicians to manage live events, recordings, and other functions.

For an entry-level sound technician resume

INCORRECT

Aug 2020 to Present

Assistant sound technician

My Events

• Sound system maintenance.
• Scheduled maintenance for necessary equipment.
• Wired and wireless microphones setup.
• Audio mixing.
• Audiovisual control.
• Audio recording equipment knowledge.

CORRECT

Aug 2020 to Present

Assistant sound technician

My Events

• Worked with a team of 4 sound technicians to set up and tear down audio equipment for 15+ live shows in the last year.
• Investigated sound quality issues in live shows and provided fast solutions.
• Carried out computer-aided diagnostics and testing – contacted manufacturers – read user manuals to find technical solutions.
• Set up equipment ensuring proper installation of cables, operating systems, and software.
• Prepared event activities by setting up props, spotlights, stage lights, and microphones to the set specifications.

For a freelance sound technician resume

INCORRECT

Aug 2014 to Present

Freelance sound technician

• Edit music for CDs, DVDs, and for online.
• Sound mixing for live events.
• Knowledge of sound editing software and tools.
• Sound reinforcement experience.
• Working experience with digital audio tape.

CORRECT

Aug 2014 to Present

Freelance sound technician

• Delivered over 30 complete projects in the last 4 years on Upwork: Top-rated sound technician on Upwork.
• Recorded and edited music for CDs and DVDs for the mass production of personal music albums until 2012.
• Created 20+ original music for clients for iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube premier releases.
• Covered 4 major sporting events in 2021 for DT Sports on a contractual basis.
• Used pro tools such as Adobe Audition, Studio One, and Audacity.

Make the Resume Melodious with Your Education

Your hiring manager will specify the education qualifications they're looking for. In most cases, formal education wouldn't be a mandatory requirement to become a sound technician, provided that you've completed the required training.

However, your high school or university education would be valuable to your resume.

In your education section, address the qualification the hiring manager mentioned in the job advertisement. Then, state your high school or any formal education you have gone through.

Try these Skills that will Echo in Your Hiring Managers' Ears

You possess unique technical skills learned through your work and education as a sound technician. These are called hard skills.

In addition, when working in sound management, you should have mastered a set of soft skills.

You should write a mix of these skills in your resume skills section.

The skills you write in this section help your resume pass the applicant tracking system (ATS) test.

Write about 5 to 7 essential skills. Read the job description to pick the relevant skills your hiring manager is looking for.

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Attention to details
• Analytical skills
• Teamwork
• Organizational skills
• Problem-solving
• Customer service skills

• Equalize pre-recorded dialogue
• Audiovisual equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Wireless and wired electronic components
• Knowledge of produced printed circuit boards
• Mix live sound
• Video equipment maintenance
• Electromechanical devices setup
• Video editing
• Audio setup for live performances
• Understanding of engineer's shop drawings
• Hard disk recorders
• Live sound reinforcement

Additional Sections for Your Audio Technician Resume

You should always find ways to make your job application stand out from the other applications. Additional sections are a great way to do it.

These are short sections with specific information and achievements about your career. At the onset, you'll feel there's nothing I could add as additional sections on my resume.

Let us help you brainstorm!

Here're some of the sections you could add:

Computing skills & certifications

Think about the computer certificate you acquired during or after your studies. How are your basic computer skills? Can you work with email, Microsoft office, simple databases, or any other software?

All of these could be important information for the hiring manager, depending on the job you're applying for. Of course, as a sound technician, you should have a pretty good working knowledge of audio engineering software and tools.

If you have taken up any certification course online or offline for your professional development, you could mention it here. This is highly valuable information on a resume. Hiring managers typically mention these certifications in job advertisements. Do a bit of research on what they're looking for.

Here're a couple of high-demand certifications for audio technicians and engineers:

Tools that help you make sound

The tools and software used to produce, edit, and manage sound projects could differ for each sound technician. State what tools you're comfortable with.

Check the job description to see whether the hiring managers have mentioned specific tools and software knowledge they expect.

• Adobe Audition
• Audacity
• GarageBand
• Logic Pro X
• Studio One

Interests

Write this section only if your interests add value to your profile.

This information gives the hiring manager a more individualized idea about you. If your interests align with your profession, it means you're passionate about what you do rather than you work as an audio technician just to make a buck.

Languages

You could add the languages you speak and also the languages of music you have composed.

Tips to Improve Your Audio Technician Resume

• Proofread your final resume with a tool like Grammarly – leave no awkward mistakes on your resume.
• Check whether you need a trade certification or mandatory skill certification to work in the studio. If so, start working on that first to save time.
• Choose a modern resume template to present your resume nicely to the hiring team.

Summary:

• Start your resume with the header. Add your name and contact information.
• Write a summary highlighting your skills, experience, and expertise to hook the reader at a glance.
• Write a perfect experience section showcasing your achievements and accomplishments.
• Include your education qualifications in a short section.
• Write 5-7 key skills. Include both soft and hard skills.
• Add a couple of additional sections that could be valuable in a situation where a hiring manager had to decide between a couple of resumes. Use this section to provide personalized information about your profile.

Complement Your Resume with Your Cover Letter

Write a cover letter that complements your resume. A cover letter should be a one-page statement customized for each position you apply for.

Write 3 to 4 short paragraphs on your cover letter.

This is an important addition to your application regardless of your experience level. However, sending a cover letter is mandatory for your application to be considered if you're an entry-level candidate or a candidate in a career transition.

In the cover letter, answer the key questions of your hiring manager and showcase how you solved the same for your previous employer. In your cover letter, you could provide more detail than you did in your professional summary.

Add your key skills, tools you use, software you work with, and your achievements in your career.

State if there's a particular reason you're applying for the organization.

End your cover letter with a simple call to action, such as asking for an interview to discuss further.

If you need further inspiration, check these cover letter examples.

FAQ