Composer resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what composers actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most composers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Composer with a focus on original scores for film, television, and interactive media. Skilled in collaborating with directors and producers to realise a creative vision, and experienced in conducting recording sessions and mixing in digital audio workstations. Balances commissioned projects with personal artistic work.
Key skills
- Creative software production
- Content creation and writing
- Project management
- Logic Pro
- Pro Tools
- Sibelius
- Ableton Live
- Dorico
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
- Time and deadline management
- Client relationships and advisory
Experience: example bullet points
- Composed and produced original scores for three short films, delivering final mixes within a two-week turnaround.
- Arranged and orchestrated music for a 12-piece ensemble, coordinating rehearsals and recording sessions.
- Collaborated with a director to align music with narrative, revising cues across five iterations until the score matched the creative brief.
- Conducted recording sessions with session musicians, directing performance and managing studio time efficiently.
- Edited and mixed musical elements in Logic Pro and Pro Tools, preparing stems for final delivery.
Education
Bachelor of Music (Composition) or equivalent, with many composers also holding a postgraduate qualification in composition or screen music.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- APRA AMCOS
- Australian Music Centre
- AGSC
- Screen Australia
- Australia Council for the Arts
- Logic Pro
- Pro Tools
- Sibelius
- Dorico
- Ableton Live
- film scoring
- orchestration
- conducting
- music composition
- DAW
- notation software
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.