A Berklee Press author helps students navigate the rocky shoals of the professional world.

By Brenda Pike
Berklee.edu Correspondent
October 3, 2007

	The second edition of Keith Hatschek's How to Get a Job in the Music Industry was recently released by Berklee Press.
	Photo by Brit Woollard

For Berklee students, getting experience in their chosen fields isn't a problem. They're constantly busy with outside gigs, internships, even networking at their favorite concerts. But how to present that experience to future employers can be puzzling. Keith Hatschek, author of How to Get a Job in the Music Industry, helped Berklee students figure out how to put their best foot forward at a book signing/resumé workshop this September.

Hatschek warns students in the music industry not to expect instant gratification. Refusing to go after anything but your dream job rules out possibilities that could lead to it later, years down the road. "They have to understand that it's a marathon, not a sprint," Hatschek said. "Not that we want to encourage people to settle for things they're not interested in, but sometimes it's better to start working and meeting people."

Hatschek described his own career trajectory as completely unexpected, but said each step informed the next. "I started as a professional musician, then moved into music technology, sound recording, and then ended up being a marketing and business executive," he said. "Opportunities come, and being willing to look at what something might mean in a broad way can really help students move up quickly."

Looking at resumés from Berklee students, Hatschek found a few missteps that aren't unique to the music industry. The first was the traditional listing of jobs. Instead, Hatschek suggests detailing what he calls "worth points." "Cite an example of something specific you achieved, even better if it has a measurable goal or outcome. And then tie it back to a specific job," said Hatschek. "That tends to set you apart from most people who just say ‘From this date to that date I had this job.'"

Another widespread problem is spilling over one page. "If you've just coming out of college, you've got to boil it down to your best page of information," Hatschek said.

Presenting too broad a range of experience is an issue more common in the music industry. "One student that I spoke with had experience as a performer, a band leader, an arranger, and a composer for a radio commercial or TV spot," said Hatschek. "His resumé was all over the place. And he didn't have a job objective outline. Students—especially when they're close to graduating—sometimes have trouble because they don't want to limit themselves. That's the beauty of the word processor. You can have one resumé for composing/arranging and another resumé aimed toward performing."

And he emphasized that students need to keep in mind their real goal in writing a resumé. "The resumé's not to get you the job. The resumé's to get you the call back, the interview," said Hatschek. "You need to be choosy about what information you share on it. Your core skills are going to be there. But your relevant experience may be sifted in such a way that you put the more relevant information up front."

Nicholas Carsner, a seventh-semester contemporary writing and production major, had an individual consultation with Hatschek, who reinforced some advice that Carsner's Berklee professors have been communicating to him for years: "After graduation, I will be vying against fellow students and my own professors for the same jobs," said Carsner. "Bringing up the level of my resumé from college student to working professional is important."

Hatschek consults with a student. Photo by Brit Woollard