It has been a month since I moved from sunny California to beautiful New Zealand (see my last blog post). I got my driver’s license, my daughter is in school, and I have resumed online teaching with my US students. I am starting to think about marketing for new students locally. I know eventually people will find me through word-of-mouth, but it is up to me to find that first new student!
People don’t know me here. Why should they trust me with their children? What can I offer? I need to advertise myself. I need to update my website. But first, I need to update my resume. I was blessed to have a waiting list for many years, so it has been far too long since the last time I updated my resume.
Here are 6 things I will be including on my resume:
- Qualifications. This is an obvious one! I need to let people know I am highly trained and qualified to teach their children. I will also be including teaching certifications I have received since graduating from university.
- Experience. Also pretty obvious here! I am not just going to include the number of years I have been teaching, but also where I have taught, the types of students I have taught, the different ages, levels, interests, learning styles, and goals.
- Professional Development. This is where I will talk about what I have done to continue developing my skills as a musician. Things to include are: attendance at Music Teacher Conferences, performance experience (solo, ensemble, orchestral), judging experience, pedagogy groups I belong, professional memberships I hold, and even the very fact that I am a blogger for Duet!
- Student Achievements. I am blessed to have had many talented students. This is where I will summarize what I have helped my students to accomplish over the years - recitals, festivals, exams, competitions, colleges, personal goals. I will also proudly mention my most famous student - Kodi Lee, winner of America’s Got Talent!
- Specialization. This was not on my very first resume when I started teaching. After many years, I now know my strengths as a teacher. I have learned from every single one of my students, even if it is that I am not the right teacher for them. I know what types of students I specialize in teaching, and I want to find the students that will be a good fit in my studio environment.
- Social Media. This is where I will list my website, FaceBook page, and YouTube channel, so people can find out more information about my studio, get a glimpse of my teaching philosophy and style of teaching, and find out the latest studio announcements.
I will have two versions of my resume - full version and short version. I will send the full version to schools and professional organizations, and I will use the short version for social media, pamphlets, and advertising. I plan to visit local music shops to introduce myself, leave business cards wherever appropriate, and reach out to local libraries.
This whole process has convinced me that, no matter how successful my studio becomes once again, I should always keep my resume up to date. It took a lot to try to remember everything I have done since I last updated my resume, which was in 2006 when I applied for MTNA National Certification.
Now that I've updated my music teacher resume, my next project is to revamp my website! I still believe online presence is key. The website will take a while to get a facelift - stay tuned!
